By Tom Lanham

photos by Jordan Curtis-Hughes

f anyone didn ’ t know it when she first got into showbiz as a wide-eyed , smalltown British naif , they know it now — Pale Waves front-vixen Heather Baron- Gracie pulls no punches , suffers no fools gladly , and always shoots straight from the hip . She ’ s justifiably proud of her newfound industry acumen , and she ’ s even developed an alter ego to do the dirty work , a no-nonsense persona she ’ s dubbed with the deceptively charming moniker of Victoria . “ So I ’ m just sitting in my bedroom right now , chillin ’, and Victoria isn ’ t around ,” reports the singer , phoning to discuss her band ’ s panoramic new sophomore outing , Who Am I ? Given that leading album title , how does one know exactly which entity they ’ re addressing ? She laughs coquettishly . “ Oh , she only comes out when she needs to come out when I need to feel like a bad bitch ; Victoria will definitely come out !”

Ergo , if Heather is mousy Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice , Victoria is Ryder in — ironically — Heathers : Tough , assertive , maybe borderline homicidal . Feel her emerging ? You ’ d best back the fuck up , lads . This gal means business .

Even the friendly folks at Dirty Hit Records , the imprint run by Jamie Oborne , who first signed Baron-Gracie ’ s longtime benefactor pals . The 1975 and Pale Waves have grown accustomed to getting occasionally slashed by Victoria ’ s claws because she ’ ll stand up to any male workplace oppression whenever Heather is too shy or well-mannered to do it . “ So I have gotten into many arguments with people , and sometimes it ’ s escalated to bigger arguments ,” she concedes . “ But I don ’ t let people push me around . Or tell me who I am or what to do . If anything , I do the opposite , and I think I cause more havoc

than anyone at my label .” Naturally , her latest equally-direct album finds her seriously questioning her own identity , or — more particularly — how showbiz itself was starting to transform her , mentally , emotionally , even existentially . She took a long hard look at herself in the mirror , and its reflection — even though countless young female fans had begun copying her haunted Clara-Bow-meets-Metropolis look in adulation — did not please her . Not in the least .

Sure , it was flattering , staring into concert audiences and seeing hundreds of fashion-copying lookalikes looking back , while Pale Waves was touring the world over the past three years , opening for The 1975 , Muse , The Cure . And on later headlining jaunts of their own , especially in America , the effect grew much more intense . Baron-Gracie was a true sparkling original on the staid music scene and a veritable whirling dervish of a punk-powered guitarist onstage , and young girls sensed it and were exponentially inspired . “ But sometimes , I have to do a double-take , because I ’ m like , ‘ Wow ! You look more like me than ME ! Would you like to come up here and do my job ? I really need a break !’” So the birth of Victoria was the most logical next step , psychologically , she explains . And Beyonce , Miley Cyrus , even Garth Brooks did it long before her . “ So it ’ s sometimes helpful for artists to do that because it ’ s really not the most natural thing to be an artist , and put all your thoughts and feelings on display for the world , and then go on stage and perform them to multiple — sometimes thousands of — people each night , with them just staring at you .”

Indeed . And if you sense a reflective , past-exhuming therapy session coming on , you ’ re not far off the mark . But truthfully ,

Baron-Gracie set the stage for this psychoanalytic inquiry on Pale Waves ’ dazzling 2018 debut , just in its title alone — My Mind Makes Noises . And if you listen closely to what she ’ s singing in her charismatic , arena-huge , hiccup-punctuated voice , the songs , despite being monstrous OMDmeets-Modern-English anthems , are rife with uncertainty and self-doubt . “ I feel like I ’ m slowly losing myself / I ’ m afraid that I need help ,” she confesses on the bassheavy “ Noises ,” wondering if anyone else has noticed with “ What do you see when you look at me ?” In an Echo-and-the- Bunnymen-with-handclaps “ There ’ s a Honey ,” she falters in front of a lover (“ I would give you my body but I ’ m not sure that you want me ”); “ Black mascara , that ’ s what you used to call me / That ’ s all I ’ ll ever be ,” she notes with chagrin on the finger-popping “ Loveless Girl .” In the huge celebratory rocker “ Drive ,” she notes that “ I like to be alone most all the time / Talking to myself with nobody else / And that ’ s the way that I like it ,” but waits for the chorus to confess “ I drive fast so I can feel something .” Eventually , she uses a shattered relationship as a metaphor for the album ’ s ultimate quandary : “ When Did I Lose it All ?”

There was no Victoria around to help the kid cope with the increasing demands of fame . And that ’ s one fact that has to be clarified from the outset — Heather Baron- Gracie will be a huge name-in-lights rock star . Nothing will alter her meteoric arc , not even the coronavirus clampdown , which only put the fiery display on pause for roughly a year . And as luck would have it , a year was all she needed to clear her head , rediscover her innate talents , begin a much healthier lifestyle , and feel completely at ease with her sexuality . Dollars to

doughnuts , every Goth guy in Pale Waves audiences watched this ghostly-gorgeous dynamo onstage bemoaning her “ Loveless ” plight and thought , “ This amazing girl can ’ t find a boyfriend ? REAL- LY ?” Sorry , dudes . As Gloria Steinem once declared , “ A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle .” The singer is openly lesbian now and so happy about her equally-attractive new girlfriend , Kelsi Luck . She penned a devotional last-minute addition to Who for her , “ She ’ s My Religion .” It was just issued as a single and prominently featured Luck in the track ’ s decidedly steamy video . With matching shoulderlength black haircuts , nose piercings , and black nail polish , they make a stylish , photogenic couple , and they appear incredibly happy together . Which only serves to cement Baron-Gracie ’ s freshly acquired wisdom that you can ’ t really love anyone else until you first learn how to love yourself .

No pun intended , Baron-Gracie chuckles , But Luck had everything to do with Who Am I ? The lovers met roughly a year in Las Vegas through a mutual friend of Pale Waves drummer Ciara Doran and her longtime girlfriend . The sparks were instant , and high-combustion and a slight age difference helped ; the wise , metaphysical-minded Luck turns 30 this March , while her still-learning paramour is 25 . It isn ’ t exactly a guru / disciple relationship . “ But she taught me real love and showed me how to love myself , something that I feel like I ’ ve never experienced before ,” she swoons , totally smitten . “ She is so artistic and has such a unique mind — she ’ s just amazing , and our love has blossomed into something beautiful . And she has influenced this album massively .” The continues on page 26