Words and pictures by Rhona Murphy.
On a typical Tuesday night in Southampton you’d be forgiven for thinking that IKEA is the best entertainment on offer, but the lengthy queue forming outside Engine Rooms suggested that something far more exciting was about to happen (21/10/25).
Manchester quartet Pale Waves were in session on the Still Smitten Tour (following on from the release of their 2024 album Smitten) and the rather large tour bus outside the venue indicated that this band is doing rather well for itself. Pale Waves were recently in the area at Isle of Wight Festival earlier in the summer where they played to a packed Big Top Stage crowd and it was clear from the palpable excitement in the audience at the Engine Rooms that they have an impressive fan base and can pull in the crowd numbers.
First up on stage was the very talented Emmma (no it’s not a typo she has 3 Ms) who instantly engaged the audience with a high energy set. Emmma’s new EP Wednesday’s Child is a great listen and I’m sure she’ll have won over many new fans from her Southampton performance.
Pale Waves then took to the stage for the main event. The Smitten album cover features a chandelier and the stage is artistically set up with two chandeliers flanking Ciara Doran’s drum kit.
The first two songs (‘Perfume’ and ‘Not A Love Song’ both from the Smitten album) set the energy level for the gig with Heather Baron-Gracie’s pure vocals and energy plus a vibe that means you really can’t take your eyes of her. She’s a born performer.
The setlist was a mixture of songs from Smitten and also previous albums Unwanted, Who Am I and the 2018 debut album My Mind Makes Noises which incidentally Heather Baron-Gracie has tattooed on her leg (the words My Mind Makes Noises, not the whole album)!
Pale Waves’ cover of the Cranberries song ‘Zombie’ really energized the crowd and I could understand why Baron-Gracie is vocally compared to Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan who sadly passed away in 2018. The quality of the vocals was a fitting tribute to O’Riordan.
‘Glasgow’ which Baron-Gracie said was her favourite song, brought the main set to an end with a further two songs played for the encore including crowd favourite ‘Jealousy’. I could hear people still singing the lyrics as they walked down the road at the end which suggests a good time was had by all.
Pale Waves is a quality band who can vary the setlist from show to show now that they have such a wealth of class tracks to draw on from their back catalogue. They play Norwich, Bournemouth and Oxford next before heading over to Dublin, Belfast and Cork and there are still some tickets on offer at a few venues. Well worth checking out.
Pale Waves is :
Heather Baron-Gracie (singer/guitar)
Ciara Doran (drums)
Hugo Silvani (guitar)
Charlie Wood (bass)
Setlist:
Perfume
Not A Love Song
Eighteen
Lies
You’re So Vain
Zombie (Cranberries cover)
There’s A Honey
Change
Red
My Obsession
Kiss me Again
TV Romance
Glasgow
Encore songs:
She’s My Religion
Jealousy
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