A refrained opener, ‘It Comes Closer’ offers a tantalizing taste of what the Boston trio has to offer on what is their eighth studio album. Slow, ghostly, and cavernous, the track moves gently as the record unfurls into ‘Loops’. Held steady by the rhythmic drumming of Kris Kuss and stern vocals of Rick Maguire, the track staggers between fever and fatigue. Side-stepping into the disorientating, ‘Gardening Hours’ takes a free-form approach as it wavers between structure and sheer experimentation. Occasionally rained in but generally allowed to roam, the track is very much the essence of the record. A hybrid tune, ‘Link Arms’ fuses a meandering low-slung baseline and bolts a string section to it whilst both disparate elements are held in place by Maguire’s vocals as he wrestles with the ebb and flow of each. The soul-searching ‘Blood’ quietly asks itself questions that can neither be fully understood nor answered. In relative terms, the brevity of ‘Lowered Rainbow’ is made up for by its complex layering and sonic cross thatch that is as intricate as it is delicate. Whilst being the shortest track on the album, it perhaps deserves the leading role as All Ficton’s central figure. The summation of Pile in full flight. The imperceptible intro to ‘Forgetting’ escalates slowly but is a background track more than anything particularly noteworthy yet ‘Poisons’ begins with a crash and boom. Cymbals and stands clang as the peaking drum and guitars swell around Maguire’s vocals. Like an auditory circle pit, it is the focal point of Maguire that everything else jostles around, mashing and bashing together. The marching beat of ‘Nude with a Suitcase’ takes a disintegrated sound and blends it with an organ as it provides a rigidity that Maguire strays from throughout. As it escalates with chunky guitar strokes it simultaneously is rained upon with the most gentle of reverb. Yet again another exquisite balancing act that Pile maintains as they continue to walk a tightrope of free form, avant garde, and rock ballad. As if escorted from the mind and world of Pile, ‘Neon Gray’ takes a positive exist to All Ficton. The soft touch, strings and eventual fade out is a delicate outro and one that already leaves you wanting more.
6.5 / 10