Name Your Sorrow Sees Pillow Queens Get Moody And Noisy
Pillow Queens‘ Name Your Sorrow; a third album filled with moody bangers to bring to your next therapy appointment
Pillow Queens, the queer indie rockers Pamela Connolly, Sarah Corcoran, Cathy McGuinness and Rachel Lyons, deliver a stirring and emotionally charged third album with Name Your Sorrow. Clocking in at 44 minutes, this release sees the band exploring new sonic landscapes while delving deep into the complex interplay between joy, sorrow, and grief that we experience as relationships change and ultimately end.
In the lead-up to the album, the band partnered with artist Stephen Considine of Bipolar Bear to commission an interactive mural on Dublin’s Chancery Lane. The mural invites passersby to reflect on the sorrows and joys of their life; as the theme of the album urges us to accept that good and bad come as a package deal.
From the outset, it’s evident that Pillow Queens are unafraid to push boundaries and embrace experimentation. The album takes listeners on a journey through the collapse of a relationship on a musical background of catchy riffs, grungy basslines and haunting melodies. Starting with a fresh take on an eerie rock tune, ‘February 8th’ and the previously released track, ‘Suffer’, showcase the Dubliners’ evolution, with gritty instrumentals complementing the raw emotion of the lyrics. The latter seamlessly encapsulates the hypocrisy of suffering for love in a doomed relationship.
What sets ‘Name Your Sorrow‘ apart is its willingness to explore the multifaceted and somewhat contradictory nature of human experience. Pillow Queens don’t shy away from darkness or despair; instead, they confront these themes head-on, weaving them into a tapestry of sound that is as cathartic as it is captivating. Songs like ‘Blew Up The World’ and ‘The Bar’s Closed’ are things one could bring straight to the therapist’s office, reminding us how beautiful and utterly catastrophic our connection to other people and ourselves can be. The penultimate track ‘Love II’ exquisitely articulates the struggle of re-finding yourself coupled with the bizarre desire to still mean something to someone you’re in the process of getting over. Each song feels like a journey through the depths of the soul, with the band’s signature blend of vulnerability and resilience shining through.
Lyrically, the album is a masterclass in storytelling. Pillow Queens have a knack for crafting poignant narratives that resonate on a deeply personal level. Notes on Worth doesn’t hold back diving right into the need to relieve loneliness by receiving intimacy and comfort with the lyric “Suddenly you’re all I’m needing / craving that one night wife/I don’t wanna go home alone this weekend / I think I’m worth the time”. However, the band reminds us that with sorrow, moments of joy are tangled right next to it, the song ‘Friend of Mine’ does this by pairing jovial guitar riffs and lyrics that reminisce on the changing ties we have to each other.
Despite the heavy subject matter, there’s an undeniable energy coursing through Name Your Sorrow. Known for being crowd-pleasing performers, Pillow Queens infuse every track with a sense of urgency and passion that is impossible to ignore. Upbeat and noisy bangers like ‘Heavy Pour’, ‘So Kind’ and ‘Like A Lesson’ are sure to impress crowds this summer, as the band are set to perform at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens on July 13th
Name Your Sorrow is a triumph for Pillow Queens, it is an album worth leaving on repeat as it gets better with every listen. It’s a testament to the power of four Irish lesbian musicians and their ability to offer a sort of collective catharsis in the form of an excellent third album.
