MUSIC

Despite having written songs since he was a child, it was not until 2022, when, at the age of eighteen, Pilks felt as though his songwriting was good enough to start displaying publicly. He would perform in independent venues around his hometown of Birmingham (e.g. Hare & Hounds, Sunflower Lounge), before moving to Cardiff for university later that year.

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Lou Reed, Phoebe Bridgers, Mike Kinsella, Silver Jews, Nick Cave, Big Thief, and many more, Pilks’ solo work often serves the listener as undeniably sad but also cosy and comforting. The debut single, Ginger, released in June 2023, exemplifies this, as does follow-up single Love Me A Leaf, released later that year.

Cardiff's independent music scene quickly became a new home for Pilks, with significant contributions to Cardiff University’s Live Music Society, and performances at venues like The Moon, The Vulcan, and The Great Hall.

2024 saw the release of the Small World, Out Of Luck EP; a set of three dark, psychedelic folk songs with existentialist and nihilistic themes.

Later that same year, Pilks performed solo at Cardiff Music City festival, to much acclaim.

Though The Pyjama Party may seem like a mere backing band for Tom Pilks, it is in fact something much more conceptual and multifaceted. In late 2023, Pilks began to conjure up songs that required bombastic delivery and a sense of spectacle; songs that could not be performed by just himself and his guitar. Despite featuring lyrics just as sombre as his previous works, they represented a new mindset and purpose. Rather than wallowing in your own self pity, wrapped in the blanket of sad folk music, you would now be uplifted and feel the desire to dance the pain away, not necessarily in an act of escapism but rather as an active, conscious celebration of the raw emotions you’re capable of feeling; all to help work through the problems.

It also acts as a commentary on the significance of the bedroom as both a physical and virtual space within the lives of young people. It’s for the kids who belted their favourite songs into hairbrushes for huge imaginary audiences. An entire world fits between four walls, and also now on your phone. You escape to it for comfort but every problem, thought, and emotion still follows you there.

Inspired by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The 1975, James Brown, Prince, Black Country New Road, and Tom Waits, as well as Pilks' love for 2010s pop artists like Katy Perry, The PJ Party debuted at the 2024 Real Ale Festival in Cardiff. After a year of gigs around Cardiff (Porters, The Moon, etc), they returned as headliners the following year, and later went on to win the 2025 Cardiff Uni Battle of the Bands.