EP Review: The Pale White - ‘Take Me To The Strange’
Doused with a hefty dose of blues and indie, the newest EP from The Pale White is sure to lodge itself into your brain. The North East group establish themselves as a group to keep your eye on, and you won’t be able to get enough of the swaggering riffs that dominate the EP.
Opening with ‘Wisdom Tooth’, it’s a blistering start of staccato rhythms and infectious riffs. Sprawling guitars make a grand entrance with a searing melody that will have you hooked from the first note. Velvety vocals smoothly slide over the rolling basses, and you’ll find yourself tapping along to the catchy chorus as the falling ‘ah’s convey a yearning that can’t be helped.
‘Trapped Nerve’ takes a very different character right from the start. Low guitars riff over a steady drum beat, and it’s a metronomic approach that contrasts with the fluid vocals. The vocal harmonies in the second verse are sure to get you feeling a certain way, and you’ll feel yourself pulled into a different world as Adam Hope croons ‘take me to the strange, cause I can’t survive’. Packing in a few funky rhythmic changes, it demonstrates a willingness to try something new and exciting, and in this case it pays off as you marvel at them.
The high-intensity of ‘Panic Attack’ brings a cut-neck tempo that seduces in its relentless attack. It feels like a much needed adrenaline rush, similar to the feeling you get when you drink too much coffee and feel invincible. The high feeling created by the melodies contrast with the nervy lyricism, as Adam repeatedly confesses ‘I’m having a meltdown and I’m getting nervous now’. Frenetic strumming and driving drums create a hotpot of mellifluous melodies mixed in with a blazing intensity that rips through everything in its path. The comedown after the climax dips you into an ethereal world before ‘The Future Is Mine’ tears it down by way of sleazy riffs and a cheeky charisma.
Finishing with the head-bopping ‘End Of Time’, the EP is a journey that showcases the multi-faceted sound of The Pale White, with no two tracks sounding the same yet sharing enough characteristics to make this their most cohesive work up to date. It’s a sparkling gem amongst the saturated indie soundscape, and with their unique twist in the genre, I have no doubts that they will be a name that will pop up frequently in the future.
Words by Athena Kam