RISING BAND’S US DEBUT
IRISH indie rock bank Pillow Queens are celebrating after making their debut on American television this week.
The four-piece, which features Arklow woman Cathy McGuinness, impressed audiences with their performance of song ‘Liffey’ on the ‘Late Late Show with James Corden’ last Tuesday.
Their appearance on the popular American late-night chat show came shortly after the band’s debut album, ‘In Waiting’ was shortlisted for a major Irish music award.
Speaking to this paper, Cathy McGuinness said the group are ‘delighted’ with the response to their debut on US TV.
‘James reached out to our manager in December. But our manager was setting our expectations that it could fall through or not happen. We’re on cloud nine.’
Band members Sarah Corcoran and Pamela Connolly joined the comedian James Corden remotely for an interview on the popular American show.
The indie rock band are also nominated for the RTÉ Choice Prize Album of the Year for their debut, ‘In Waiting’.
‘We’re delighted with the nomination, but we’re up against stiff competition, including some of our friends. It’s a huge honour,’ Cathy said.
The band came together in 2016, recording their first EP ‘Calm Girls’. Its positive reception led to a series of shows in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The quartet of Sarah Corcoran, Pamela Connolly, Rachel Lyons, and Cathy McGuinness have built a reputation as one of Dublin’s best new bands and developed a devoted following on Dublin’s indie music scene.
Their debut record was independently released by the group last year after they set up their own music label. However, as Cathy explained, the group had been hoping planned performances at the South by South West Music Festival 2020 in Austin, Texas would help them to sign to a label. Then Covid-19 stepped in and the band adapted their plans, leading to the independent release of their debut, which has achieved widespread critical acclaim.
‘We were working on the mixes and decided to release it ourselves. The move gave us more autonomy than we might have had with a label’.
While the group was ‘confident in what we were putting out, we weren’t sure how it would be received’.
Cathy describes herself as a ‘proud Arklow girl’ whose whole family live in the town.
‘I’m based in Dublin, but I try to get back as much as possible,’ she said. Her parents are Brendan McGuinness and Sally Tyrell. Dad Brendan taught Cathy her first few chords on the guitar. She also took guitar lessons with John Nolan of Conary.
This year looks set to be a busy one for the band, with lots of ‘exciting stuff ’ on the horizon. A postponed Pillow Queens tour is also on the cards, when Covid-19 restrictions allow live entertainment to resume. The band have been keeping busy, working on songs for their second album.
‘We had been writing songs before this lockdown. We’re really happy with the sound every time we write. We’re looking forward to the second album,’ Cathy added.