Friday the 16th August saw a record breaking night for alt-rock group Pavé, who delivered their biggest and boldest headlining show to date in their very own hometown of Manchester!
Taking on the headline slot in Gullivers’ as one of 20+ acts participation in the Scruff of the Neck X Beavertown takeover of Manchester’s Northern Quarter (see our review here), Pavé wowed their biggest crowd yet, winning over every single listener in the room while also impressing those who were watching via livestream. “A lot more people turned up than we expected … the room was just packed!” bassist Megan commented, their exhilaration radiating through with each word. Lead vocalist and frontwoman Alayna-Jade elaborates on this with a huge smile: “This was our biggest headline in Manchester … It’s been really exciting to do a massive show in a venue that we love!”
The band graced the stage with an instantly-captivating stage presence, delivering their unique blend of heavy alt-rock elements with subtle notes of shoegaze. It is this signature formula of genre-bending inspirations, both in the songwriting process and in live performances, which Alayna-Jade believes makes the band so special. “What’s exciting about this band is that we’re all very inspired by completely different genres. Kevin’s into hip hop. Ben’s into his shoegaze-y stuff. I just love pop culture: pop princesses and that whole world with the mixture of [bands like] Hot Milk”.
Going back to their earliest memories of being truly moved by and inspired to make music, Megan named Enter Shikari’s Take to the Skies as a pivotal moment of inspiration for them as both a listener and a musician: “When I first heard that I was like ‘woah, I could do that … but different …”. This influence was clear as day in their delivery of sharp, punchy basenotes that add a satisfying depth to each song, especially when played live, while still leaving room for each other musical element to shine through. On a slightly different note, Alayna-Jade’s initial realisation of “woah, music is cool” originated from Shakira and, later, the “synthy, heavy rock” sound of Bring Me Horizon’s Sempiternal, an unmissable blend which shines through each dynamic vocal performance, hitting gorgeously haunting high notes without shying away from the powerful growl of her lower range during heavier moments of their discography.
Despite this wide array of musical influences, the band took to the stage as a united, cohesive force, made stronger by each musician’s individuality with their most daring set to date. Teasing on social media in anticipation of the event included the promise of many mosh pits and the debut performance of a brand new, unreleased song that they’ve “had in the back-pocket for a while”, meaning that the band had certainly set the bar high with this show. However, they quickly exceeded even their own expectations with their show-stopping performance, utilising their incredible stage presence to connect with every person in the crowd, and later took to instagram to announce that their audience that night had broken the ‘record for most mosh pits in one Pavé show’.
Despite their apprehension at playing brand new, unreleased songs to such a large crowd, the band opened their set with the explosive ‘FAILURE WITHIN’, set to be released as a single this Friday (6th September). This performance also marked the live debut of ‘Aren’t You Scared To Alone’ another unreleased track which quickly won over the audience, adding an air of mystery and anticipation to the band’s versatile setlist. Both of these songs offer an enticing taste of what’s to come on their upcoming EP, which they wrapped up last year and have been desperate to share with the world ever since. And rightfully so, as this EP is expected to be a further showcase of the band’s versatility and craftsmanship. Alayna-Jade gave us cryptid insight into what fans can expect: “[We’re] trying to change it up a little bit, not always too heavy, some a little bit softer, so we’re excited to see everyone’s reaction to each one”.
When discussing the songwriting process, Alayna-Jade names Yonaka as a key lyrical inspiration: “especially going back to their first EP, the lyrics are just so good. They’re so good at telling that story without it being obvious, and it just allows the listener to kind of come up with their own story,” she then adds with a heartfelt passion, “That’s what we want when we write something: we want to create something that they can have their own journey with it just like we did writing it.” This mission statement is a powerful one, and one that can already be seen in Pavé’s power to connect with fans through both their lyrics and their musical arrangements, with each song diving deep into your soul and building a nest there.
Pavé have set themselves up for an exciting next couple of years, with this upcoming EP set to showcase some of their most adventurous and powerful music to date, as well as their ambitious plans in the works for next year including collaborations that the band “can’t wait to share”.
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