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For immediate release:
January 24, 2024
INDIE ROCK BAND
PILLOW QUEENS
ANNOUNCE TRIUMPHANT THIRD LP
NAME YOUR SORROW
DUE OUT APRIL 19
PRE-ORDER THE LP HERE
& SHARE POTENT TRACK + VISUALIZER
"GONE"
OUT NOW
LISTEN HERE | WATCH
PLUS, THE BAND ANNOUNCE UK TOUR DATES THIS JUNE
WITH PRE-SALE BEGINNING TOMORROW, JANUARY 25
+ GENERAL SALE BEGINNING FRIDAY, JANUARY 26
PILLOW QUEENS WILL PLAY THEIR BIGGEST SHOW TO DATE
AT IVEAGH GARDENS IN DUBLIN
ON JULY 13
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
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"Pillow Queens make the kind of noise that tends to flourish live, roared back by the faithful: burnished heartland euphoria, defiant lyricism bolstered by ragged harmonies, lashings of pride, and an unabashed love of crescendos." | |
"A joyful, raucous celebration of queer love"’ | |
"It’s clear that Pillow Queens have truly hit their stride as a band. 'Leave The Light On' strikes the balance between the excitement of an early career and the deliberate precision of seasoned musicians." | |
"The folk-tinged pop-punk group that released its bombastic, graceful debut album, 'In Waiting'.." | |
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Today, acclaimed Irish indie rock band Pillow Queens announce their third studio album Name Your Sorrow, due out April 19 and available for pre-order now. Alongside the big news, the band share the honest, roaring track "Gone" out everywhere now. Plus, Pillow Queens announce a fresh string of live dates throughout the UK this June with pre-sale beginning tomorrow, January 25 and the general on-sale beginning Friday, January 26. The band's biggest show to date is set for July 13 at Dublin, Ireland's Iveagh Gardens with tickets on sale now via pillowqueens.com/live.
The band's triumphant third full-length album Name Your Sorrow finds the group at their most vulnerable and self-assured as they explore themes of queerness, insecurity, desire and heartbreak as well as the positivity and strength that can grow from pain. Produced by Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, boygenius) at Analogue Catalogue in Northern Ireland, the collection sees the group chart new territory as they give fans an all new, uninhibited look at both their artistry and humanity. With masterful instrumentation and raw lyricism, the quartet immerse listeners in a robust, emotionally-charged sonic world like never before.
Each of the twelve tracks peel back an additional layer of the human condition, from grief to joy and everything in between, culminating in a collective catharsis–a newfound sense of strength and hope in a greater sense of self. With moments of harmony and contradiction, lead guitarist and vocalist Cathy McGuinness calls the album one of intensity, loneliness and love. "It is about stages of love, loss and grief and how they can all exist alongside one another–intertwined, messy, beautiful–how both love and loss can coexist." Tucked away in the quiet Irish countryside, the group bonded deeply, laughing, cooking for each other and playing games which resulted in a safe, supportive environment that allowed each musician to experiment, mess up, and try again. Pillow Queens credit Irish poet Eavan Bolan, English poet John Keats, and British writer C.S. Lewis among their literary inspirations during the writing process, and musically, influences range from Vampire Weekend to Barbara Streisand to Frank Ocean, Tool and Lana Del Rey.
The latest taste of the forthcoming project–the brooding, building "Gone"–tells a torturous tale of exiting a collapsing relationship, with a pulsing beat that feeds a sense of uneasiness. The band says, "'Gone'" is a song that looks into the vapid nature of brief romantic encounters and the hyperbole that can become so monotonous, it makes you jaded." The track came about at the end of a jam session during a songwriting retreat in The Burren on the West Coast of Ireland. Lead vocalist, guitarist and bassist Pamela Connolly adds, "Lines like, 'I was in your top five things to do' convey a lack of self-worth that’s tackled throughout the album. It’s a song that showcases a vulnerability that allows for no silver linings–it's the reality of how someone is feeling in the moment."
