Preview: Pale Waves at U Street Music Hall

Photo courtesy of Last.fm.

Pale Waves

If you’re dealing with heartbreak, Pale Waves is the friend to make you face and embrace it.

This four-piece band is composed of Manchester-based Heather Baron-Gracie, Ciara Doran, Hugo Silvani and Charlie Wood. Pale Waves perfected the craft of composing wishful romantic pop ballads with riffing guitar crescendos. If you're looking for a song to introduce you to their sound, take a listen to “Black,” where Heather whispers, “You don’t think we’re worth it, but I do. I feel like I’m having a heart attack.” Then Hugo and Ciara break the silence with roaring guitar and drum pieces.

2018 has been an exciting year for the band. They released their first EP, “All the Things I Never Said,” in the spring, and their debut album, “My Mind Makes Noises,” in September, which hit number eight on the UK Albums Chart. In addition to their headlining tour, they are also preparing for a global tour with No Rome, supporting labelmates The 1975. The music from “My Mind Makes Noises” relives romantic traumas, but the band is already working on new music that we can only hope they’ll share this weekend.

Pale Waves’ appearance is just as dramatic as their music. They truly pull-off the classic gothic flair, which fires into their ardent performance. If you’re ready to ride your emotional see-saw and sing it out loud, this is the show for you. Tickets for Pale Waves on Sat, November 10th at U St. Music Hall are still available, grab them here.

Photo courtesy of NPR.

Miya Folick

Something you probably don’t hear often is “I met my band on tinder,” which is exactly what Miya Folick did. Folick is a singer/songwriter from Santa Ana, California where she taught herself how to play guitar after dropping out of NYU. Music is an outlet for Miya’s introspective nature allowing her to steep emotion and intellect into her sound. Her most recent LP “Premonitions” is a collection of musical short stories that serve as periods of self-reflection and -improvement. The LP features “Deadbody,” which speaks to adverse power structures and “Stop Talking,” which is about telling your friend something they don’t want to hear. Miya’s sound is an eclectic mix of jangle to dream pop. Her voice innately sinks and soars through sparkly synths and jazzy guitar. Get to the show early because you won’t want to miss this rising star.

Photo courtesy of readdork.com.

The Candescents

Recently signed to Dirty Hit, the same label as Pale Waves, The Candescents have only one way to go, and that’s up. Alex Harris, Alex von Lehmden, Miguel Alfredo Acero III and Cody von Lehmden are bandmates from Columbus, Ohio and are stoked about bringing listeners “heartbreaking rock ‘n’ roll” music. This fall, the Candescents released their debut EP “Riverside Dr,” which indulges your ears with sizzling grunge rock sensations. Be the first to see your next favorite jam band perform their new, original tunes live.