Pile - Hot Air Balloon [EP]
…the hypnotically gripping “Only For A Reminder.” – Stereogum
Pile recently announced their new EP, Hot Air Balloon, due out January 5th from Exploding In Sound Records, and today they’re back with one more early single from the release–the captivating “Only For A Reminder.”
The five song Hot Air Balloon was recorded during the sessions of Pile‘s acclaimed 2023 full-length, All Fiction, and functions as a companion to that album. But these aren’t simply extra songs from the All Fiction sessions, these are essential Pile tracks that pack a serious punch, as indicated by previous singles “Scaling Walls” and “The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon” (which drew attention from the likes of NPR, Stereogum, Paste Magazine, BrooklynVegan, and more).
“Only A Reminder” leans into the adventurous streak that’s always powered Pile‘s music, unfolding around a haunting synth line and vocalist/guitarist agile melodies. The track crests with a squall of cutting guitars and bass then settles on a beautifully sparse outro that highlights Pile‘s unending drive to push their sound into new territory.
The release of All Fiction felt like the start of a new chapter for Pile, leaning into the band’s keen sense of atmosphere and experimentation to create some of their most ambitious work to date. The album’s sessions were especially productive and luckily for the listener, these other recordings are set to see the light of day via the Hot Air Balloon EP. After sixteen years as a band, Pile are still making visceral and essential music, and if Hot Air Balloon is any indication, the band are doing more than keeping up the pace–they’re just getting started with some of the boldest and most compelling songs of their career.
Described as “detailed and evocative” (Pitchfork) as well as “sweeping and surprisingly beautiful” (NPR) by the press, Pile’s latest album All Fiction feels like a landmark in the band’s evolution. Sixteen years since the project’s inception and the band’s creative focus remains their driving force, reshaping their sound in pursuit of texturally rewarding music. There’s a sense of discovery that permeates through All Fiction, it’s the start of a new chapter. While many had come to expect Pile’s music to be heavy and abrasive, the band has proven themselves equally adept at building atmosphere and surrealist tranquility. They eschew stagnancy by leaning into experimental soundscapes, rewarding their open-mindedness with the ambitious structures, alternate tunings, and the wrought tension that Pile has become synonymous with over the years.
Pile – the trio of Rick Maguire, Kris Kuss, and Alex Molini – found inspiration in the studio while working on All Fiction, working tirelessly to record, experiment, manipulate, mutate, and layer the songs with lush orchestration, haunting synths, and abstract textures. Challenging the confines of the standard “rock band,” they took inspiration from artists like Portishead and Aphex Twin, reigniting their passion as they explored their sound in a new realm. The sessions resulted in a flutter of productivity and before the band knew it they had completed well over a dozen songs, stretching far beyond the confines of a single LP’s runtime. After much deliberation, songs were pulled from the record, never a “trimming of the fat” but more of a consideration of which songs were able to stand best on their own.
With the band’s US tour currently underway, Pile announce their next release, Hot Air Balloon EP, a collection of five songs recorded during the All Fiction sessions. Set for release on January 5th, 2024, the record captures the band experimenting in all directions, from the direct to the further abstract. Following the release of “Scaling Walls,” a song Paste Magazine called “a contemplative slow-burn,” the band introduce the EP with the quasi title track, “The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon,” a song that finds Pile in a more surrealist state, the meditative composition bristling with shuffling rhythms and brilliantly disorienting synths.