Album of the Week – 1/04/22

There are new albums this week from Confidence Man (Tilt), Daniel Johns (FutureNever) and Plastikman & Chilly Gonzales (Consumed in Key). There’s even a new EP from the legend that is  Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, this time along with Fences (Niagara EP).

But none of those took our top prize! It’s the difficult second album from the Pillow Queens ( Leave The Light On) but they’ve made it look very easy indeed!

Album of the Week – Pillow Queens – Leave The Light On

To make Leave the Light On, the second full-length album from Dublin’s Pillow Queens, the band looked towards introspection. It’s a lonely record, evoking feelings of late night drives on back roads where you digest the day and quietly change lanes. Make no mistake: loneliness doesn’t mean alone, necessarily. On Leave the Light On, the band’s first record with Royal Mountain, loneliness is a warm space to reflect, to meditate. To quote the writer Maggie Nelson in her experimental work of auto-theory Bluets: “When I was alive, I aimed to be a student not of longing but of light.” Leave the Light On is a record not of longing but of light. It glows in tungsten. It is a record of queer dream blues.

Leave the Light On comes at a time where things are rapidly accelerating for the band, which consists of Pamela Connolly, Sarah Corcoran, Rachel Lyons, and Cathy McGuinness. After the success of their first record, 2020’s In Waiting, Pillow Queens went on to play bigger venues, festivals, and played James Corden. Music became a full time occupation for the band. At a point where most artists would get less personal and inward, Pillow Queens did the opposite. Leave the Light On is their most inward-focused release to date. It’s also a record about exploring the unknown, and for yearning.

Albums of Note:

— Confidence Man – Tilt

— Daniel Johns – FutureNever

— Fences and and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Niagara EP

— Plastikman & Chilly Gonzales – Consumed in Key

— Warmduscher – At The Hotspot

April 1st:

— Alabaster DePlume – Gold

— Aldo Nova – The Life and Times of Eddie Gage EP

— Amine Mesnaoui and Labelle – African Prayers

— Ancient Settlers – Our Last Eclipse

— Anya Anastasia – Dissenter EP

— Autómata – Autómata

— Battle Ave – I Saw The Egg

— Beau Diako – Nylon

— Ben Vida and Lea Bertucci – Murmurations

— Bittter – Sad Songs For Happy People

— The Bloodstreams – Clockwork Man

— Blue Wilson – Future Street

— Bobby Duncan – Maybe This Time

— Brix Smith and Marty Willson-Piper – Lost Angeles

— Can – Monster Movies (Vinyl Reissue)

— Can – Soundtracks (Vinyl Reissue)

— Carpenter Brut – Leather Terror

— Casually Here – Possible Worlds

— Celtic Hills – Huldufólk

— Centinex – The Pestilence EP

— Chris Imler – Operation Schönheit

— Christian Alexander – I Don’t Like You

— Christian Lee Hutson – Quitters

— Cinthie – DJ-Kicks

— Claudie Dada – La Pensée Javel

— Club d’Elf – You Never Know

— Community Theater – Having Everything EP

— Con Deer – Maximalist

— Confidence Man – Tilt

— Crows – Beware Believers

— Damian Lazarus – (Music Inspired by The Film) Beijing Spring

— Daniel Johns (of Silverchair) – FutureNever

— DARE – Road to Eden

— Daryl Hall – BeforeAfter

— The Dead Tongues – Dust

— Deathcave – II EP

— Design Flaw – Beasts of A Future Decay EP

— Desparecidos (feat. Conor Oberst) – Live at Shea Stadium

— Devon Kay & The Solution – Grieving Expectation

— Dirty Shirt – Get Your Dose Now!

— Donny Benét – Le Piano EP

— Doris Day – Early Day—Rare Songs from the Radio 1939-1950

— Doris Day – My Heart (Vinyl Reissue)

— Dusk – The Relic

— Elliah Heifetz – First Generation American

— Erisy Watt – Eyes Like The Ocean

— EUNOIA – Psyop Of The Year

— Eve’s Twin Lover – Stop Sending People To Kill Me

— Evil Invaders – Shattering Reflection

— Fatherson – Normal Fears

— Fences and and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Niagara EP

— Field Works – Station

— Gerald Clayton – Bells On Sand

— The Golden Glows – On Moonlight And Rain

— Gooseberry – Broken Dance EP

— Gov’t Mule – Heavy Load Blues (Deluxe Edition)

— Graeme James – Seasons

— Grateful Dead – Dick’s Picks Vol. 19—10/19/73

— Greenbeard – Variant

— The Greyboy Allstars – Get a Job: Music from the Original Broadcast Series Soul Dream

— The Hara – We All Wear Black EP

— Hari Sima – Solo en Occidente

— Horojo Trio – Set The Record

— I KLATUS – Targeted

— Jeremie Albino – Past Dawn EP

— Jon Spencer & the HITmakers – Spencer Gets It Lit!

— Kaktus Einarsson – Remix The Ladder

— Karima Walker – Demos EP

— King Garbage – Heavy Metal Greasy Love

— Kublai Khan TX – Lowest Form of Animal EP

— LAPÊCHE – Spirit Bunnies (Remixes) EP

— Lia Hide – The Missing Fourth Guest

— Lights – PƎP

— Lords of the Trident – The Offering

— Luaka Bop – I Just Want To Be a Good Man

— Mayer Hawthorne – Man About Town (Vinyl Reissue)

— Melissa Manchester – Live ’77

— Meshuggah – Immutable

— Michelle Ullestad – SOL EP

— Misfire – Sympathy For The Ignorant

— Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Crooked Tree

— The Most Distant Object – The Most Distant Object

— Nakaya – Fire Becomes Me EP

— Nekrogoblikon – The Fundamental Slimes and Humours

— Night Palace – Diving Rings

— No Frills – Downward Dog

— Northlane – Obsidian

— Papercuts – Past Life Regression

— Pattern-Seeking Animals – Only Passing Through

— Paul Cauthen – Country Coming Down

— Pillow Queens – Leave The Light On

— Plastikman & Chilly Gonzales – Consumed in Key

— Psymon Spine – Charismatic Mutations

— PUP – THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND

— Red Hot Chili Peppers – Unlimited Love

— Reminders – Best of Beach Punk

— Revolver – Rephlummoxed

— Rocket From The Crypt – Group Sounds (Vinyl Reissue)

— Rocket From The Crypt – Live From the X-Ray (Vinyl Reissue)

— Sally Shapiro – Sad Cities (Remix Album)

— Sam Kogon – Sam Kogon EP

— Scrunchies – Feral Coast

— Selbor – Mensaje

— Shaina Taub – Songs of the Great Hill

— Spineshank – The Height of Callousness (Vinyl Reissue)

— Shrimpnose – Under Fire!

— Sondre Lerche – Avatars of Love

— Soundwalk Collective (feat. Charlotte Gainsbourg) – LOVOTIC

— Suzi Moon – Animal EP

— T-Shyne – Confetti Nights

— Tempers – New Meaning

— Thomas Rhett – Where We Started

— TREASVRE – Stick the Knife In

— Trick Or Treat – Creepy Symphonies

— Various Artists – The Others [Lustmord Deconstructed]

— Varjo-Orkesteri – Prima Volta

— Violet Blend – Demons

— Walt Disco – Unlearning

— Warmduscher – At The Hotspot

— The Weight Band – Shines Like Gold

— Whimsy – Melt

— Wolf – Shadowland

— Wrath Of The Nebula – The Ruthless Leviathan

— Yamash’ta and Masahiko Satoh – Sunrise From West Sea (Reissue)