Album Of The Week: Pile’s You’re Better Than This

Roaring out of the burgeoning Boston music scene with intensity and vigor, Pile has an amazing sound that sonically can peel the paint off of walls. Imagine if CBGB legends Television started out in late ’80s Minneapolis, signed to SST Records and started touring with Black Flag, Sonic Youth, Husker Du and Big Black. Once you get a good picture of it and start listening to Pile, I guarantee everything will come together and start to make sense. The band’s new release You’re Better Than This continues an extraordinary pattern of originality and forcefulness to create music that will flat-out astound you.

The rigid distortion from the guitars and the angst behind frontman Rick Maguire’s voice makes for soul-socking jams that will light up your eyes as if you hit the musical jackpot. Progressive rhythms and a raw, unapologetic aesthetic make Pile’s new album hit all kinds of dimensions while not straying from the base of what makes their band so good in the first place. A distinct emphasis on loudness and reverb is all over this album from track to track. Its in-your-face style with a bleeding heart on the sleeve will amaze you.

Turn your speakers up to 11 and prepare to rock out like a madman. It’s time for my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week. You ready to get crazy? Dive in.

Kicking off the album with absolute authority, “The World Is Your Motel” is a raging cyclone of fury that hooks you from the start with scorching guitars. Very Fugazi-esque, “#2 Hit Single” gets all artsy with an abstract structure, but with numerous points of headbang-worthy noise that ups the ante. For the conspiracy theory nutjobs there’s “Tin Foil Hat;” a slow beginning with lighting fast beats and chords makes for another intense track.

Pile are currently in a middle of a tour that will be covering The US, Canada and Europe, and they’ll be making a stop in Providence on May 20. No details on where they’ll be playing and who else will be on the bill, but expect an update on that pretty soon. Until they invade the stage at your friendly neighborhood music venue, grab a copy of Pile’s new release. It’ll give you a shock to your system like few can.

Pile’s Bandcamp: pile.bandcamp.com