Boston DIY stalwarts Pile have announced that their ninth album, Sunshine and Balance Beams, their first release with Chicago’s esteemed Sooper Records, will be out August 15.
On Sunshine and Balance Beams, the band pushes into new sonic territory, enlisting engineer Miranda Serra (Kal Marks, Kira McSpice), mixer Seth Manchester (Model/Actriz, The Hotelier, Big Brave) and mastering engineer Matt Colton (James Blake, Depeche Mode, Band Bear). Listen to the first track, “Born at Night”—a song that wrestles with the idea that there is no enlightenment, no end to suffering. Assisted by accelerating tom-staggers and rain-like, Neu!-indebted guitars, the track moves from resignation to meditative nihilism, augmented by swelling strings—a sonic embodiment of the album’s themes of light and shadow in balance. It arrives with a Josh Echevarria-directed video. Starring Shahjehan Khan (of the Hulu hit, Deli Boys) the video takes place in a medieval fantasy world delving further into album themes of suffering and liberation via plato’s cave-like obfuscation of reality as a metaphor for enlightenment or lack thereof.
Tour Dates
08/21/25 – Portland, ME – SPACE
08/22/25 – Troy, NY – Hangar
08/23/25 – Rochester, NY – Flour City Station
08/25/25 – Toronto, ON – The Drake
08/26/25 – Detroit, MI – El Club
08/27/25 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall (In The Round)
08/29/25 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
08/30/25 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
08/31/25 – Fargo, ND – Aquarium
09/02/25 – Missoula, MT – Zoo Arts
09/04/25 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
09/06/25 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s (early)
09/06/25 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s (late)
09/07/25 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios (early)
09/07/25 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios (late)
09/10/25 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
09/12/25 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
09/13/25 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
09/15/25 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
09/16/25 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge
09/18/25 – Tucson, AZ – Hotel Congress
09/19/25 – El Paso, TX – Love Buzz
09/20/25 – Albuquerque, NM – Tumbleroot Brewery
09/22/25 – Denver, CO – Lost Lake Lounge
09/24/25 – Wichita, KS – Wave
09/25/25 – Oklahoma City, OK – Resonant Head
09/26/25 – Dallas, TX – Tulips
09/28/25 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall – Upstairs
09/30/25 – New Orleans, LA – No Dice
10/02/25 – Chattanooga, TN – Boneyard
10/03/25 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
10/04/25 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
10/05/25 – Durham, NC – Kings
10/06/25 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street
10/08/25 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground
10/09/25 – New York, NY – Sony Hall
10/10/25 – Waterbury, CT – Space Ballroom
10/11/25 – Boston, MA – Sinclair
