Single Review: Pine – Pillow Talk EP

Canada’s Pine are the newest signing to No Sleep Records, and it seems the band have wasted no time in brining out their first release for the label, the Pillow Talk EP. The EP is now available on vinyl, on a limited edition pink with green swirl variant, as well as being available digitally. Pine offer a unique mix of post punk intensity that is blended with influences ranging from emo to shoegaze that brings a unique combination that’s as refreshing and cathartic as it is nostalgic.

Dolya opens with a mellow emotive slice of post punk influenced shoegaze, ethereal vocals combine with a gorgeous dream like melody to create a blissed out introduction to Pine that just washes over you. Viable ups the ante, but despite the more strident beat it maintains the dream like quality of the opening number with it’s delicate multi layered vocals, whereas (Un)rest delivers the kind of song you get the feeling the Pillow Talk EP has been building up to, a perfect dreamscape that has a subtle intensity that blends perfectly into the penultimate track, Jilt. Blue Jacket closes the EP with a truly epic and mellow finale that brings the Pillow Talk EP to a subtle crescendo.

If your tastes are towards snarling punk rock then the Pillow Talk EP won’t be for you, but for me this is an EP for those mellow moments after a late night that has unexpectedly become a very early morning, it’s subtle intensity is strangely beguiling and the vocal delivery from Darlene Deschamps is one that is hypnotic and entrancing, and it is backed up by a lush soundscape. There are post punk influences aplenty on the intriguing EP, but it avoids recreating the past and instead they mark out their own territory with an original and blissed out EP, and this is a release that come the right moment will be one that you’ll be glad that you own.

The Pillow Talk EP can be ordered on vinyl from No Sleep Records here and digitally via Bandcamp here