Charged, charming, and churning, ‘Hard Feelings, Soft Promises’ redefines what it means to be queer, indie, and unapologetically human as Nova Scotia’s Pillow Fite assert not just their identity or individuality, but their raw being through songs full of fire, heart, and visceral passion.
Stream: “More of That” – Pillow Fite
It’s about time you knew. I’m off my pills and I need a minute or two…
Feverish and tender, unfiltered and refined, Nova Scotian duo Pillow Fite are a series of bold, beautiful contrasts.
Their left-of-center indie rock is ruthlessly unapologetic and achingly vulnerable, and on their debut album, they pair let everything out. Charged, charming, and churning, Hard Feelings, Soft Promises redefines what it means to be queer, indie, and unapologetically human as Pillow Fite assert not just their identity or individuality, but their raw being through songs full of fire, heart, and visceral passion.
Eighteen dollar thrifted suit
Fit you like a glove
If I only, only knew
I wasn’t getting sleep that night
2am pulled around like that
I tried to make you some tea
Sitting on that vintage couch
At my Airbnb
Water in a Wendy’s cup
I was shy and I can’t look up
How do I go after that?
Grabbing your face, wanting it to last
Why’d it have to be so fast?
I’m not really sure,
but I’m sure I want more of that
– “More of That,” Pillow Fite
Released October 11, 2024 via LHM Records, Hard Feelings, Soft Promises is a spectacular introduction to Nova Scotia’s Pillow Fite. Comprised of Art Ross and Aaron Green, Pillow Fite like to say they “wield softness and make it sting.” Their songs are all tender tempests – gentle giants that hit hard and leave a lasting mark.
Their debut LP arrives three years after the band’s first release, and finds them realizing their full potential through songs that ache with the weight of the world, that highlight their own stories of love and life as queer individuals, and that capture their desire to blend indie rock and alt-pop with whatever they see fit.
“To give you the context of the band, Aaron and I met during the pandemic,” Art Ross tells Atwood Magazine. “By the time the world opened up again, we had spent numerous hours together quarantined, with only two guitars and a whole lot of time. We ended up writing close to 40 songs and getting a really good creative system in place and developed such a natural way of writing together, so it only took around 6 months to create the record. Over that time, I was dealing with one relationship ending while falling in love with someone new in short succession.”
“I think that thread and those opposing life changes run right through the record. Depending on the day, and what was going on around me, the vibe of the songs could be sweet and hopeful, or brutal and bitter. It was a real snapshot of our lives at the time and we leaned into it. We were both moving through a lot of instability. The fact that the songs were veering into such disparate realms emotionally seemed like an authentic portrait of where we were at while making the record. So we didn’t fight it and let the duality that’s always been part of Pillow Fite guide our debut full length.”
Ross and Green didn’t so much share a vision for a full album, as they did a commitment to maintaining open hearts and minds; to exploring where they could go and what they could make together.
“Like all of our music, we start with no preconceived ideas except it’s gotta be us as we are in the moment. We try to be blank slates that follow what the song wants to be, as much as possible. At the beginning of last year, we didn’t know what songs would be on the record. We just write when we have things to say or noise to make. But after writing songs like ‘Sunday’ and ‘February,’ the record started to take shape.”
“We never want to cage the songs into one box; rather, a combination of many small concepts that are intricately made to suit the narrative and feeling of the lyrics. The next song is rarely like the one before it. I don’t think the vision changed throughout, because from the get-go, we wanted to see what space each song wanted to live in and cater to that. For me, the record became real when Aaron and I listened to it fully, in order. We have typically been a single-oriented band; you can see in the record that each song features its own story, world or concept.”
Ross describes Hard Feelings, Soft Promises as complex, honest, and mercurial.
“Like everything else that is Pillow Fite, we are opposites,” they smile, speaking to the album’s title. “Our branding is obvious. From the name ‘Pillow’ and ‘Fite,’ the melancholic folk songs and alt-rock ballads, the emotional Art and pragmatist Aaron, the silly and the stoic – Pillow Fite hasn’t ever really existed in a gray area, rather, the black and white side by side. It’s a lot about contrast. The highs and lows we’re all going through. Trying to find the nice moments in a world that seems pretty shitty a lot of the time. Also finding the space to healthily vent the enormous frustrations that build up just trying to keep up with the current pace of life.”
“We are an emerging band that has made this record as a way to clearly introduce ourselves to the world. The record is unapologetic, thoughtful, and consistent with the image we portray in our branding, on stage and hopefully, on record too. What you hear is who we are as individuals, meeting in the middle distance we end up in when we put our heads together to create. The soft-boy music nerd and suave non-binary lead. The romantic Pisces and the detail-obsessed Virgo. We’re reliably unpredictable. I’m focused on the wider emotional landscape. Aaron is constantly fine tuning the execution of minute details. We get something we feel is greater than the sum of our parts, in spite of (or maybe because) we come from such different places with opposite approaches.”
Highlights abound on the journey from “Sunday” to “Camera Roll.”
“‘May’ is definitely a favourite for us on this record,” Ross says. “It was the last song completed for the record and written and realized rather quickly, after a couple too many pints on a school night. I was finally feeling like I’d put a lot of dark things behind me and the light at the end of that tunnel was getting much closer. Aaron had already finished producing a lot of the other songs and was feeling confident to play around with loops and different sounds. The production fell in place without a lot of messing around and it seemed to know what it wanted before we did.”
“I feel proud that our music is lyrically forward; I wouldn’t have it any other way,” they add. “In my view, lyrics are a tool for empathy and connection to the audience; almost like cheekily whispering a secret in their ear. I like that the lyrics are accessible and understandable. I love feeling that listeners can hear their own experiences in the lyrics. I am most proud of the lyrics in ‘Camera Roll,’ I wrote them honestly and grueling: ‘A stranger to friends/ An early nights end/ I drink too many still/ well spoken, I’ll pretend.’”
Ultimately, Hard Feelings, Soft Promises is a dynamic, dramatic, and instantly memorable introduction to Pillow Fite the band, and Pillow Fite the humans.
“I hope listeners get a sense of who we are, where we are going, and they want to be along for the ride,” Ross shares. “The queer lens the lyrics are delivered through is definitely something the world needs more of, but a lot of what we take on in terms of subject matter might be something a lot of folks can relate to and feel like ‘hey, me too.’ The Sunday blues before capitalism kicks our ass all week. The pills we’re taking to take the harsh edge off reality. The loneliness that can pervade in our modern digital existence.”
“But also, the flutter in your stomach when you make a genuine connection with someone. The comfort of having a safe space. The realization that you might actually be okay or, at least, not worry so much for a little while. None of these feelings exist in a vacuum or negate the others. We all exist on a wide spectrum of hopes and fears, and with information moving so quickly, I think it’s a struggle to maintain balance with that turbulence.”
“We’re really proud of the record. It’s been really great to interpret these songs on stage and get feedback in real time from the audience. I think we’ve learned a lot about how we should follow our gut and try to get out of our own way when making music. The industry is weirder than ever it seems, and it’s kind of an odd feeling to just float such a big piece of our hearts out into a streaming service and hope it connects. But that’s what we do. We made a thing. We hope you like it.”
Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Pillow Fite’s Hard Feelings, Soft Promises with Atwood Magazine as Art Ross and Aaron Green take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their debut album!
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:: stream/purchase Hard Feelings, Soft Promises here ::
:: connect with Pillow Fite here ::
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‘Hard Feelings, Soft Promises’ – Pillow Fite
:: Inside Hard Feelings, Soft Promises ::
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Sunday
Art: I dedicate this song to my mother. The person who taught me about the ‘sunday scaries’; I believe the anxiety of Monday was hereditary. I wrote this song in the depth of winter when I was just trying to keep my shit together and make it through another week. When I first brought the song to Aaron, I barely knew how to play it. But my wrist kept chugging at the strings in an almost irritated fashion.
Aaron: I’m a ‘90s kid and grew up listening to Nirvana and Soundgarden and Pavement and the Pixies. The way Art framed the power chords in the chorus and the spite of the lyrics, it really gave me that grungy, quiet-loud-quiet vibe that is buried deep in my brain. It also just popped out as ‘damn that’s a good album opener’ for the onset. I think it really sets the tone for the rest of the record.
Ativan
Art: This song was written in order to communicate with my then-partner’s partner. Yes, that’s right, the polyamory of it all; the niche feelings that arise in non-monogamous relationships. This song is a heavy-hearted, irate song that we paired with the juxtaposed up-beat pop production. The song is generally discussing jealousy within polyamory and the resentment that can come with balancing more than one relationship. I had never heard a song about polyamory before, but many people in our community practice it. I wanted to make a song that other people could confide in and feel sympathy.
Aaron: Art thought this song was a little too straight to the point when they brought it to me. But it just didn’t work as well without them saying exactly what they meant. I was listening to a lot of Girl In Red at the time and their song Bad Idea seemed like such a perfect influence for a song with lyrical content like this.
More of That
Art: I fell in love with Emily after knowing her for 5 hours. It was completely unplanned. I drove to Saint John, New Brunswick (a quaint seaside town with overflowing craft beer) in an attempt to escape my current living situation. After meeting at a bar among friends, Emily invited herself to my AirBnB. I remember coming home from that trip and telling Aaron I was in love. He, of course, thought I was simply being very lesbian and this fascination would die down after some time apart. But it didn’t and we spent the next year in a long-distance relationship.
