PILE SHARE "THE BIRDS ATTACKED MY HOT AIR BALLOON"

Posted on September 21st, 2023

Pile have announced a new EP, Hot Air Balloon, due out January 5th from Exploding In Sound Records. To mark the occasion, the band have shared its exhilarating quasi track "The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Ballon."

Earlier this month Pile shared a tantilizing new single "Scaling Walls" and today they've revealed that it's part of their upcoming Hot Air Balloon EP. The five song release was recorded during the sessions of the band's acclaimed 2023 full-length, All Fiction, and functions as a companion to that album. These aren't simply extra songs from the All Fiction sessions, these are essential Pile tracks that pack a serious punch, as indicated by "The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon." The track lulls the listener in with gentle instrumentation and vocalist/guitarist Rick Maguire's agile voice, then builds into the kind of sonic catharsis that makes Pile such a special band.

Watch the "The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon" music video:

Maguire discussed the new song, saying:

"It started off as just an image that felt related to the music (floating peacefully through the air), but it naturally turned into a story of that peace being interrupted by fear and navel-gazing. I usually use songwriting as a way to look for and work through whatever might need to process, and that's how this one shook out."

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 captivating songs of their career.