Pale Waves Ignites a Magnetic But Doomed Attraction in "Gravity"
Pale Waves perfectly captures the themes of their forthcoming album, Smitten, with their latest single, "Gravity." Pulling from lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie's own experiences of dating a woman who was struggling with her sexuality and ultimately ended up choosing religion over their relationship, the track is a profoundly personal peek into the sonic memoir of her life.
“‘Gravity’ is about a woman who chose Jesus over me,” shares Heather. “It took the longest of all of the songs on the album to finish, I think we must have rewritten it millions of times to get it to where it is now.”
Opening with angelic and dreamy vocal harmonies, the band comes to life as a collage of pop-infused percussion, grooving bass rhythms, and bright, nostalgic guitar riffs fill the air. Heather looks back on sunnier days in the garden with her lover "as the flowers start to bloom," with the memories of her running through her head every minute of every day. As the chorus kicks in, the singer realizes how in over her head she is, but despite what she feels, she can't help but be drawn into her lover's orbit.
Throughout the remainder of the song, Heather details that despite how perfect they are for each other, she can't find it to tell her that she's all she thinks about due to their religious differences. She croons over the emotional and mellow production, "You see, she loves Jesus / So that always stopped us/ So I tried to pray, but nothing changed."
The accompanying music video is a stunning visual that opens with a shot of Baron-Gracie lying in the grass with the one she loves. As the song plays on, cameos of her bandmates playing in the background are interspersed as the video jumps back and forth between the past and the present. The luscious garden plays into both the warm memories she once shared with her special someone and the stark, vast loneliness she feels in those same places now that they are not together, perfectly matching the duality and complexity of the track.
Smitten, produced by Iain Berryman, celebrates Pale Waves' newfound confidence, freedom, and self-acceptance. At the same time, they reflect on their roots and explore themes of vulnerability, love, sexuality, queerness, finding yourself, moving on, and growing up.
Watch the "Gravity" video below:
