Pillow Fite

The alt-pop duo Pillow Fite is aptly named: like the activity itself, they wield softness and make it sting.

Art Ross (they/them) and Aaron Green (he/him) come from disparate backgrounds and musical forms, meeting in the middle to comprise a band that’s tender and fierce, exuberant and gentle. Green—a veteran of the Halifax rock scene, the guitar anchor of Floodland and Hello Delaware—and Ross—an emerging songwriter with an acoustic guitar—started writing songs together over text, by accident. Pillow Fite emerged publicly at the start of 2021 with its gender-bending aesthetics already in place and a languid lead single in “Playing the Fool.” Halifax, a town built on and stuck in rock music made by men, responded with supportive fervour, selling out back-to-back shows that saw the duo expand its sound with help from the scene’s most in-demand players.

Fans of boygenius will find the same amenities in the music of Pillow Fite: the wry wit of Phoebe Bridgers, the detail-oriented observation of Lucy Dacus, and the bone-deep sadness of Julien Baker. Between Ross’ boldly queer, bravely intimate lyrics and Green’s tasteful and inventive guitar lines—he’s also cut his production teeth on this project—they evoke weeping and singalongs in equal measure.

Each single is a new distillation of the duo’s growth, from its coffeehouse-leaning beginnings to its emergent pop production. Working toward a full project with John Mullane of Future Dad, and a full roster of guests waiting to be called in, Pillow Fite is music for your break-up and your rebound, the future and the now, a cut and a kiss.