Pile, NnamdÏ, Or Does It Explode

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Ash Fatur

The four members of the band Pile.

Pile

media release: Boston DIY stalwarts Pile have announced Sunshine and Balance Beams, their ninth album and first release with Chicago’s esteemed Sooper Records, out August 15. Over the past 15 years and eight albums, Pile have established themselves as this generation’s Fugazi, building a discography and tour history deeply rooted in DIY ethos. That spirit remains, but on Sunshine and Balance Beams, the band pushes into new sonic territory, enlisting engineer Miranda Serra (Kal Marks, Kira McSpice), mixer Seth Manchester (Model/Actriz, The Hotelier, Big Brave) and mastering engineer Matt Colton (James Blake, Depeche Mode, Band Bear). Listen to the first track, “Born at Night”—a song that wrestles with the idea that there is no enlightenment, no end to suffering. Assisted by accelerating tom-staggers and rain-like, Neu!-indebted guitars, the track moves from resignation to meditative nihilism, augmented by swelling strings—a sonic embodiment of the album’s themes of light and shadow in balance. It arrives with a Josh Echevarria-directed video. Starring Shahjehan Khan (of the Hulu hit, Deli Boys) the video takes place in a medieval fantasy world delving further into album themes of suffering and liberation via plato's cave-like obfuscation of reality as a metaphor for enlightenment or lack thereof.

On Sunshine and Balance Beams, Pile weaves a Sisyphean fable about labor and living. “The fulfillment I receive from pursuing art has been a guiding force for me,” says frontman Rick Maguire. “But it can be damaging when that pursuit subscribes to material expectations of where you might be able to go, and then doesn’t square with the reality that follows.” Pile presents this parable with jagged guitars, sputtering drums, eerie synths, and aqueous strings, their loud-quiet dynamism matching the emotional intensity of the band’s thunderous performances.

The band have also announced a massive North American tour with label mate and Sooper co-founder NNAMDÏ  in support of the album. The 37-date, 39-show run kicks off August 21 in Portland, ME, making stops in Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York City, and more before wrapping October 11 with a hometown show at Boston’s Sinclair.