quotes and reviews
"a distinctive originality ... stimulating, inventive and rewarding" - Rock'n'Reel magazine
"Attention grabbers were bouzouki/violin double team Pillowfish (visit website, buy record, be a cooler person)" - Mike Finlay at Beverley Folk Festival, Sandman Magazine
"..chocolate for the ears, with a crusty port chaser." - Tim Moon, Tykes News
"Great songs, played superbly with intrepid musical skill and liveliness." - Kath Tait
"Unique is a much-abused word, so is individual – in this case they are both spot on to describe Pillowfish. They’re never going to be in-car entertainment. (It would doubtless horrify them if I said they were.) But Tom and Helen have a unique musical presence that’s worth digging into – it may take some perseverance but you’ll love what you find." - Tim Carroll, Folkwords
COMMON KNOWLEDGE - Pillowfish (Pillowfish PFCD. 0601) - review by David Kidman, Netrhythms.co.uk
Pillowfish is a York-based duo fast becoming familiar faces at the region's folk clubs and acoustic venues. It was in the inauspicious setting of the fRoots internet noticeboard, apparently, that Tom Drinkwater (bouzouki, guitar), veteran of countless folkyish groups in NZ and the US, met Helen Bell (violin, viola), veteran of several young-folky groups in England including Niblik and the award-finalists Ola; and their musical partnership has never looked back since!
They both delight in - indeed, share - eclectic (if obscure) predilections and preoccupations, and their musical personalities also turn out to be highly complementary. However, I'm not sure that the bare biographical preamble tells you much about their actual music, which isn't at all easy to describe.
Perhaps the first thing you notice about Pillowfish is the duo's immediate, and markedly individual, presence, for nobody else on the current scene sounds quite like them. Their special musical identity is due as much to their confident and upfront playing style as to Tom's quite upfront vocal presence and delivery (his distinctively astringent, precise singing voice may polarise listeners' reactions as it's perhaps a bit of an acquired taste).
Instrumentally Pillowfish are very assured indeed, and know intuitively how to manage the texture between the contrasting timbres, each of which is rich and appealing (Tom's "zouk" is a 10-string model by the way, and has a wonderfully full, ringing tone); the duo balance works really well as backdrop for Tom's singing voice while also giving a satisfying blend on the two instrumental tracks (sets of rather intriguing tunes composed by Helen, invariably using irregular metres and notable for not going where the listener might expect!).
I just love the way Helen weaves her delicate yet supportive melodic counterpoint round Tom's busy and deft zouk playing, always ingeniously configured to make the best out of the musical argument. And that applies equally to the songs; these (comprising nine of the eleven tracks) are all self-penned: seven by Tom (one with words by Sadie Curlett) and the remaining two by Helen.
Tom's songs especially can seem tumblingly wordy, a mite thorny, even slightly inaccessible at first acquaintance, and certainly cryptic; after all, they're the creations of a defiantly bohemian wordsmith who feels no need to compromise his manifesto or artistic vision. I don't have the space to discuss their content here, but suffice to say they're the product of a lively and intelligent mind with deep and sensible convictions, wide interests and keen observational skills; this complexity of thought, coupled with the effect of the sometimes mildly disorientating uneven bar-lengths and unusual melodic motifs, means that the listener needs to concentrate - not at all a bad thing I say! This may explain the curious impression (an observation rather than a criticism!) that Tom's songs often seem to last longer (and yield less immediate pleasure) in live performance than listening to them on disc - where even after many playthroughs I'm still finding new and rewarding insights.
The only song that jars on repeated play is Move Your Money, whose scratchy-jokey setting rather overplays - and detracts from - the thrust of the lyric. As for musical and folk-cultural reference points, well: think the more whimsical side of Dylan, Incredible String Band, Roy Harper, Al Stewart, Dave Moss, acoustic Jethro Tull, the late-60s wyrd-folk scene). Pillowfish are amazing: eclectic, very individual and very talented - and I assure you, they're not going away!
David Kidman
Review by Mike Wilson for folking.com
There is something tantalisingly eccentric and quirky about this duo. Common Knowledge almost irritated on the first listen, but at the same time I was drawn back to try to unravel the sound and work out what it was all about. Tom Drinkwater's voice is certainly an acquired taste. He's originally from New Zealand, but has spent time in the USA and England -- over the years, he has spent a lot of time singing Scottish and Irish songs. His voice draws on all these influences, meaning that in fragments it is familiar, but as a whole it is unique. It's not just the sound of his voice that's distinctive either; it's the syllables that he accentuates -- mostly, not the ones that you would expect. Drinkwater contributes solid guitar and bouzouki accompaniment and the duo is rounded off with Helen Bell's exquisite violin and viola. This is the interesting juxtaposition that Pillowfish offer -- Tom Drinkwater's ragged vocals set against Helen Bell's elegant and fluid string work. It's a paradox that produces an interesting result!
Common Knowledge includes a couple of original instrumental compositions, showcasing the duo's considerable musical virtuosity, without the distraction of that voice! "The First Bonfire / Pilowfish" is a sprightly number featuring rhythmic interplay between Drinkwater's bouzouki and Bell's violin, whilst "Hunting the Off-Licence / Trip to Heligoland" is a more elegant and stately-sounding offering.
Drinkwater's traditional leanings are well-mined in "The World To Mend," an driving, energetic piece with some ferocious bouzouki and a stunning violin interlude from Bell. This is followed by the tender ballad "Cruel Sea". Both of these tracks show the potential that can be realised by this talented duo, effortlessly blending the traditional with the contemporary and yielding pleasing results.
"Addiction" has a deliciously dark and foreboding undercurrent, obliquely considering the gamut of addictions from coffee to much stronger substances; "addiction, affliction, sometimes it's even legal." Drinkwater then takes a well-aimed shot at globalisation in "Move Your Money," pointing out how we can freely move our money round the world but don't necessarily get the same welcome when we turn up in person; "if your passport fits the reader, you can visit for a breather, only if you don't stay to long, don't get a job or sing a song." Both of these tracks are lyrically incisive but there is a brashness about them that I didn't enjoy as much as the traditionally influenced material.
Pillowfish won't be to the liking of everybody -- well, maybe not immediately -- but persevere and dig a little deeper, and there are elements that will reward the patient listener!
Mike Wilson