Working out of Olympia, Washington, Pigtails is a band grounded in collaboration. Formed of songwriters Jack Habegger and Trout Hamilton (guitars/vocals), along with Isaac Beach (drums) and Forrest Meyer (bass), the outfit write as a team. Which means, although it might draw from a variety of styles and genres, and display wide shifts in mood and tone, the Pigtails sound is tightly bound by a sense of cooperation and togetherness—the sound of four people working together to become more than the sum of their parts.
This spirit extends beyond the band too. Pigtails are part of a wider movement in the Pacific Northwest, coming from the same community as the likes of Boreen, Generifus and Tender Perenial, and even playing shows with the unrivaled Dear Nora. They have joined forces with Portland-based Lung Records (Evan Thomas Way, A Western Front, Patrick Goddard), and in the coming months plan to release their self-titled debut record.
Enlisting the help of Skyler Pia on keys, the band headed into the studio to create the album, a succinct seven song, twenty minute record that has been described as “the soundtrack to the calm before a storm.” With producer Raymond Richards (Luna, Mojave 3, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Parson Redheads) teasing out the subtle undertones of country rock, the result lands at a crossroads between Wilco, Yo La Tengo and contemporary DIY indie pop.
The album is penciled in for release sometime in early summer, but the current situation has left things uncertain. Still, the band are releasing the first single to give a taste of what is to come, and we’re delighted to be able to share it today. ‘Honey’ opens with subtle percussion and the languid peal of guitar, paving the way for an indie pop song that’s equal parts bright and wistful, like that Spring afternoon combination of warming sunshine and a chill in the breeze. All this builds towards the final chorus which, when it arrives, is strangely cathartic, kicking out of the unhurried rhythms of the rest of the song with clattering drums and the repeated refrain, “When I hear it come out of your mouth.”
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‘Honey’ is available now from the Pigtails Bandcamp page, and we’ll be the first to let you know when there is a more concrete date on the record.
