FEATURE: Spotlight: Pillow Queens — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Pillow Queens

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WHEN we talk about new artists…

making a splash right now, Pillow Queens have to be in the mix. I think I was one of the first people to host them in London a while back. I was one of a selection of guest bloggers as part of Blogtober: a month of nights where some of the best upcoming artists played at The Finsbury. It was a big moment for them, and they got a great reception from the crowd – many of whom were not aware of them. That was almost a few years ago, and the Irish band have just released the single, Handsome Wife. The band also have an album coming along. Here is some further details from The Line of Best Fit :

“Four-piece Pillow Queens have proven to be no strangers to heavy-hitters, but they might have outdone themselves on their new single “Handsome Wife”.

Sonically, “Handsome Wife” carves itself out a lot of space, and then shows it has the power to fill it. Everything about the song soars: an alt-rock mix of scruffy and grandiose with a rush of a chorus that seems to stretch out to fill the entire skyline.

Emotionally, Pillow Queens have that knack for projecting the small conversations, worries and wants we wrap our relationships around onto the bigger screen that music provides, and on “Handsome Wife” those feelings erupt into a scream that gives the song the total knockout force to win anyone over.

“'Handsome Wife' begins with a glimpse into an emotional homecoming, one that intensifies and romanticises the seemingly insignificant,” the band say. “Throughout, the mundane but tender moments are held up and deified, paying reverence to the ease in which a love can thrive outside the realms of tradition. The song continuously references structures and rituals that were once out of reach, but are now within our grasp. In spite of this ‘Handsome Wife’ affirms that they pale in comparison to the communities we’ve built ourselves.”

“Handsome Wife” is out now, and Pillow Queens’ debut album In Waiting will release on 25 September, available to pre-order now”.

I love their new song, and the album is going to find a big audience. The group have released quite a few tracks, and it has been great seeing them grow and gain new confidence with each release. Having seen them live, I can attest to their connection, chemistry and craic. I am going to bring in a couple of interviews, as the band themselves can give more details and history than me. I do think In Waiting is going to be one of this year’s best albums and, if gigs are kicking back off next year, they will want to get on the road and bring these tracks to the people! Not that I have a leaning towards female bands, but I do think that the industry is skewed in favour of male artists.

There are some great bands fronted by/consisting of women, but I do think they are overlooked. Pillow Queens are a band one can see enduring for years to come. I think they will get a lot of festival bookings for next year when the album is out and being played. I do love what is coming out of Ireland right now. Pillow Queens, Fontaines D.C., Sinead O’Brien and The Murder Capital are among my favourite bands/artists of the moment. I want to bring in an interview from a couple of years back, when Pillow Queens were interviewed by The Irish Times. We learn more about their 2016 E.P., Calm Girls, and how the band have this very tight connection:

“Rachel Lyons (drums, vocals, from Kill, Co Kildare), Cathy McGuinness (guitar, vocals, from Arklow, Co Wicklow), Pamela Connolly (bass, guitar, lead vocals, from Donaghmede in Dublin) and Sarah Corcoran (guitar, bass, lead vocals, from Finglas in Dublin) arrive to a pub smoking area, lugging gear, a few days after a triumphant appearance on the main stage at Body & Soul.

Pillow Queens write charmingly scruffy and smart tunes, and perform them with vigour. On record, their songs’ lo-fi qualities belie a brilliant catchiness and emotional depth. Live, they’re lovable, unaffected, loud. They are gimmick-free, hardworking and with an authenticity marketeers would kill for, and there’s a purity to their breezy modus operandi: write good songs, play them well, have fun, and enjoy the opportunities such endeavours are now bringing.

An EP in 2016, Calm Girls (a joke about their collective anxiety) gave them an instant anthem, Rats, as good a rock song as any that has come out of Ireland this decade. After the fingers-in-the-air audience-built call and response of Rats came Wonderboys, illustrating where Pillow Queens’ brilliance lies: it’s in the space between tender and tough, knowing and naive, wry and goofy, ironic and straight-up.

