NEWS: The Pale White EP

Image by Daniel Stark

Newcastle indie rock trio The Pale White are set to release their second EP Take Me To The Strange this month, following a run of singles that culminated in the release of the first new EP track Wisdom Tooth.

The five-track project sees the enigmatic Newcastle lads explore a darker, heavier side of the band, straying from the simplicities of their infectious debut EP that gave us hook-heavy tracks like Reaction and Turn It Around.

With the EP released on 2^nd November, there’s ample chance to experience the band’s edgy evolution as the band headline the Ku Bar stage at The Gathering Sounds festival in Stockton on Saturday 10^th November, and at one of their biggest headline shows to date at Newcastle’s Northumbria Institute on Saturday 8^th December.

Your new EP Take Me To The Strange comes out next month – what can you tell us about the sound of the EP and the themes it explores?

We’ve been working away on ‘Take Me To The Strange’ for a few months now whilst dipping in and out of tours and festivals. We recorded it between Chairworks Studio in Leeds and Blank Studios in Newcastle. We love Blank Studios, it’s pretty much the epicentre of the North East music scene. It’s a bit of a progression from our earlier material, and maybe there will be moments within it that people won’t be necessarily expecting from us – that really excites us. We think that releasing this EP will allow people to hear sides of the band that they’ve not heard before. People can be quite quick to pigeon hole artists in the modern age of streaming, and we’re keen to work towards developing into a band that is always evolving. 

Lyrically there’s quite varied themes on the EP. We’re touching on relationships, anxiety, the vacuous nature of social media, guilt. It’s all in there… but we like people to form their own connections and meanings to the songs. 

In comparison to your first EP, Take Me To The Strange sounds heavier and more punk influenced at times – do you feel your sound has changed/evolved much in the past year?

I think as a band we’re always evolving and developing. You change and grow as writers all the time and we aim to just write for ourselves and produce something we’re proud of. We trust our own tastes and If it excites us then we’ll go for it. People who’ve seen us live will know that there is a heavier and darker side to the band, but this is probably the first real taste of that side of us that people will get to hear recorded. We want to straddle both of those worlds; heavier rock songs and delicate ballads and everything in between. There’s a lot of cards that we’ve kept close to our chests and haven’t dealt yet. 

Is there any reason you decided to release a second EP rather than working on a debut LP/album?

Our first EP was more of a collection of singles and was very much what we regarded as the first era of the band. Take Me To The Strange is the first piece where we feel that there is a coherent theme and feel running through the whole EP. We’ve released a lot of new music this year and we just want to continue reaching new people and building towards our debut album. We want longevity, so it’s best not to sprint in a marathon. 

 You’ve got a big headline show coming up in December, playing the Northumbria Institute in Newcastle – how does the atmosphere of playing hometown shows compare to playing regular shows? 

It’s amazing to get to tour and play in front of new audiences. Touring is our favourite part, but there is a really special feeling at our Newcastle shows. Hometown shows are just such an incredible buzz. Each new one seems to top the last. It’s amazing how dedicated and mental our fans are in the North East, and we’re massively proud to be from here. Looking down from the stage at a sea of people going wild at somewhere like Riverside, where the three of us have grown up watching bands play, will never get old. We don’t take it for granted. We’re very grateful people care. 

What can we expect from the Northumbria show?

A mix of material people will be familiar with and then lots of brand new songs as well. It’s going to be massive. We can’t wait, although seeing someone part the crowd like the red sea and do a backflip at The Cluny will take a fair bit of beating.

Tickets are available for The Pale White’s December 8^th show at Northumbria Institute here