Response to their freely available mp3s has been nothing short of staggering, the most recent - the internet-only available 'Forget to Breathe' - amassing over 3000 downloads in 3 weeks.
They've also turned careful hands to remixing, most notably 'bringing a fierce pop quality' to David Sylvian's 'The Heart Knows Better' for his recent 'The Good Son vs. the Only Daughter - The Blemish Remixes' project, and turning in a version of Steve Adey 's 'Mississippi' for a forthcoming iTunes release.Their debut album is "we just did what happened and no one came" a collection of songs recorded in a warm shed where hope floats and faith taps at the door, sometimes a little too quietly to hear. Mojo magazine awarded it 4 stars and included a song on a recent cover-mounted CD, while the Sunday Times called it, "a rather special debut."
They say it's time someone made a dignified record. In D minor. So that's what they did, and below are the thoughts of some of those who came along when it happened.About the singles:
"Like James Yorkston with more edge." - High Voltage"Achingly Beautiful." - Shifty Disco
"Beautiful, just beautiful. If these tracks are anything to go by then I can only hope great things are going to happen. I think you'll agree it's sublime." - Spoilt Victorian Child"It's somewhere between 'Peace at Last' period Blue Nile, some twists of latter day King Crimson and a nudge of Elbow." - Kelvin Hayes (Buzz Magazine)
" A world away from the check shirt by numbers alt-country scene, this is great songwriting and spellbinding arrangements, beautifully played and sung. Enchanting stuff, very highly recommended." - Boomkat"[the "stars spill out of cups EP] just might contain your next favourite song." - *sixeyes
"A lifetime's career may be built upon an original, convincing viewpoint. Stars Spill Out Of Cups suggests that they might be one of those relatively rare bands capable of achieving this." - Colin Buttimer (The Milk Factory)"What I will say is that Stars Spill Out of Cups is by quite a margin the best single I have heard this year." - Tasty Fanzine
"I've already mentioned [Stars Spill Out of Cups], but even though I already loved it then, it's only grown in my estimation since." Ian Mathers (Stylus Magazine)About the album:
"a slow-burner in the Damien Rice mould." - DVDFever"Disturbing and beautiful, layered and arranged with funereal precision." (8/10) - Americana - UK
"Do yourselves a favour and trust us on this one, as this deserves to be a contender for one of THE albums of 2005! Essential !"- 101cd.com"Let's just be happy that they exist and they sound as wonderful as they do. Go and seek out this album, I guarantee you will not be disappointed." - Tasty Fanzine
"Sweet Billy Pilgrim's debut album has swallowed me whole." - Ian Mathers (Stylus Magazine)"Accompanied by a guitar, ukelele and various rumblings of rhythm and effects from a laptop, he's a 21st Century Boy with a nod to the past." (3/5) - Record Collector
"...choruses so beautiful that it almost hurts when they stop." - Johnny Black (Back on the Tracks)"...stunning..." (8.5 /10) - *sixeyes
"This calm, pretty folktronica is strange but not difficult: there are choruses here that, if Chris Martin had stumbled across them, would have shifted another million Coldplay albums. A rather special debut." (3/5) - Mark Edwards (Sunday Times)"If you are in the mood for serious, subtle music, Sweet Billy Pilgrim's freshman release should fit the bill." - Kweevak.com
"Not ripping off Radiohead, not soaked in tears like Coldplay, Sweet Billy might be the next interesting thing to come out of the thinking man's indie rock." - DogmaNet.org"Sweet Billy Pilgrim's debut full-length... is something very special." - Thomas Bartlett for Salon.com
"Elsenburg's perfectly shaped songs have the same power as magic realist short stories that sieve the emotions and leave you reduced to jelly." (****) - Mojo Magazine"These are songs that paint with bare emotion and, for this correspondent, represent one of the most beautiful sets seen in a long while." - the-mag.me.uk
"...the band's remakable 2005 debut will convince fans of Sufjan Stevens, Guillemots and Iron & Wine that they have a new set of heroes to discover and hold dear." from the Mojo cover mount CD, Oct. 2006 Edition"However, there is a reason to stay awake through the spiteful winter months. Yes our long-suffering comrades, hope has come ... in the form of We Just Did What Happened And No One Came by Sweet Billy Pilgrim." heckler spray.com
The album is available from all good outlets, particularly if they're well-known and/or internet based.Let us know what you think of our songs, in the meantime, and we'll keep you informed of our movements. Unless they're illegal. Or unsightly. There is a blog, called...
Pilgrim's Progress...should you need one.
Thank you.You can find our production / remixing / soundtrack work page here.
debut album 'we just did what happened and no one came' now available from Wonderland Avenue Records (via Proper Distribution ) from most good internet and high street stockists.