Pillo
Spaced Out Refugee
With comparisons to early Radiohead, Damien Rice and Sigur Ros under their belts, Pillo start out with a song that also adds Echo and the Bunnymen to their list.
‘Spaced Out Refugee’ is a warm and layered song with big drums and lots of eerie guitars. An endearing chorus follows a melodic verse, both showcasing a really appealing vocal. The bass hints at a Muse influence, pretending to follow the simplicity of the chord progression while actually exploring a subtle freedom that allows it to roam around a fair bit.
Approaching hesitantly on the heels of the first track, ‘Silence Between Us’ flickers brightly over a partially obscured wash of darkness. Things build up from the frail beginnings to sound a lot more like the layered sound used liberally in the opener. The vocals become less defeated and more defiant as things progress until they have reached their peak and fall away entirely.
‘Dream Drowning’ starts off ambiently, with brief echoed sounds appearing from all directions. The synth-strings provide the focus in amongst the almost random instrumentation.
With ‘Spaced Out Refugee’ having such a commercial sound, Pillo have really tried a bit too hard to show that they aren’t just pumping out a commercial pop sound by being as contrived and alternative as they can in their b-sides. With nothing in-between the two, this will come as a shock to their chart-buying listeners and a pleasant surprise for fans of the intellectual band world.
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Written by Smith on