Watch "Gone" (Official Visualizer)
In November 2023, the band shared the first taste of the project with "Suffer," filled with soul-stirring lyrics and a melancholic melody that captures the ache of heartbreak and the struggle to let go. It premiered on Huw Stephens show on BBC 6 and garnered support from Stereogum, The Line of Best Fit, DIY Magazine, Dork, Hot Press and more. To coincide with the release, the group played a string of dates around EU and UK throughout the month including a sold out London show and an appearance at Germany's Rolling Stone Beach. This summer, Pillow Queens are set to perform throughout the UK including their biggest show yet in Dublin on July 13. See a full list of dates below with tickets on sale now here.
Formed in 2016, Pillow Queens–made up of Pamela Connolly (lead vocals, guitar, bass), Sarah Corcoran (vocals, guitar, bass), Cathy McGuinness (vocals, lead guitar) and Rachel Lyons (vocals, drums)–burst onto the scene with their debut demo EP Calm Girls, leading to a string of UK and Irish dates and festival appearances. The release of their follow up EP State of the State prompted Hot Press to write the band is, "currently lauded by any critic worth their salt." Their debut album In Waiting arrived in 2020 and received praise from The Guardian, who called them “2020’s most exciting indie rockers,” NPR, NME, and The Line of Best Fit, they were named a Band To Watch by Stereogum, received an Irish Album of The Year nomination and made their first U.S. national television appearance remotely on the Late Late Show with James Corden.
Taking the world by storm, the band went on to tour North America, UK and Europe, play at SXSW and open for IDLES, Pavement, and later, Phoebe Bridgers in Glasgow. Upon the 2022 release of their sophomore album Leave The Light On, Pitchfork wrote, "Pillow Queens make the kind of noise that tends to flourish live, roared back by the faithful: burnished heartland euphoria, defiant lyricism bolstered by ragged harmonies, lashings of pride, and an unabashed love of crescendos." The Guardian added, "Sonically, the album evokes the work of Americana-influenced alt-rock musicians such as Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten and even the Killers – a sound that is both epically transcendent and comfortingly gritty." DIY Magazine raved about the band's evolution, stating, "'Leave The Light On’ swaps this sense of personal heritage for introspection, pairing delicate self-reflection with sounds far grander than their previous release," and the band once again received an Irish Album Of The Year nomination, as well as made their debut in-person late night TV show appearance, once again on the Late Late Show with James Corden. Now, in 2024, fueled by an elevated sound and unflinching honesty, Pillow Queens are prepared to ascend to new heights.
The highly anticipated third studio album by Pillow Queens, Name Your Sorrow, is due out April 19 and available for pre-order now. The fiery new offering from the forthcoming project, "Gone," is out everywhere now. Experience Pillow Queens live across the UK this June and later, at their biggest show to date at Iveagh Gardens in Dublin on July 13 with tickets on sale now here. Stay tuned for much more to come from Pillow Queens via Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
Watch "Suffer" (Official Visualizer) | Listen
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Name Your Sorrow (LP) Tracklist
- February 8th
- Suffer
- Like A Lesson
- Blew Up The World
- Friend Of Mine
- The Bar's Closed
- Gone
- So Kind
- Heavy Pour
- One Night
- Love II
- Notes On Worth
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Pillow Queens Live
UK & Ireland
Summer 2024
Jun. 5 - Leeds, UK - Wardrobe
Jun. 6 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece
Jun. 7 - London, UK - Brixton Electric
Jun. 8 - Manchester, UK - YES Pink Room
Jun. 10 - Newcastle, UK - Cluny
Jun. 11 - Glasgow, UK - Saint Lukes
Jul. 13 - Dublin, IR - Iveagh Gardens
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Pillow Queens Bio
There comes a point when every band finds themselves in a new place on the horizon. The precocious snarls of youth gone, the invincibility of being new – and Pillow Queens have been one of the most acclaimed new bands in recent years - now replaced by something else. A feeling of being unburdened and unafraid, of dropping the ballast of what other people might think. This is not to suggest a band who have softened, or rejected the music that made their name, if anything the new material places them in another realm, open to seriousness and vulnerability. The band’s timeline runs parallel to huge social and cultural change in Ireland, and queerness and Irish identity have always underpinned the songs. There hadn’t, in short, been a band quite like them before in Ireland.
