I’ve gone back and forth on including this track here. It only revealed its indispensability to me when I heard it again while trawling for other tunes/information on Peel’s 20/3/93 show.
Sloan came to Peel’s attention when he received a 4-track compilation EP from Sub Pop called Never Mind the Molluscs, which showcased bands from Canada’s maritime districts. Between January 14 & 16, 1993, Sloan, Jale, Eric’s Trip and Idee du Nord, under the direction of Bob Weston, recorded tracks for the EP of which, marginally, Pillow Fight edged out Idee du Nord’s Iodine Eyes as my favourite track on the record.
Sloan, who have continued to release records into the 2020s, included Pillow Fight on a compilation of their b-sides from 1992-97 on which they not only reprinted the lyrics but included background information about each track. Unfortunately, the notes I’ve seen on Discogs are slightly too blurry to read, and it would have been useful to have a full look at the lyrics, especially given the moments where singer Jay Ferguson is drowned out by the band.*
Although, they rock a bit harder than their British counterparts, the overall effect on Pillow Fight appears to be a more angst ridden take on twee pop. Unlike tracks like Po’s Look For the Holes or Brighter’s Killjoy, the song is set at the point where a relationship appears to be turning toxic, but hasn’t yet reached the splitting up stage, so we’re catching this couple at the mutual contempt stage. Calling the track, Pillow Fight suggests a certain meek impotence about the emotions which have contributed to the breakup, and potentially leaves the audience wondering just how seriously we can regard either of the participants in this relationship. But there’s a underlying hint of danger under the jangle as Ferguson compares himself to his soon-to-be-ex - who writes their thoughts in a journal - while he keeps his in his head, which on the face of it, is far more dangerous as he has no outlet for his emotions. Further lines reference unresolved issues for the pair and, ominously, while Ferguson confesses to thinking about his partner he seems consumed with how to get back at them rather than trying to get them back onside. All of which sets the ground for a potential confrontation where both parties may go into battle with something more dangerous than a pillow to hand.
Video courtesy of redstar7000.
*The lyrics for Pillow Fight confirm that the relationship is in a bad place, in large part due to Ferguson’s refusal to engage with his more emotionally high-strung partner. They let their emotions out; he keeps his bottled up. They want to have it out; he wants a quiet life. This isn’t going to end well.
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