That confidence was born out of the instant chemistry Corcoran felt when they were in a room together for the first time, “I was just watching it going ‘woah, this is cool’.” Lyons was the last to join the band. “This last year and a half has been a whirlwind for me,” she says. “My personal development has been massive . . . I’m doing what I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager. I’ve also learned to work with other people in a different kind of environment. You have to listen to people, they have to listen to you, and you have to give them a part of you, because we’re all emotional wrecks.” She pauses. “Mostly me.”

Connolly is seen as the peacemaker in the band. During moments where people may be “overwhelmed and tensions are high”, McGuinness says, “Pamela will be super chill and she’ll come back at a more logical time and say ‘this is what I think’.” Connolly’s humour, Corcoran says, tends to diffuse situations. “Pamela will say something and you can’t help but laugh”.

I will bring in one more interview before rounding this thing off, but I would recommend people follow Pillow Queens on social media. They are a great band, and I think they have a very promising future. Having seen them grow in reputation and stature, I think 2021 will be a very important year. Their music definitely has a unique stamp, but each track is different and remarkable. The band spoke with KEXP earlier this year, and I latched on to questions that asked about the Irish music community and queer identify:

“You were all in bands before forming Pillow Queens. What's the Irish music scene and community like?

Pamela Connolly: It's amazing. I guess maybe when we were all in bands, it was a little bit before it became as good as it is now. Most of us were in bands during the recession. So it was good, but people would get taken advantage of a lot. But now the scene – not even just Dublin, all around Ireland – is amazing. The scene coming out of Limerick is class. And it's not just guitar music. It's hip-hop. It's R&B. There's a revival with trad and lovely folk music as well. The scene is really strong and people are taken a lot more seriously now being from Ireland. I hope it keeps going that way and it just gets better. But I highly recommend [to] look up as many Irish bands as you can because they're all pretty good. We're only OK [laughs].

Corcoran: Irish bands really support each other at the moment, which is really nice. I mean, maybe that's always been the case, but definitely, from our experience of being in Pillow Queens, we've received support from bands of every genre on touring, recording, on just getting local gigs. One of the guys from Bitch Falcon lent me a bass for this session because my bass is terrible and I can't afford to buy a new one. So I was like, "Can I borrow a bass?" And he was like, "Yeah, absolutely!" Just gave me his bass for this.

Sarah Corcoran: mean, writing is always cathartic anyway. So you can put your worries into a song and then it's just like boxing them up and not dealing with them [laughs].

Queer identity seems to come through in a lot of your music. Pretty directly in songs like "Gay Girls." Is it important for you to share that perspective in your music?

Connolly: And yes and no. I think it's it's hard to not because it's so much a part of your identity that when you're writing it just comes out anyway. Then someone may ask you a question like, 'Oh, you're really trying to protect your career identity.' I'm actually not. I'm just writing the way maybe a straight man would write about his experiences, I'll write about mine. We'll write about ours. So it's not at the forefront of our mind, but we do know that it's important. But I don't think it's a thing that's always on the table. It just happens. It's not conscious. And I like it that way because I think if we were trying too hard it would come across that way. I like casual queerness [laughs].

Corcoran: I think as well, a song like "Gay Girls," the title would make you think that it's a song about queerness, but it's only really on the very cusp of being a queer song. The title, obviously, but it's more a comment on religion and that sort of thing. I mean, the wringing hand imagery is like... We can't help but write about religious things. We all were brought up in very religious environments so it always comes out. And because I suppose queer themes are so contradictory maybe of like religious themes, maybe that's where the juxtaposition happens”.

This year has been a bit of a pain for all musicians, but I know there will be a load of gigs next year. Make sure you pre-order your copy of In Waiting, as it is going to be one of those albums that scoops some huge reviews! I think bands like Pillow Queens are helping to raise awareness for Irish bands – a vital corner of music that has not been slightly ignored and not given the oxygen it deserves. Long may Pillow Queens reign and put out excellent music! They are a tremendous force, and one you need to get involved with. If you have not investigated the music of this incredible band, then make sure you do…