An unlikely touchstone for this record was ‘Atlantis’, a poem by Irish poet Eavan Boland. Amid a swell of language, the poet searches for a specific word; “to convey that what is gone is gone forever and never found.” This quest defines the intense experiences that run through this extraordinary album. It’s there in each pocket of heartbreak, every hazy chorus of loss. The songs are a map of hurt and longing, of second-guessing and desire, the title of the record - Name Your Sorrow – is based on a line from the poem. The band believe it’s a more “blatant” album emotionally; not that they haven’t been this truthful before. But there was always metaphor to fall back on, oscillations of noise to hide behind. Name Your Sorrow is a more exposed record: no masks, no obliqueness, just a raw, open landscape of feeling. “You don’t have to scratch the surface too much to see what these songs are about”, offers Pamela Connolly. Sarah Corcoran likens it to physical experiences that are painful up to a point, but then “you get used to the pain and it has a positive inward effect.”
After forming in 2016, the band released a series of singles, honing their craft and working towards their first album, In Waiting (2020). Along the way there has been acclaim from UK and American press, many sold-out gigs and an appearance on James Corden's Late Late Show. After signing with Canada’s Royal Mountain Records, they released a follow-up album, Leave the Light On in 2022, touring the UK, US and Europe extensively, including shows at Austin’s SXSW and supporting Phoebe Bridgers in Glasgow.
Three albums in three years indicates a serious work ethic, for Name Your Sorrow they stuck to a strict schedule. Cathy McGuinness explains that they showed up every day from 9-5, in a windowless Dublin room to just play, swap instruments and experiment. From there, they decamped to a rural retreat in County Clare along the Atlantic coastline of Ireland, to immerse themselves further. “We got on this very non-verbal kind of wavelength, where you just kind of picked up your instruments. It was very instinctive and the most communal experience we’d ever had of working.”
The palpable shift in sound and tone is possibly the result of working with a new producer, Collin Pastore from Nashville, who has produced boygenius, Lucy Dacus and Illuminati Hotties. The band holed up for three weeks at Analogue Catalogue studio in Newry, and quickly noticed that the change of scene and personnel impacted on the record. In the past, they knew exactly how a song would sound before they’d recorded it. “With Collin we’d record something, listen back and think, ‘that’s not how I thought it would sound’, but it’s better”, admits Rachel Lyons. Before Pastore’s arrival, and thanks to the 9-5 process and the retreat, by the time the band got to the studio the songs were fully developed and ready to record.
The band weren’t thinking about three-minute radio tracks – even though they’ve been a mainstay of UK radio playlists, including BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 1 - but each song tends towards brevity. During their day-long sessions, they’d break the longer recordings into songs, and reassemble the parts, a sort of Frankenstein process. And this monstrosity – of heartache and the physicality of loss and pain – makes sense, especially in how the album sounds. Pamela says they “started quietly, and then the loudness came later”, evident in the more reflective ‘Blew Up the World’ and ‘Notes on Worth’ and the rasping guitars of ‘Gone’ and ‘One Night’. In the past, the band were against writing album songs that they couldn’t replicate live, but they’ve incorporated a grand piano and harmonica here. Analogue Catalogue studio (which is 100% female-owned) is also home to a collection of vintage equipment and amps, some of which belonged to New Order, so the band took the opportunity to play around with them, and “got their hands dirty”.
The result of combining new experimentation, heartfelt lyrics and a sound that pinballs from quiet and loud offers a kind of catharsis. Of picking through the shrapnel to find slivers of hope. Previously, the band have road-tested new tracks live, playing them to an audience and reworking them based on the crowd’s reaction. They haven’t done that this time, because the songs already feel fully formed. The band also had to unlearn the process of questioning whether a song sounded like “a Pillow Queens song”. There are definite links to the last two albums, but Name Your Sorrow feels like a triumphant step in another direction.
“I think this record is us being much more secure in our abilities. We just wanted to be true to the songs and true to ourselves”, says Rachel. Between them, they compiled a list of musical references, which are as eclectic as they are surprising: from Vampire Weekend to Barbara Streisand, Frank Ocean, Tool to Lana Del Rey. For now, listeners will have to wait to see how this whirl of influences will combine with PQ’s reputation as a consummate live band. The literary echoes don’t stop with ‘Atlantis’, extending to John Keats, and C.S. Lewis’ A Grief Observed. A second poem by Eavan Boland, ‘Love’, also made its mark, inching its way into the title of the final song. It asks, as this wild, heartsore record does over and over, Will we ever live so intensely again?
Sinéad Gleeson
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