PINS formed in 2011 when fashion photographer Faith Vern (born Holgate), looking for bandmates, decided that she wanted to form an
all-female band rather than be the token woman in a mostly male band.
2012: "Eleventh Hour" / "Shoot You" PINS self-released their first songs (A. "Eleventh Hour" / AA. "Shoot You") through their own label 'Haus of PINS' in May 2012 along with a debut video for "Eleventh Hour" directed by Sing. J. Lee. The tape sold out within a few hours and the video received a great deal of attention for the band. The band played a show supporting
Savages at The Bunker in Manchester which was attended by several labels including Bella Union Records. PINS worked with
Bella Union later that year to release their
Luvu4lyf EP on 10" glitter vinyl. The EP was promoted alongside their first UK tour and the band later signed a recording deal with Bella Union.
2013: Girls Like Us PINS released their debut album
Girls Like Us on 30 September 2013 via Bella Union. The album was recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios and received airplay on
BBC 6 Music and press coverage from
The Sunday Times,
NME,
Drowned in Sound and
Q. The album was supported by a UK and European headline tour and support dates with
Warpaint and
Dum Dum Girls.
Girls Like Us was released in the US in March 2014 and the band were awarded funding from
PRS Foundation to perform at
SXSW Festival in Austin Texas. Later that year PINS returned to the US for a headline tour of both the East and West Coast including CMJ Festival. PINS were invited to support
The Growlers on their UK Tour and they also support
The Fall at the London venue
The Garage. PINS re-recorded "Shoot You" / "Eleventh House" for a limited edition Record Store Day release on heart shaped vinyl. Working again with long time collaborator Sing J Lee on their video premiered on ''
Harper's Bazaar''.
2015: Wild Nights PINS second album
Wild Nights was released on Bella Union on 9 June 2015. The album was produced by
Dave Catching at
Rancho de La Luna in Joshua Tree. The first single "Too Little Too Late" was premiered by
Dazed Digital and received national radio airplay on BBC 6 Music including live sessions with
Marc Riley and
Lauren Laverne.
Rough Trade included
Wild Nights in their albums of the month and it was
Stereogum's 'Album of The Week.' Additional notable press coverage included
NME, ''
Harper's Bazaar, Noisey, Interview Magazine, The Guardian, and in Q''. A packed out touring schedule followed for the band. Along with performing their own sold out headline shows across Europe they supported
Sleater-Kinney on the UK and European dates. Additional supports Wire,
Drenge,
Night Beats and
Best Coast. The band also performed at Festivals including
Dot 2 Dot,
OYA Festival,
Way Out West,
Best Kept Secret and The Great Escape. PINS were again invited to perform at Austin's SXSW Festival ahead of supporting
The Subways on their US Tour. They received notable airplay on US College radio performing live sessions including
KEXP,
KCRW,
WFUV,
Amoeba Records and
Sony Red . 2017: Bad Thing / "Aggrophobe" featuring Iggy Pop Following the release of
Wild Nights, PINS went back into the studio to work on new tracks. Recorded in a studio on the Scottish Borders and produced by both the band and Mark Vernon
Bad Thing includes "Aggrophobe", featuring
Iggy Pop's vocal. "Aggrophobe" was released on a limited edition yellow 7 inch vinyl which has now sold out and A Listed on BBC 6 Music. Additional singles from the EP ("All Hail" and "Bad Thing") were also playlisted. Press coverage included premieres from
iD Magazine,
Stereogum and
Pitchfork. It was released as a download along with 500 limited edition 12" on Cadillac pink vinyl (sold out) on 24 March 2017 on Haus of PINS. To support the release of
Bad Thing, PINS embarked on a sold out UK headline tour followed by support tour with Maximo Park. They played a number of UK and European festivals including the main stage at Reading & Leeds and went on to support The Breeders on their UK and European dates. PINS final single of 2017 "Serve The Rich" was produced by Jamie Hince and released in November on limited edition baby pink 7 inch vinyl.
2020: Hot Slick PINS third album
Hot Slick was released on
Haus of PINS on 29 May 2020.
Publishing PINS signed a worldwide publishing deal with
Just Isn't Music / Ninja Tune and have secured sync placements with
Levi Jeans (Women's Fit),
Snatch (TV),
GT Sport (Games),
Grand Tour, Angry Angel (Film),
Billions (TV) Better Things (TV)
The Panama Papers (Documentary) and
BBC Men's Wimbledon Final (promo) which was nominated for a
Music Week Sync Award. PINS were also nominated for Hardest Working Band at the AIM Awards. ==Discography==