CLASH
“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…”
GIGWISE
“Where do we go when all we’ve got is ourselves? That’s the question the sophomore album from Irish rock four-piece Pillow Queens attempts to answer across it’s 44-minute run-time; and through a concoction of stadium-ready choruses, shrieking guitars and heavenly vocal arrangement it does so with aplomb.
Consisting of vocalists Sarah Corcoran and Pamela Connolly, as well as lead guitarist Cathy McGuiness and drummer Rachel Lyons, Pillow Queens first came together following the breakdown of member's previous bands. Determined to hit the ground running, the band released their debut project Calm Girl in December of the same year…”
THE LINE OF BEST FIT
”September 2020 saw the release of their debut album, In Waiting. At times slow-burning and at other times anthemic, the indie-rock record set them up as a band with a whole lot of promise. Since then, they’ve been quietly building up both their fanbase and their confidence, finding an even surer sense of self the second time around.
The Irish quartet have always been pretty exceptional at making main character music; think fireside evenings with friends and roof-down road trips in summer. It’s why their feature on the coming-of-age Dating Amber soundtrack made so much sense, and it’s a spirit that’s kept alive throughout their most recent project. On Leave The Light On, their sound is cohesive without being one note; they take their time without labouring the point…”
September 2020 saw the release of their debut album, In Waiting. At times slow-burning and at other times anthemic, the indie-rock record set them up as a band with a whole lot of promise. Since then, they’ve been quietly building up both their fanbase and their confidence, finding an even surer sense of self the second time around.
DIY
“Given the far-reaching success of their independently-released debut, it would have been easy for Dublin’s Pillow Queens to repeat the process verbatim. Perfectly capturing place, family and identity, 2020’s ‘In Waiting’ saw the four-piece break both sides of the Atlantic, even securing two slots on US TV. Yet ‘Leave The Light On’ swaps this sense of personal heritage for introspection, pairing delicate self-reflection with sounds far grander than their previous release. Awash with electric guitars equally as influenced by tradition as cathartic night drives, ‘Leave The Light On’ delves into the power of loneliness. Challenging the definition through both lyrics and sound, Pillow Queens deliberately play with light and heavy…”
POP MATTERS
“Someday, you will have my head—you will have my head on a silver plate….” He is, for some, one of the more polarizing late-night television personalities. Say what you will, or might have already uttered about James Cordon, but in early 2021, he is responsible for introducing North America to Pillow Queens.
The quartet released their debut full-length, In Waiting, in their native Ireland in the autumn of 2020. Reminiscent of when there was often a long gap between the international release of a record and when it arrived in the US, In Waiting officially found its way onto a North American label in November of last year…”
DORK
“There’s a sensational duality in the alternative rock stylings of Irish four-piece Pillow Queens, and their second album is no exception to this. A complex dyad of intimate sensitivity and anthemic passion, ‘Leave The Light On’ marries the vociferous strength of lead vocalist Sarah Corcoran and the angelic backing vocals of her fellow bandmates. With this golden formula, they explore the transience of emotions and the journeys our relationships to ourselves and others take.
Despite delving so deeply into the core of their feelings, Pillow Queens effortlessly translate them into uplifting and, quite frankly, badass tunes. Thanks to the fuzzed-out noodling of Pamela Connolly and Cathy McGuiness along with the thumping percussion of Rachel Lyons, every track is imbued with a confidence to speak its truth. ‘Hearts & Minds’ is the pristine specimen for this, a study in the insecurity of adolescence that still pumps with the enthusiasm of a rock ballad…”