The Pillows are a Japanese rock band, well known mostly from their music in FLCL, an anime by studio Gainax.
The Pillows formed in 1987, when the legendary '80s J-Rock band Kenzi & the Trips split up. Former Trips Kenji Ueda (Bass) and Shinichiro Sato (Drums) teamed up with Yoshiaki Manabe (Guitar), who had previously played for 80s hair-band Persia, and Sawao Yamanaka (Vox).
The group recorded their first five-song demo tape, Pantomime, as The Coinlocker Babies. They toured and performed for almost three years before being picked up by Captain Records as The Pillows. They re-recorded the Pantomime demo, which was then released as their first EP. This was immediately followed by a second EP, 90s My Life.
The Pillows then signed on to Pony Canyon, and in 1991, released their first full album, Moon Gold. In 1992, shortly after their second album, White Incarnation was recorded, Ueda left the band. He was never properly replaced; the band simply used a series of guest bassists in recording sessions and on tours, including Tatsuya Kashima of Bad Face, and Jun Suzuki of The Chewinggum Weekend.
In 1994, the band once again moved, this time to King Records, and released Kool Spice, their major-label debut. With Ueda no longer in the band, the Pillows' style started slowly drifting away from their minimalist rock sound, and wildly experimented between varying styles. Kool Spice contained everything from warbling blues rock to elevator music; the 1995 release Living Field included experiments in retro-pop and reggae.
It was their grunge record, 1997's Please Mr. Lostman where the Pillows finally got their groove. Preceded by a series of hit singles, and evocative of such American rock bands as Weezer and the Pixies, it catapulted the band to mainstream success in Japan. After a wildly successful tour, the band proceeded to release three increasingly successful follow-up albums over the next two years: Little Busters, Runners High, and Happy Bivouac.
In 1999, the Pillows were approached by GAINAX, an anime studio famous for hits such as Nadia and Neon Genesis Evangelion. GAINAX wanted to license the Pillows' three most recent albums, for their latest experiment: a digital anime called FLCL. The Pillows agreed, even composing two new singles specifically for the anime; Ride On Shooting Star and I Think I Can.
The Pillows would not release another album until 2001, but they were still successful; the FLCL soundtracks sold well, as did their own best-of compilation, Fool on the Planet. Sawao concentrated his energies on Delicious Label, his record company side project. Manabe released a solo album as "Nine Miles," continuing the reggae experimentation hinted at in earlier albums.
The Pillows released their next album, Smile, without releasing any singles. In 2002, the FLCL anime became available in America, winning more converts to the band, which was releasing its 10th album, Thank You, My Twilight, along with a double-album collection of B-sides, Another Morning, Another Pillows.
After another short break, during which Sawao released some solo work under Delicious Label, Manabe released a second Nine Miles album, and Sato toured with various other bands, the Pillows released Penalty Life in November 2003.
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