Newcastle’s The Pale White are set to release their album ‘The Big Sad’ on Friday 18th April. Heidi Wood caught up with the band to discuss this further.
How did you come up with the name for the album?
It just seemed to be the main theme running through the album. Personally, I go through different phases when songwriting – sometimes songs sound a certain way, and you’re just trying to keep up with the rat race, like “we need another single, quickly put this one out”. You know what I mean? You need a rock song, a radio song, whatever it is. But this time, all of that was out the window. For example, the EP we released just over a year ago felt less cohesive. But this album is much more coherent. There’s a theme of melancholic feeling throughout and it seemed to fit. I was listening to Elliott Smith a lot and his track ‘The Ballad of Big Nothing’ might have had something to do with the ‘bigness’ of it all. One of the first songs is ‘The Big Stars’, and I thought, well, that’s definitely the name for this. It felt like a cool name – it was actually the name of a song and it just worked for the album.
How do you think this album will be received?
I don’t know, to be honest. I feel like this album’s a bit of a left turn for us. Everyone likes to pigeonhole things, don’t they? And we don’t want to be a band that gets pigeonholed. So, each album might have a bit of a different sound, just like a lot of bands we respect. It’s still a rock album but it’s a lot softer in places and a lot deeper in others. It’s got a lot of new sounds.
You spoke about respecting bands that have changed their sound over albums. Who are your influences?
Yeah, it’s always a weird question because I try to avoid saying The Beatles, even though they were amazing to see in the studio. I’d say it’s a mixture of ‘60s and ‘70s stuff, but also a lot of ‘90s bands like R.E.M. and Manic Street Preachers. For the recordings, during the writing process, I listened to a lot of Elliott Smith. I’d never actually heard him before until the pandemic when my brother, Jack (the drummer), introduced me to him. He had quite a big influence on the album.
What song are you most excited to play live?
It’s a weird situation because we pushed the album back a bit, but we wanted it to be right. So, the album tour is actually happening before the album’s release, which is a little strange. But I think it’s more exciting in a way because we get to play some of these new songs for people who haven’t heard them yet. It feels almost exclusive to them. I’ve really been enjoying playing ‘Final Exit’ and there’s also a track called ‘Real Again’.
You’ve been a band for nearly ten years now. How has that dynamic changed? And how has your sound evolved over time?
Yeah, I think at the start it was a lot rawer. We were just doing the whole Nirvana three-piece thing. It’s crazy that it’s been nearly ten years! I guess, as humans, we grow as well, you know what I mean?
What are you most excited about being on the road again for your upcoming tour?
I’m excited to play our own shows again. We’ve been on tour with Pixies, who are one of our favourite bands, and it’s been incredible. But there’s nothing quite like playing your own show, having your own fans come along, playing a longer set, and being reminded that people actually love your music. It’s great seeing new fans getting on board, but also familiar faces – people who’ve been there since the start, especially when we play our hometown show in Newcastle. It’s amazing to see that even though we’ve been around for nearly ten years now, there are still new people discovering us.
The Pale White head to Northumbria Uni, Newcastle on Saturday 15th March. Tickets, priced at £15.00 in advance, are available from seetickets.com.
