Every Clinophile’s favourite band, Pillow Queens have hit it out of the park again with their second album, ‘Leave The Light On’. Exploring duality in their being, navigating their own sensitivities alongside strength, they have constructed an album of total vulnerability and heart wrenching beauty. They search inward and analyse their symbiotic connections with one another.
There’s an unmistakable air of vulnerability here. This isn’t simply writing about their experiences, there’s no passivity here. Instead, we traverse their self-exploration, the peeling back the layers.
‘Be By Your Side’ plays off of indie sensibilities whilst tugging on heartstrings. Exploring romance in an intense light, we see the intensity of being near bursting point, of feeling emotions you usually hold back and to find your purpose. And suitably, the track was the first the band finished on the album, “the quickest to become fully realised” as Pam says. Setting a perfect tone for an album that in itself is a burst of emotions and exploration.
We’re privy to all of the positives and negatives of the relationships that are alluded to throughout these 10 tracks. With the more tainted observations finding its feet and running. ‘House That Sailed Away’ plays on a heartstring usually silenced by either ignorance or self- preservation. Battling with the all too familiar situation of romance becoming something unwantedly platonic. It is the phrase “I like what I offer” that sticks, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste for those who are still learning to practice self-love.
Each track offers out a hand, a nod of appreciation to say, “I’ve been there”. It’s a break up album, yet a celebration of emotion, of seeing beauty in pain and pain in those moments that should be beautiful.
Noting their sound as “queer dream blues”, they play around with soft and harsh sounds. And similarly to their lyrical observations, the duality in such themes creates something truthful. The tracks ebb and flow, never stopping in a static moment but chasing a thought, an ideal and holding out hope.
With a live presence that precedes them, this album offers much more than the 10 songs it features. Expect a cathartic release from a crowd, a united experience of familiarity, pain and hope.
7/10
Words: Megan Walder
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