Pillow Queens, Irish Indie Rockers Announce 3rd LP and Drop New Single, Gone
Photo Credit: Martyna Bannister
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.”
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 shared 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.
Name Your Sorrow is out everywhere April 19th
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
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 CathyMcGuinness 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." The heart felt lyrical work comes out in the performance of the co-vocalists Sarah Corcoran and Pamela Connolly, a heartbreaking feeling comes out strong through the story of Gone which sets the scene for the rest of the album.
Catch Pillow Queens on tour in the UK this summer
Photo Credit: Martyna Bannister
