A Hairshirt Of Purpose LP

Pile have never released the same album twice, since the projects 2007 beginnings the Boston quartet have been continuously evolving, pushing expectations, and obliterating good sensibility. A Hairshirt of Purpose, the bands fifth album continues that tradition in a different light. Following the raw intensity and unpredictability of Youre Better Than This, the band settled down to create an album about the joys of solitude and the inescapable selfishness of every action, exploring the limits of the studio in the process. If their last album was a challenge to their audience, A Hairshirt of Purpose is a challenge to the band itself.

Recorded at home in Boston at The Record Co. the studio’s big windows and close proximity marked a change from the bands previous recordings. Pile vocalist/guitarist Rick Maguire shared, 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. Theres a warmth and radiant accessibility to be found throughout the album as the band experimented with different instruments (violin, viola, piano, organs, synths, banjo, etc) and a resounding push toward clarity. Pile balance their ferocious tendencies with moments of beauty, building tension with release never too far behind.