Pale Waves have opened up about wanting to work with Blink-182’s Travis Barker in a new interview.
Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read, the band said they want to work with the drummer in the future and revealed that he almost worked with them on their latest album, ‘Unwanted’.
Barker was set to appear on an ‘Unwanted’ track but couldn’t because of scheduling conflicts.
Ciara Doran told NME they “know our paths will cross one day, though, I’m sure of it.”
Elsewhere in the Big Read, Pale Waves lead vocalist and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie opened up about the band’s near-fatal bus crash.
Three of the four members of Pale Waves — Doran, Hugo Silvani and Charlie Woods – as well as the band’s crew — were on the bus during the accident which took place in February of 2020. The four-piece had been supporting Halsey on her European arena tour, and were set to play at the Verti Music Hall in Berlin.
The vehicle slid into a ditch while travelling between Sweden and Germany. Everyone on the bus escaped without severe physical injuries, but according to the recent interview, distressing images of that night still loom large.
Wary of the icy conditions at the time, Baron-Gracie chose to fly to the band’s next show in Germany instead of travelling on the bus. Speaking to NME, the singer and guitarist said she still carries “real guilt” about being away from her bandmates at the scene of the crash.
“We have had to push ourselves to become mentally stronger, and I think that’s a journey that’s reflected in the new music”, Heather said of the band’s life-changing experiences. “You can’t force people to understand your situation, so we’ve become the most resilient band we know,” Silvani added.
In a four-star review of their album ‘Unwanted’, which arrived last week, NME praised the band for “raising the shipwreck of pop-punk from yesteryear and re-fitting it as the flagship for those who feel genuinely maligned,” adding that “Pale Waves’ third album is anything but ‘Unwanted’.”