The Special Pillow are back and they just get better and better. Completely out of kilter with their Hoboken, New Jersey surroundings, they specialise in a clever mix of Indie Pop and Psych Pop, completely emptying the instrument cupboard.
The alternating male and female vocals help variety, but more relevant are the directions that they take, sometimes mid song. Arrangements are complex at times, but the songs sound so simple with the odd exception and above all, the sheer catchiness just enthrals you.
Every one of these six songs is nothing like the other five and that versatility shines through. This is essentially the quirky Indie that I absolutely adore. So where do I start? Consecutively perhaps? Three On The Sundial is probably the most straight ahead song and that isn't that straight. This is great New Wave Pop with different instruments joining in randomly.
A Certain Level Of Uncertainty is probably the song I enjoy the most, largely due to my absolute adoration of Psych Pop. It is aided by Katie Gentile's Viola and Violin which also joins in the wonderful chaos that closes the song.
Gentle takes on the vocal for the Ragtime that is Fond And Foggy, the Brass arrangement is outstanding. Give Up The Ghost sounds so Bowie Berlin instrumentally, yet That's The Way Its Got To Be is all 60s Spy Movie sound. Very 1967.
Then the closing, Nowhere To Go But Home is part Peaky Blinders, part Americana melancholia. Splendidly moody and dark with its haunting strings. Meets The Super Monster is even more inventive than Special Pillow have gone before and that is some going. Absolutely Magnificent!
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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