PILE DROP FINAL SINGLE + VIDEO AHEAD OF NEW ALBUM
Boston’s noise-rock lifers Pile are back with “Bouncing in Blue,” the final preview of their upcoming album Sunshine and Balance Beams, out August 15 via Sooper Records. The track tackles the uneasy beauty of letting go—of control, of outcomes, of needing to have it all figured out. It’s wistful, it’s heavy, and it floats in that murky space between dread and calm. The Stefan Fernandez-directed video captures this mood perfectly, following frontman Rick Maguire as he’s literally swept away by the tide. Make sure to let this song burn until its 2:34 mark as it just fantastically explodes Pile style.
This new single rounds out a trio of videos, following “Born at Night,” which stared down the emptiness behind enlightenment, and “Uneasy,” a gut-punch meditation on displacement and death. Each track adds a new layer to Sunshine and Balance Beams, a record that sees Pile stretching into new sonic corners while still rooted in their hard-earned DIY grit. With help from engineer Miranda Serra and mixer Seth Manchester (The Hotelier, Big Brave), the band trades blunt-force trauma for textured intensity—and it works.
Pile’s known for going all-in, and this year’s no different. They’ve got a monster 70-city international tour on the books, including North American dates with NNAMDÏ, a run through the UK and Europe, a stop at Levitation Festival in Austin, and even a string of stripped-down solo shows from Rick across New England. Full tour dates below.
Sunshine and Balance Beams drops August 15 via Sooper Records.
RICK FROM PILE (SOLO) – NEW ENGLAND TOUR
07/31 – Needham, MA @ Volante Farms
08/01 – Jamaica Plain, MA @ Bee’s Basement w/ Footings
08/02 – Belfast, ME @ Squash & Pumpkins w/ Elisabeth Fuchsia
08/03 – Portland, ME @ Novel
08/05 – Dover, NH @ A House *
08/07 – Burlington, VT @ Burlington Odd Fellows
08/08 – Western Mass – TBD
08/09 – Hamden, CT @ Space (Benefit for Best Video)
08/10 – East Providence, RI @ MYRTLE Rhode Island (Matinee) w/ Carl from Kal Marks
PILE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR (w/ NNAMDÏ)
08/21 – Portland, ME @ SPACE
08/22 – Troy, NY @ Hangar
08/23 – Rochester, NY @ Flour City Station
08/25 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake
08/26 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
08/27 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (In The Round)
08/29 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
08/30 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
08/31 – Fargo, ND @ Aquarium
09/02 – Missoula, MT @ Zoo Arts
09/04 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
09/06 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s (early & late)
09/07 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios (early & late)
09/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
09/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
09/13 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
09/15 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
09/16 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
09/18 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress
09/19 – El Paso, TX @ Love Buzz
09/20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Tumbleroot Brewery
09/22 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge
09/24 – Wichita, KS @ Wave
09/25 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head
09/26 – Dallas, TX @ Tulips
09/27 – Austin, TX @ Levitation Festival (29th Street Ballroom)
09/28 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall – Upstairs
09/30 – New Orleans, LA @ No Dice
10/02 – Chattanooga, TN @ Boneyard
10/03 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
10/04 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
10/05 – Durham, NC @ Kings
10/06 – Washington, DC @ Pearl Street
10/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground
10/09 – New York, NY @ Sony Hall
10/10 – Waterbury, CT @ Space Ballroom
10/11 – Boston, MA @ Sinclair
PILE EU/UK TOUR DATES
10/27 – Milan, IT @ Legend Club
10/28 – Bologna, IT @ Freakout Club
10/29 – Ljubljana, SI @ Channel Zero
10/30 – Zagreb, CR @ Močvara Club
10/31 – Vienna, AT @ Lucia
11/02 – Prague, CZ @ Meetfactory
11/03 – Dresden, DE @ Scheune @ Blechschloss
11/04 – Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club (+ Idaho)
11/05 – Hamburg, DE @ HeadCRASH
11/08 – Wetzlar, DE @ Franzis
11/09 – Kortrijk, BE @ Sonic City
11/10 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
11/11 – Tilburg, NL @ Hall of Fame
11/12 – London, UK @ The Dome
11/13 – Brighton, UK @ Dust
11/14 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
11/16 – Dublin, IE @ The Sound House
11/17 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono
11/18 – Leeds, UK @ Lending Room
11/19 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
11/21 – Liège, BE @ La Zone
11/23 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
For tickets and info: pilemusic.com
The Fire Note is an independent-music website that mixes record-store culture with lively, opinionated music journalism. It publishes: Album reviews and features – Covering indie-rock, punk, folk, experimental music, and underground scenes.




