Newcastle three-piece The Pale White are known for their big, classic rock/grunge sound, reminiscent of their 90s influences. Their second album ‘The Big Sad’ comes out on April 18th, and if their newest single ‘Lost In The Moment’ is anything to go off, we’re in for a treat.
We sat down with The Pale White’s Adam Hope to talk about their new album, their upcoming tour, the moment that guitar music is having, and what it’s like to tour with your heroes.
Q: How are you feeling about putting your new record ‘The Big Sad’ out into the world?
A: “At this point we kind of just wanna get it over with, get it out. We started recording it nearly two years ago, and there was a bit of a delay because I lost my voice during the recording process, which pushed the mixing and everything back. So it’s a bit like, come on, let’s get the songs out now”.
Q: What can we expect from this album?
A: “For anyone who likes the singles, I think they’ll really love the album. It’s really coherent, we’re not just putting our best songs out as singles, and then filling the album with B Sides. It really feels like a complete album. I think fans will love it if they accept it for what it is. It’s still a rock album at its core, it has heavy moments, but it has twists and turns and it’s a bit more theatrical, it might take you by surprise here and there. We’re wearing our influences on our sleeves, a lot of David Bowie and Wings.”
Q: How has your sound changed since the last album?
A: “There was a time where we’d write something and then sometimes be like, well that doesn’t really sound like us. But now we’re really confident in what we want to be. For too long we’ve pigeon-holed our stuff into certain categories. When you’re doing the single thing, it’s so try-hard, it’s all about getting the radio plays, cutting the intro to make the song the right length. And we’re done with that. So, the rule book went out the window for this album and it’s a collection of songs we’re really proud of. We wanted it to be our album, on our terms, and I think that really shines through. People’s music tastes change, and you can’t pretend to be something you’re not, so we’re really embracing the twists and turns.”
“I’m totally done with the bullshit. It sounds so old man, but whatever man, I’m so done ticking boxes, I just wanna release beautiful music and see if people like it. That’s what makes me happy.”
Q: What kind of stuff were you listening to while you wrote this album?
A: “It was a bit of an eclectic mix of 70s stuff and 90s stuff. When that Beatles documentary came out, it spawned a lot of the kind of 70s tapey sound that we’ve gone for. There’s even a mellotron on this album. I think the stuff we were listening to at the time had had a lot of influence, like Manic Street Preachers and REM, that sort of craic. Jack got us into Elliott Smith during the pandemic, and I think the track ‘The Ballad of Big Nothing’ had an influence. Then I’ve been really into The Lemon Twigs, they’re almost like prodigies who can just play every instrument. All of their albums have a different sound and that was really inspiring. It was what made me realise we don’t have to pigeon-hole ourselves as a rock band, which really comes through on this album. The Lemon Twigs do what they want when they want, and that’s what we wanna do.”
Q: What was the writing process like on this album?
A: “I’m the main songwriter but it varies song to song. ‘I’m Sorry (This Time)’ on ‘The Big Sad’ is Jack’s song. Sometimes the idea spawns in the room, like ‘My Abacus’ and ‘Woolly Thunder’ on the new album. They start out as jams, and then we have that eureka moment in the practice room where we just look at each other like ‘that sounds class’. And that’s what I love doing, and that’s what the third album is gonna sound like I think. ‘The Big Sad’ was more about locking myself away for a long demo process and going deeper into the production process. But the later additions, like ‘My Abacus’ and ‘Woolly Thunder’, are more raw and more of that writing together in a room approach, and those are my favourite songs, where the lads have their imprint. The baseline in ‘My Abacus’ has this The Smiths vibe, really melodic, which I love. It really feels like we’re a band in those moments. So I’m really excited to be recording that stuff this summer.”
Q: Does the production play a big role in the sound of this record?
