indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
band Pale Waves
Pale Waves are an English indie rock band from Manchester
Manchester () is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. The city has the country’s List of English districts by population, fifth-largest population at 54 ...
from their debut studio album, '' My Mind Makes Noises'' (2018). It was released as the album's fifth single on 24 July 2018 by Dirty Hit
Dirty Hit is a British independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small to medium-si ...
.
Release
The song premiered onBBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a public service broadcaster, headquartered at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London
London is the ca ...
show as Annie Mac
Annie MacManus (born 18 July 1978), popularly known as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She is known as the host of her flagship BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It ...
's "Hottest Record in the World" on 24 July 2018. The band also revealed on the same show that their debut studio album was titled ''My Mind Makes Noises'' and would be released on 14 September 2018. "Eighteen" was featured on BBC Radio 1's official playlist throughout August and September 2018. The single reached the A-list in the week of 7 September 2018, a first for the band.
The song was a success in Japan, marking the first time the band have charted outside of Europe. The single reached number 55 on the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100 and number two on the Japan Hot Overseas chart.
Critical reception
Will Richards of ''DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repair
The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastruc ...
'' magazine gave the song a positive review, calling it the band's "most direct pop song yet", and also praising the chorus as "the best Pale Waves have ever written." Writing for ''Dork'', Stephen Ackroyd was similarity positive about the track, praising it for being a great introduction to the album; he wrote the track "audibly throbs, revving its engines on the starting line." Rania Aniftos of ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, also called outdoor advertising, outdoor media, and out-of-home media, is advertising experienced ...
'' had high praise for the song, calling it a "glistening pop tune" and summarising: "It's truly an electronic bop that encompasses the age it's titled after."
Music video
The music video for "Eighteen" was directed by and premiered on 22 August 2018. The video depicts lead singer Heather Baron-Gracie on a road trip across the United States. Footage of Baron-Gracie walking through a forest by a lake, staying in a motel and visiting a diner is interspersed with the footage. There is also an unseen love interest shown in apparent flashback scenes. Hugo Silvani and Charlie Wood play the characters of gas station attendants, whilst Ciara Doran appears at the diner as a customer."Eighteen Music Video Information"
''IMVDB'' Retrieved on 12 September 2018."Eighteen Official Music Video"
YouTube. Retrieved on 12 September 2018.
Track listing
Charts
Release history
References
{{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Dirty Hit singles Pale Waves songs