Back to Eurosonic 2025 tonight for a concert by The Pill – recorded at Groningen on March 9th.
The Pill are a relatively new addition to the continuously growing circus tent of music. The trio (Lily and Lottie and a male drummer) have been building steam and creating a presence ever since COVID ground things to a halt.
The audience is growing and the press is good.
Evidence of that is an article that just came out in todays issue of Under The Radar (another one of those “must read” publications social media is getting wildly populated over).
This one is an interview done by Andy Von Pip and originally was published last October – you’ll get an idea:
The Pill Interview – Making Mischief and Embracing Fun
On Escapism, Online Trolls, and the Perils of Afternoon Bathing
Oct 25, 2024 By Andy Von Pip
“Subtlety isn’t really for us. There’s no grey area—you get what you see,” says guitarist and vocalist Lily Hutchings. “I mean, releasing a song with us singing, ‘I’m a blonde bitch. Bimbo, butthole, tits,’ was definitely a bold choice,” laughs bassist and co-lead vocalist Lottie Massey. “We basically beat everyone to it,” Hutchings adds, grinning. “And it looks great on a T-shirt.”
Now making waves as The Pill, Hutchings and Massey are the latest dynamic duo to emerge from the Isle of Wight. Their debut single, “Bale of Hay”—a ferocious, tongue-in-cheek grunge-pop track about the struggles of being blonde—appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Yet, their story stretches back to when they met when they were both 14 years of age, at school, becoming “besties” and then later starting an Instagram account for The Pill with little more than a vague idea. “The Pill started as a joke. And probably still is one,” Hutchings laughs.
The duo’s account and enigmatic online persona seemed to pique people’s interest, and they eventually realized they may have to take it further. “People started asking, ‘Who are they?’” Massey recalls. “So we thought, ‘We might actually have to follow through—write some songs and do a set.’” That was six years ago, and while their journey has been sporadic—mainly due to the pandemic—The Pill has persisted.
Hutchings briefly attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, but Covid lockdowns brought everything to a halt. “It was all shut down,” she says wistfully. “The only thing I experienced—was my room and four walls.” After catching Covid herself, she decided to leave the course.
The Pill slowly began to take shape, and eventually, they decided to self-release their debut single “Bale of Hay,” a song about the difficulties of being blonde.
“I mean, it’s obviously so silly,” Hutchings laughs. “I’m blonde, and honestly, being blonde is the least difficult part of my life. So, we thought it’d be funny to act like it was this huge challenge.” Massey, a natural brunette, chimes in with her own experience. “That’s where it all started,” she laughs. “I bleached my hair, and it was so damaged it looked like a bale of hay. We got talking about how everyone’s going blonde, and Lily mentioned it wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Hutchings grins, “It’s the lack of eyebrows, really. That’s actually the line that kicked off the whole song.”
Despite the playful premise, they decided to release it as a single, although they didn’t think people would take much notice. “Yeah, a couple of people told us, ‘This is going to be a bit Marmite,’” (referring to the UK slang for something divisive—you either love it or hate it, like the famous yeast spread of the same name). “And we were like, fine by us. I’d rather it be Marmite than peanut butter.”
It would probably be an overstatement to suggest the song went viral, but it certainly got the duo noticed, for better or worse. They soon discovered that when you’re in the spotlight, you can also be in the firing line. The duo immediately seemed to attract the ire of a certain type of person: the misogynist keyboard warrior.
“Quite often, it’s the angry white, bald middle-aged man—clearly, they’re really, really upset, about something” laughs Massey. “And I will say, definitely not all men are like that, just, it seems, the ones in our comments. Some I couldn’t repeat; they’re disgusting. But I think my favorite was, ‘This is why women shouldn’t be allowed out of the kitchen.’ Fair enough. To be honest I was probably in the kitchen when I was reading that. Yeah, they were spot on with that one. I love cooking.”
“She does,” Hutchings laughs. “She’s a proper little chef, but some of the comments have been a bit intense.”
“All press is good press,” Massey quips, “even if they say our song would only sound good if they were pissing in our faces. That one was a real humdinger. Or when they say, ‘I’d rather listen to my nan’s death rattle than this.’ Wow, what a bold choice of insult!”
You can read the rest of the interview here: Under The Radar.
In the meantime – dive in – Press Play – crank it up – prepare for Hump Day.
