Following the release of their third album New Place, Pale Blue Eyes have been bringing their new record, carefree charm and hypnotic energy to the stage. The innovative Totnes-Sheffield shoegaze trio have travelled far and wide, and we were lucky to be graced with their surreal presence yet again at The Bodega in Nottingham, and have the chance to chat to the band, too...
Right before the Pale Blue Eyes gig at The Bodega, we were fortunate to catch the band for a quick chat in the venue's consoling green room. They'd had a long drive to Notts, performing in Glasgow the previous night, but despite the tedious journey and a delayed sound check, Pale Blue Eyes were all easy-going smiles and laughter, hyped for the gig with much-deserved Red Stripe cans in hand...
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us at LeftLion! How are you all feeling about tonight?
Matt: Really excited! We’ve played here twice before; there’s always a good crowd in Nottingham and you guys have an amazing music scene. So yeah, it's a rad venue, we’re really happy to be here!
Lucy: I will second that motion! Yeah, it’s really good fun, we had a good time last time, so we’re excited for tonight.
Aubrey: I’d like to echo that!
You last performed at The Bodega in 2023 to promote your brilliant second album This House. What drew you back to Bodega? Were there any memorable highlights from that night that stood out to you?
Matt: It was like one of the hottest gigs ever, (and we get particularly sweaty!) I remember it being like one of those classic hot, loud fun gigs! It was good vibes, we had loads of family here, cause obviously Lu’s family are from Sheffield and we’ve got mates in Nottingham, so yeah, it was good, wasn’t it?
Lucy: Yeah, it was sold out and we had an amazing crowd!
Aubrey: It’s a good room. I feel like when it fills up it can be pretty raucous, but in a fun way? And we like playing our songs live and being open to them being different to the recording. So, if we’re in a place like Nottingham where we get something back from the crowd, we really enjoy playing into that.
What’s your current favourite song to perform live together?
Matt: We did some pretty intense rehearsals for this setlist and when we tried Half Light in the rehearsal room, it had really good energy, and it kind of sums up the new record perfectly! The first time we played it live was on Marc Riley’s BBC Live Session, it felt so good to play and kind of fell under our fingers. It has loads of energy, and I find it quite easy to sing that one! So yeah, Half Light for me!
Aubrey: Half Light is my favourite, too. Because we’re quite early in the tour, all the new tracks still feel like they’re on the edge in a fun way? Where like there’s a tiny percentage that could definitely go wrong. (Laughs)
Lucy: I think I’m the same, I am loving Half Light! That’s really kind of taken on a new feeling live. Funny enough I also like returning to our older songs... so we play Motionless in the set at the minute, which we’ve played from the very beginning. And whenever that comes on, I always feel this nice sense of familiarity which I quite like! It’s just a really fun one. But yeah, I’m really enjoying the new set generally.
Are there any more Nottingham venues (or potential Notts festivals) you’re hoping to play in the future?
Matt: Rock City! Yeah, that would be amazing if we could play that room at some point, we'd really enjoy that.
Lucy: You’ve got to dream big haven’t you!
Matt: Yeah! And like this (Bodega) is a special room, so if this is like our Nottingham venue then that’s cool as well, but it would be nice to try a bigger space too. We’ve never played Dot To Dot or Splendour... I don’t think we’ve done any Nottingham festivals have we? But we’d love to! So, if you could put in a word...
I’ll do my best! What are you hoping the crowd will resonate with most tonight?
Aubrey: I don’t really have an expectation. I feel like in my experience of going to gigs, I enjoy just being quite open and seeing what I get from it. So, at least from my end I’m just you know, the humble bass player... (Laughs) I don’t have a particular target with any of that. I think music means a lot to me because it can kind of take you somewhere different and you can kind of forget about the stuff that might be on your mind, and just kind of lock into it. I think we all probably share that feeling, so I guess that’s kind of like the thematic goal of the set.
Matt: There’s lots of dynamics in the set, which can be quite exhausting! But I’m the same, whenever I go to shows I like being taken on a journey through the course of the set. And I often don’t analyse any particular thing or a song, but just where it’s brought me over the past 45 minutes.
Then, it was on to the gig...
The night commenced with two support acts: Dom Gourlay (Under the Radar) and Davoli. Dom produced a banging DJ set; a nice mix of indie sleaze, classic new wave with a sprinkle of pop to get us going, before Davoli followed suit at ten past eight. An engaging acoustic set-up, Davoli captured us all with his whimsical narratives, steady guitar pickings and cordial abiding vocals.
Notes For A New Year was a warming standout, as heads bopped along to his memorable lyrics and jangly guitar riffs - strongly recommended for any listeners of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed or Tom Petty.
Pale Blue Eyes emerged promptly at 9pm. Matt Board, Lucy Board, Aubrey Simpson and Lewis J Kellett beamed at our welcome cheers while getting into position and quickly tuning up. Matt thanked us all for coming down to support on a Sunday night before Lucy counted everyone in with her drumsticks, as the band kicked off with Scrolling, the second experimental upbeat track off New Place. Retro synths, electric instrumentation, Aubrey’s textured basslines and Matt’s easing vocals all consumed our ears, as we were immediately immersed into PBE’s timeless vibey soundscape.
Naturally the set was mostly made up of New Place songs, but the band also continued to show love for their older tunes from their previous albums: Souvenirs and This House; TV Flicker, Honeybear, Under Northern Sky, Our History (but sadly, Globe and Little Gem did not make it on this setlist...)
Heads were nodding, arms were flowing in time with the melodic distortion and Lucy’s incredibly charged drumming. Blue lights and magical reflections bounced off the Bodega disco ball simultaneously with Lewis’ spacey cinematic synthesisers, as we got lost in another dimension, singing and swaying along with Matt’s magnetic voice.
More PBE classics followed: haunting Chelsea and head-bopping Sister, before they concluded with enthralling Half Light, a New Place track I feel slightly echoes The Smiths and Velvet Underground. Pale Blue Eyes had brought everyone right in the moment while transporting us back to a simpler time. There were very few phones in sight. It was a romantic atmosphere, something familiar and comforting, like a dreamy nostalgic out-of-body experience. No pressing need to record everything, we were just all lost together in the music.
Pale Blue Eyes performed (and spoke to us) at The Bodega on 6th April 2025.
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