Aaron: This was the first ‘Soft Promises’ type of song Art brought in. They write very quickly and I think a voice memo of this was in my inbox, probably the day after they had this fateful evening. This one came together pretty full formed. I just prettied it up with some Phillip Glass inspired piano textures and a big ass guitar riff in the bridge.
February
Art: I am of the belief that February is the most underrated month of the year. I feel like people mainly try to get through the bitter, dark, short month as painlessly as possible. In my opinion, February is for Valentine’s dinner parties in a tiny apartment, red cheeks and lots of wine. I think February is for confronting your seasonal affective disorder and figuring out what brings you joy to last throughout the year. I wanted February to be an emo anthem (read: Thanks For The Memories, Misery Business) that spoke kindly about this month that is so often critiqued.
Aaron: They made me do emo. So I did an emo. At least, I tried in my own way. This one came together quick and easy, like the parts were just waiting there for me to play them before I even started producing it.
May
Art: I realized my mental health hadn’t taken me completely down yet and when May rolled around, I felt the veil of escapism and depression lift from my perspective. Maybe it was the sun or the new love interest that filled May with glitter. “I think I’m waking up” is the epitome of this unveiling; May was the start of the year.
Aaron: This was the last song written for the record and came together so quickly we knew we had to finish it and get it on the record. I think we wrote it after a few too many on a Wednesday night. Art was coming out of a very long stint of being sad and starting to feel like things were turning around. It was fun to match that dreamy optimism with the soundscapes, loops and synths in the production.
Hacks
Art: The HBO show ‘Hacks’ starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder literally kept me alive. I know that’s an over-statement but I stand by it. When I was in the throes of depression, juggling prescription drugs, friendship dynamics and industry stressors, I needed things to look forward to. There needed to be a reason that gave me incentive to continue putting energy into life. The HBO show ‘Hacks’ with its newest season coming only 4 months later (along with a few other stimulants) kept me going. Thank you Jean and Hannah.
Aaron: Sometimes Art just shows up and says ‘play me something pretty’ and those chords just fell out. When I was first learning to play guitar, all I had was an old Ibanez acoustic and I learned a lot of fingerpicking and ’70s folk tunes. It’s nice to have a chance to dip back into those influences once in a while.
A Friend
Art: I wouldn’t say I was a jealous person, but I do get perplexed with the intricacies of queer relationships. Is it a friendship? Is there a crush? Do I want to have sex with her? Do I want to be her? Do I like her so much because she reminds me of my childhood best friend? These questions are typical in queer relationships. A Friend talks about the person your partner is friends with, but they both have crushes on each other. It’s difficult to define and understand.
Aaron: I have no idea where this song came from or how it ended up like it is, but I had a chat with my mixing engineer, John Mullane, when I found that synth sound and we both agreed we found the vibe. I think Pat Murphy’s drums really took it to another level. I told him to get carried away in the bridge build up and he just nailed it.
Alma
Art: During the pandemic, I was living in a cheap one bedroom apartment with my then-partner. We had only been dating for 8 months then and decided it was a good idea to move in together, so that quarantine could be less cruel for our mental health. We created a routine, got to know each other very well and fell more in love through the close proximity we were living. Alma is a song dedicated to the person you went through the pandemic with. I call it our ‘pandemic love song’ because I highlight the endearing traits I found in them, and the annoying habits that only a roommate would see. We didn’t last much past the pandemic, but I am grateful for their company.
Aaron: Art took some convincing to include this on the record, as it was a love song about the person who mostly garnered NON love songs on this record. But I really loved how it came together and it was a perfect nod to our old style in a new format. We’d tried it in a bunch of different styles, from weird country to pseudo James Taylor folk, but it really found its home in the Stomp Clap mojo we ended on and I got to include a McCartney-like bassline in the chorus so I was happy with how it turned out.
Camera Roll
Art: We were playing at a festival in France with singer songwriter Lucas Laufen and a few other interesting characters. I was still learning how to fingerpick and I mimicked one of his songs but with the Am-F that I wrote down in my notebook. I started writing Camera Roll in the field at this festival and thought about the loneliest time of my life. The time of my life when my iphone camera roll was out of space and I needed to decide what photos to keep, delete, or send. But I had gone through an intense friendship shift and I couldn’t think of anyone except my sister to send my photos to. The lyrics ‘I wish I heard from you’ is a plea for connection and intentional friendship.
Aaron: I was listening to a lot of Ethel Cain at the time Art wrote this and I really thought it would be cool to make it like Ethel Cain covering Street Spirit by Radiohead. We’d tossed around different arrangements of it in the rehearsal space with the band and the ending grew into this Fleetwood Mac style outro. I’ll never turn down a chance to wail in A minor.
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:: stream/purchase Hard Feelings, Soft Promises here ::
:: connect with Pillow Fite here ::
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