Pile - All Fiction

If for every action there is indeed a reaction, then ‘All Fiction’ is arguably the product of Pile’s two previous endeavours: first, leader Rick Maguire having dissected the outfit’s previous work in order to tour it solo, and secondly the recording of ‘In The Corners of a Sphere-Filled Room’, a completely improvisational record. Their latest is a full-bodied work, with many intertwining layers that are often wholly unpredictable. Sprawling, drone-like textures emit a sense of sadness, while guitars veer from the clanging to riff-heavy in the blink of an eye. ‘Loops’ is a kind of muted hardcore, Rick’s anger simmering wildly but never given the chance to bubble over. ‘Blood’, meanwhile, is a meandering, softer effort, with curiously soothing backing vocals. ‘Forgetting’ makes use of militaristic drums to jolt the senses amid an otherwise abstract structure, and ‘Neon Gray’ is as subtle as it gets. ‘Poisons’ is the most conventional of the lot, its discordance bringing to mind Cloud Nothings or even Drenge at points. It’s all washed over with a layer of fuzz, the distorted sound making it impossible to discern precisely what’s going on - which is, one would imagine, precisely the point.