Next month, Boston indie rockers Pile will drop a new album titled A Hairshirt of Purpose. Due out via Exploding in Sound, it serves as their fifth overall and the follow-up to 2015’s well-received You’re Better Than This.
The 13-track collection was recorded in their hometown at the Record Co., a space whose big windows afforded Pile views that would directly influence their music. “We were at home and we could see the sun and I think both of those things lent themselves to a more focused and deliberate record,” guitarist/vocalist Rick Maguire explained in a press statement.
(Read: Pile: You’re Cooler Than This)
January saw the release of lead single “Texas”; now, Pile are back with a second offering in “Dogs”. Not unlike the band’s previous material, the track is replete with seamless peaks and valleys, crunchy guitars and Maguire’s hollowed howl. Speaking to Stereogum, Maguire detailed the coming together of the song and how it relates to the rest of the LP:
“That was written on tour in 2015. I felt compelled to write it because the stuff that we were touring on the last record was sort of disjointed and weird — there were a lot of moving parts in those songs. I wanted to write something a little more conventional or standard for this album. But as far as what it it’s about… it definitely speaks to the ‘I’d rather be alone’ sort of vibe that set the tone for the rest of the songs on A Hairshirt Of Purpose. The story that the song is about is a little personal, so I don’t know if I feel like divulging too much information.”
Stream it down below.
A Hairshirt of Purpose lands in stores on March 31st. In support, Pile will hit the road for a US spring tour.
Pile 2017 Tour Dates:
03/16 – Austin, TX @ The Velveeta Room
04/02 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
04/06 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
04/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Sunnyvale
04/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
04/13 – Washington, DC @ DC9
04/14 – Durham, NC @ Duke Coffeehouse
04/15 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
04/16 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
04/17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
04/18 – Birmingham, AL @ The Syndicate Lounge
04/19 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder
04/20 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
04/21 – Houston, TX @ The Satellite Bar
04/22 – Austin, TX @ Sidewinder
04/23 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
04/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
04/27 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
04/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
04/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
05/02 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
05/03 – Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge
05/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Loading Dock
05/06 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge
05/07 – Omaha, NE @ River City Star
05/09 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
05/10 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
05/11 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
05/12 – Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar
05/13 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s
05/14 – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
