Review | “Emotional collision of music and lyrical expression” Pillow Queens – Leave The Light On

If In Waiting was the introduction, then Leave The Light On is the grand opening. A swing for the fence’s record, alive with sound and emotion. Pillow Queens sophomore offering opens the scope sonically while maintaining the bands’ ability to write heart wrenching songs that hit with melody and meaning. 

The harmony-rich ‘Be By Your Side’ kicks-off proceedings with a glimpse into the widescreen production of Leave The Light On. From the outset, Pillow Queens grab the listener, either with the depth of sound or the depth of songwriting. This sonic sea shift finds lines like “Watching another night of flying away from me. We laugh about the ups and downs like they don’t hurt. Softening the edge, so I slip right through the dirt.” having an added impact. 

This emotional collision of music and lyrical expression runs right through Leave The Light On. Whether its the swaying dynamism of ‘House That Sailed Away’, the lush choruses of ‘No Good Woman’ or the pounding backdrop of album closer ‘Try Try Try’, you feel every bit of tenderness, frustration and want that expressed in every word, note and beat. This is essential to the Pillow Queens and indeed Leave The Light On experience.

However, ‘Hearts & Minds’ is where Leave The Light On most captures the imagination. The point in which the lyrical and musical flourishes blends with the record’s heartfelt milieu. Once again, lyrics like “I come and pay in full I never wanted to thirst for inertia Now I’m draining the pool Now you see every hair out of place” have the power to match performance and production. 

And so it goes, Leave The Light On is made all the more powerful by the way Pillow Queens perform it. Pillow Queens is a band who connects with people because they write and perform from a place of absolute honesty. Leave The Light On builds on the rawness of their debut with a sound that finds the emotion in each word and note, bringing out the impactful nature of Pillow Queens all the more. An album of performance, production and presence.