Post Coal Prom Queen are Lily Higham and Gordon Johnstone. PCPQ have developed an eclectic but distinctive sound by playing with retrofuturistic synths and electronic beats, distorted guitars and ethereal vocals, inspired by a wide range of genres  trip hop to opera to choral music. They have been heard on BBC Radio 1, 6Music, and BBC Radio Scotland, on TV's Made In Chelsea and in the National Library of Scotland film 'Living Proof', charted on Amazing Radio, and garnered international acclaim. Their three critically acclaimed releases - debut PCPQ EP, concept rap album Music for Hypercapitalists, and operatic new LP Music for First Contact - as well as a slew of highly successful live shows, have cemented PCPQ as one of Scotland's most ambitious and promising acts.

 

In 2023 the band performed in Tallin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Canada and New York to support the release of the 'Music for First Contact' album.  Music for First Contact was included in The Skinny's top 10 albums of 2023 and three of its tracks were featured in The Herald's top 100 tunes of 2023 (Free Radio Phobos - 72, From Glasgow to Mars - 26, and Sapere Aude - 20).

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Lily and Gordon met in 2014 and immediately bonded over their shared love of sci-fi and cuttlefish. They released three albums (Kipple Arcadia [2018], Music for Megastructures [2019], and Feed The Engines! [2020]) with their first band, L-space, before rebranding as a duo with the PCPQ moniker during the pandemic in 2020. They released their debut EP in April 2021 alongside a specially filmed live session for the Hidden Door festival in Edinburgh, followed by the collaborative hip hop album 'Music for Hypercapitalists' in August. In 2021 and 2022 the duo were selected for Hidden Door's 'creative collaboration' series, resulting in PCPQ performing the 'Music for Hypercapitalists' album at the 2021 festival and debuting their latest album, Music for First Contact, at the 2022 edition. In 2023, after performing at Tallinn Music week and in Montreal, Toronto, and New York, the duo started working on their next recording projects and playing select gigs in the UK.

 

Their new single - PROTOMARTYR - will come out on the 26th of July 2024.
 

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“throbbing, frantic (in a good way) and utterly infectious...frankly, they've never sounded better” – The Skinny
 

“They crystallize a vivid miniature world as delicate as a snowglobe” - SNACK

“It practically scorches into being on the back of dark industrial synths like a bomber raid, pulls back the curtain on some thrumming melodicism, and entrusts Lily to siren-song you towards a distant light” - Backseat Mafia

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"Unrelenting, impressive stuff" - God Is In The TV

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Praise for Music for First Contact:

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Three tracks in The Herald's Top 100 songs of 2023 (Free Radio Phobos - 72, From Glasgow to Mars - 26, and Sapere Aude - 20)

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#7 in The Skinny's Top 10 Scottish albums of 2023

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"heights of perfection...cinematic, delicate beauty"

Clash - 8/10

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"as prescient and visionary as their avant-garde capabilities"

The Skinny - ★★★★ (also #7 in The Skinny's Scottish albums of the year)

 

"Joyous"

Scots Magazine

 

"a deep and intensely satisfying listen"

Snack Magazine

 

"soaring"

The List

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"an absorbing listen...epic"

The Scotsman - ★★★★

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2023 Tour Dates

04 May - Glasgow, The Old Hairdressers (Scotland)

11 May - Tallinn Music Week, Sveta (Estonia)

15 June - Flourish Festival, Fredericton (Canada)

19 June - Montreal, Quais des Brumes (with Pallmer)

20 June - Toronto, Tibet Street Records (with Pallmer)

22 June - New York, Sleepwalk (with GADADU)

21 - 23 July - Doune The Rabbit Hole (Scotland) (cancelled)

18 August - Glasgow, Acid Cabaret

23 September - Edinburgh, Gallus Adventures

08 November - Edinburgh, Voodoo Rooms (with KLEO and Texture)

2024 Tour Dates

22 January 2024 - Glasgow, The Rum Shack (with Mary Ocher and Carla J Easton)

23 January 2024 - Edinburgh, Fruitmarket Gallery (with Mary Ocher)

20 October 2024 - Glasgow, Nice n Sleazy's (with the Miki Berenyi Trio)

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