Pillow Talk

Just as they exist within all things, dualities exist within all bands, so it isn’t unusual for music to exhibit two styles or moods or attitudes. Some bands display these sides when they flip from verse to chorus, calm to violent, simple to complex, and in innumerable other ways. The dual sides of Pillow Talk, however, overlap—literally blur—despite their seeming contradiction. Pillow Talk started as a side project between vocalist Josh Cannon and guitarist Calvin Lauber, though it became immediately clear to them that the project was worth developing into something more substantial. After finding some friends to fill out the lineup, the band began booking shows with The World is a Beautiful Place and I'm No Longer Afraid to Die, Citizen, and Polar Bear Club, and crossed the midwest on a couple of tours, but learned firsthand the discomfort of such a rapid rise. “The first year of touring really was full of growing pains,” says Lauber, “Both within the band and within our personal lives.” The band includes on this list a tornado, which they drove into during their second tour. Though they walked away with their lives and gear, their van and trailer were totaled. “Coming home and being alive was completely surreal,” Lauber adds. “It made us view our music and being in a band much differently. For the first time, we decided it was necessary to stay home and write for a few months so we could find a sound that we could call our own.” Pillow Talk displays this new sound on What We Should Have Said. Though their debut EP Recreational Feelings exhibits a certain sinister beauty, this five-song follow-up reveals a band that has teased their sound into something bigger and bottomless—more sinister, more beautiful. “This new EP is the first sight of the path we plan to follow musically,” Lauber says, “delving into lush soundscapes, modulated ambient guitar sounds, and catchy vocal melodies, we found influence from 80s bands such as The Cure, The Smiths, and My Bloody Valentine.” It’s here where Pillow Talk’s duality emerges most clearly. Musically, What We Should Have Said swirls with cavernous chords, flickering leads, and breathy, murmuring bass. Billowing beneath Sam Leathers' terse drums—his snare like a firework’s distant report—the EP captures the blurry layers that epitomize shoegaze. But contrary to that style’s mumbling, meandering vocal conventions, Cannon delivers his lyrics with a charisma that make his melodies memorable and relatable. “Whether it’s losing a close friend and band member or missing someone you thought you'd spend your life with,” Lauber explains, “we wrote these lyrics with the intentions of showing ourselves and our listeners how to process the stress and depression often associated with moving on without having the same people in your life.” Of course, there’s the additional layer—the duality beside the duality—since Pillow Talk’s latest EP takes trial and turmoil and turns it into music that’s delicate and lush and decidedly beautiful.