So, James – time for a Blind Taste Test.
I’ve chosen Name Your Sorrow by Pillow Queens for a few reasons. I think, in many ways, they’re a band, and this is an album, which you should already be listening to. An all female four piece who play indie tunes with a mix of punk and pop sensibilities, occasionally talking about important issues but doing it in a fun and engaging way. Pretty much your wheelhouse.
They’ve been a slow burner band for me, though. So how this will work in a Blind Taste Test remains to be seen. This is their third album, and while each album has had strong moments this one was the first one to stick with me as a whole.
Will you love it? Who fucking knows.
Thanks Fran. It’s been a while since we’ve done a Blind Taste Test, but weirdly glad that my awkward reputation is still in your mind. You’re right though, on paper they do seem to hit a lot of the right marks for me. Pillow Queens is a name I definitely know, most likely from you, but I also definitely know I’ve not listened to them. It’s about time I did. The one red flag is album title – I prefer having a laugh to sorrow. So will I love it? Let’s find out.
‘February 8th’ kicks things off and it’s immediately a more electronic tinge to their overall band sound than I had anticipated. I like the vocals immediately. A quick internet search and I see they’re from Ireland, and I think they have something in common, sound wise, with other Irish bands around at the moment. Just Mustard being one we both like that springs to mind. The track builds nicely towards the end. A promising start.
‘Suffer’ is next. There’s a dramatic, stomping, electronic beat that opens into a much lighter, almost poppy sound with much more focus on melody and traditional song structure, rather than building a mood. This is contrasted by the lyrics ‘no matter how long we suffer’. For another contemporary Irish comparison, the vocals on this track, influenced by the subtle close harmony, bring CMAT to mind.
‘Like a Lesson’ opens with a repeated guitar line, simple drums and more CMAT like vocals. It’s like something from the radio in the mid to late 90s. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I love the deadpan delivery of the central crisis in the lyrics, ‘ I don’t want to ruin my life but I want to go home with you’. I was starting to think maybe it’s not CMAT at all but simply what singing with a Dublin accent sounds like. But she’s now getting into CMAT territory with the lyrics too. It’s certainly not a comparison I was expecting to draw from this album. And this continues into ‘Blew Up the World’ with the line ‘I brought it up in therapy’ and vocals really shining with a sparse instrumental backing, similar harmonies and melodies that sneakily stick to your subconscious long after you’ve finished listening.
Only four tracks in and plenty to say already. And I’m realising that my expectations around this album were based as much, if not more, on knowing you Fran than on your introductory blurb. Which is why ‘Friend of Mine’, with its festival ready singalong chorus, stands out for me as something I wouldn’t have thought you would like. Within the context of Name Your Sorrow, it lacks a little of the same songwriting depth – I’ll be interested to chat to you after this and get your thoughts. ‘The Bar’s Closed’, slows things down, brings more intensity, adds a nice drony folk element and gets back to more thoughtful songwriting. There’s not a moment to catch your breath before ‘Gone’, which continues in a similar, albeit more uptempo theme. The CMAT comparisons are by now well left behind in the first half of the album and, as yet, I’m struggling to put my finger on exactly who this is reminding me of. But I imagine it will be an angsty guitar band from the late 90s.
‘So Kind’ has some lovely guitar playing combined with real energy and melodies that I can see going down very well live. Coupled with the following song ‘Heavy Pour’ I’m getting the sense that, this being their third album, I’m listening to a band that has really gained confidence and honed their sound over time. I will certainly want to go back to their earlier albums to see how they’ve progressed. All wrapped up in this is my impression that they’re very much, without necessarily compromising any integrity, playing to what a live audience wants. And maybe this explains why I think you are a Pillow Queens fan – entirely because you have been on this journey with them. But anyway this is supposed to be about what I think, not what I think you think.
‘One Night’ brings the band’s heaviest sound on the album, yet still bringing that element of live euphoria. Getting towards the end, I’m conscious as with any of our Blind Taste Tests, that I’m not really doing the lyrics justice. ‘Notes On Worth’, along with many other songs here, definitely has plenty of lyrics to unpack – indeed it brings together all the best elements of songs throughout Name Your Sorrow and is more than a fitting ending. So I might not write about the lyrics so much here, but I’ll promise I’ll come back and listen more closely a few more times. Given that I’ve enjoyed almost everything that this album has to offer, I know that definitely won’t be a chore. Thanks for the recommendation!
Words by James Spearing
Picky Bastards 