Lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie met drummer Ciara Doran while attending university in Manchester and they formed a band.

After signing a record deal with Dirty Hit in 2017, Pale Waves released their debut single, "There's a Honey", followed by "Television Romance".

Later that year both members were asked to leave and departed from the band shortly thereafter, with current bassist Charlie Wood and second guitarist Hugo Silvani replacing them.

These tracks caught the attention of XFM radio broadcaster John Kennedy, who referred them to the independent record label Dirty Hit.

[9] On 1 June 2017, the band played a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden supporting the 1975 on their North American tour.

[10] The band's second single, "Television Romance", was released on 16 August 2017,[11] with its music video directed by The 1975 lead singer Matty Healy.

[19] Speaking to the BBC, Baron-Gracie talked about how the band's debut album is shaping up and its darker tone: "The songs we have out now are very influenced by romance.

[27] On 6 April 2018, it was announced that the band had signed to Interscope Records in a joint venture with Dirty Hit to release music in the United States.

[30] Speaking to NME while at Radio 1's Big Weekend in May 2019, Baron-Gracie updated on the progress of the EP, saying the band "[had] so many songs" and that they would cut the amount to "five or six tracks" with the remainder that "will probably go on the album".

[33] In January 2020 Pale Waves released the song "SkinDeepSkyHighHeartWide" in collaboration with Lawrence Rothman for The Turning official motion picture soundtrack.

"[35] The band's second album, Who Am I?, was announced on 10 November 2020 along with its lead single "Change", which was named as Annie Mac's Hottest Record in the World.

Taking heavy inspiration from the likes of Paramore,[40] Courtney Love, and Liz Phair,[41] the album was a pivot into pop-punk, deviating further from their indie-pop and dream-pop roots.

[61] The band have cited artists such as The Blue Nile, Prince, The Cranberries, Cocteau Twins, The 1975, Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne as influences.

"[67] In an interview with The Irish Times, Baron-Gracie cited Dolores O'Riordan as her main vocal influence, saying: "I love The Cranberries.

"[69] Their third album, Unwanted, was inspired by female rock artists Courtney Love and Liz Phair, and pop-punk band Paramore.