A: “The album is basically really hyped up, posh versions of my demos. I’ve kind of got the hang of what I’m doing with demos, but polishing it up isn’t really my area. But we worked with John Martindale at Blank Studios in Newcastle, and he did such a great job of taking my ideas and making them sound amazing. We gave it to Tom Dalgety, who mixed Royal Blood and Tigercub. The latest Tigercub album is really inspiring so I really trusted Tom, that album has a sound which is quite aligned with ‘The Big Sad’. I think the collaboration between Tom, John, and me worked really well, and I’m really proud of the outcome, I think we’ve made something great.”
Q: What was behind the decision to release this album independently?
A: “It’s hard working with labels. You have 300 chats with 300 labels who want you but don’t wanna commit and they dither and keep you hanging. And at this point, we wanna get this album out, then the next one then the next one. And it’s going well so far, I’m really proud and really happy. And because we don’t have the powers that be hanging over us it’s all on our terms. The intro is as long as we want, not just the length that will get you the most radio plays. I’ve got friends who work at labels and it’s all the same bullshit. I mean, do I need someone to take 80% of everything just to tell you that Tiktok is popular at the minute?”
Q: Considering the album has taken a while to come out, are you itching to get out and tour these songs?
A: “100%! We haven’t really been able to play the songs from ‘The Big Sad’ live yet, because our main touring last year was on the road with the Pixies, and this album is a bit of a different style. We just released an EP which is more rock and roll, which we’ve jokingly called the decoy EP, because the new album has a certain sound, and that EP was songs that didn’t really fit the vibe of that album. So we were kind of rummaging in the bin of songs that weren’t going on the album, and being like okay well we can release that one now. So while we were playing those ones, we were dying to play the new ones. So it’ll be really nice to get it out there and start playing them. This is really the album tour, but because all the timings got pushed back the tour is actually ahead of the album, which kind of makes no sense. But venue availability post-pandemic is just crazy, so we had to keep the tour set in stone. And in a way it’s really nice, it’s almost like an intimate gig. So rather than thinking man I wish the album tour was later so everyone knows the songs, I’m seeing it as an exclusive preview for the hardcore fans. I’m hoping it’ll make it really special. But there’ll be some older stuff too, you’ve gotta get the crowds going!”
Q: How important is live performance to you as a band?
A: “We initially just wrote our songs in bedrooms so to find ourselves playing around the world is just nuts. We don’t take it for granted, we’re so grateful. A lot of our friend’s bands folded in the pandemic, but if you really believe in yourself you’ve got to keep going. It’s really nice to see guitar bands having their moment, guitar music is having this sudden surge. Too many times you hear guitar music is dead, and yeah the music on Radio One is horrendous, but look at Fontaines and Wunderhorse. It’s nice to see the heritage bands keep touring, but it’s just so great to see these newer bands have their moment. They’re releasing great music and it’s paying off, it’s not all about labels and nepotism, it’s working class bands putting out great music. Sometimes you wonder if there’s still an audience for guitar music, so it’s great to see the audience just gagging for it. Like you see videos of Wunderhorse gigs and it looks like a Nirvana gig.”
Q: What was it like to tour with the Pixies?
A: “Touring with the Pixies was amazing, after the Beatles they’re our favourite band of all time so it was just an absolute honour. Being on first name terms with them is genuinely what dreams are made of. They say don’t meet your heroes, but you probably should because the Pixies are class. ”
Q: Apart from the Pixies, is there a band that you’d love to support?
A: “We’d love to tour with Queens of the Stone Age. We bumped into Josh Homme at Hurricane which was so good. ‘The Big Sad’ isn’t the right album for that, but maybe the third album would work because that’s going to be more their sound. They’re such a powerhouse, definitely one of our favourite bands. I love The Black Keys, and Wunderhorse and Fontaines DC are just killing it. I think we could work really well for their audiences.”
Q: What song would you cover on Live Lounge?
A: “I wanna keep my cards close to my chest! But I’d love to do a version of ‘Forever Young’ by Alphaville. We’ve played around with that one before in rehearsal.”
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