Brilliant Pillow Queens pull no punches with powerful debut

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

Proudly queer and passionate about matters of social justice – Pillow Queens have consistently provided an anthemic soundtrack for an evolving Ireland since their formation in 2016.  The Dublin four-piece’s mesh of punk-rock ideals and pop sensibilities has informed a sound that is emphatic in every sense.

Their catalogue boasts tracks on religion, sexuality and political reform, but it is equally drawn to major hooks and catchy melodies. It’s pop with intent – songs that stay stuck in your head and impactful ideas that accompany them.

Pillow Queens last month released In Waiting, a ten-track debut album that builds on the sincerity and intensity of their previous work.

Perhaps more important than the size of the topics broached on this record is the intimacy and personality with which they are discussed.

Politics aren’t shoehorned into the LP – these are songs and subjects that have seeped their way into the minds of Sarah Corcoran, Pamela Connolly, Cathy McGuinness and Rachel Lyons. Despite references to positive social change, there is an anxiety and uncertainty that comes with each step forward.

The album opens with Holy Show, an angsty reflection on a personal revelation. It matches the nervous insistence of Gay Girls – a song and refrain (“I won’t worry about the gay girls/ I pray for them when I wring my hands”) that seems set on emboldening and encouraging both Pamela Connolly herself and the community to which she is singing.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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