REVIEW: DIVE Presents: Pile (with NNAMDÏ and Prize)
08/22 @ The Hangar on the Hudson, Troy
Photos by Debi Gustafson
“The group’s post-hardcore roots are still evident on Sunshine and Balance Beams, but they’re also no strangers to the pretty and delicate open spaces carved out in songs like ‘An Opening.’”
“Y’all are freaks for remembering that one!” Vocalist and guitarist Rick Maguire teased the audience in good faith after dusting off a performance of “Number One Hit Single,” a song from their 2010 album Magic Isn’t Real.
Pile’s steady rise to indie-darling fame is closing in on nearly two decades. Last month, the group released their ninth album, Sunshine and Balance Beams, and began their North American tour with Chicago-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, NNAMDÏ. In Troy, longstanding Pile devotees wanted to hear the old and the new. Despite the latest album dropping just a week ahead of the Troy show, many in the audience were already singing along to its tracks.
The group’s post-hardcore roots are still evident on Sunshine and Balance Beams, but they’re also no strangers to the pretty and delicate open spaces carved out in songs like “An Opening”. A string section swells at the two minute and a half mark, and Candace Clement’s (Footings, Bunny’s A Swine) backing vocals join in for a quick cameo. For a moment, you’re floating mid-air before plummeting back to earth in a spiraling clatter. When “A Loosened Knot” kicked off, The Hangar’s floorboards gave just a bit beneath the weight of everyone’s stomping feet as Rick’s rasping scream pitched and settled back to his clear speaking voice.
As is standard nowadays, bands leave the stage as if the night is over and come back for their encore. Rick laid it out plainly that they’d be leaving, huddling up, and coming back with three more songs to wind the night down. The audience laughed at how matter-of-fact this came across, but I appreciated the explicit instruction because I personally didn’t want to miss a moment.
Having seen Pile play live before, as well as experienced Rick’s quiet and beautiful solo work, I knew what I was signing up for. NNAMDÏ on the other hand was new to me, and once his performance started, I didn’t want it to stop. His sound feels way ahead of the curve: one moment he’s embodying midwestern emo for songs like “Flowers To My Demons”, rapping for his sing-songy 2023 single “Sudafed”, then he’s garnering audience participation for the glitchy earworm “Dedication”. He would joke, sometimes interrupting himself mid-song to comment on something that popped into his head, and jump effortlessly back in without missing a beat. It turns out NNAMDÏ, on top of being a consummate musician, is also an incredible showman.
Cohoes-based Prize opened the night, performing new material as well as a biting cover of Big Black’s “Bad Penny.” The band fits well against a backdrop of bands from the early era of Touch and Go Records–like The Jesus Lizard and Unwound–but with an exacting, hardcore edge. The group comprises members from other local bands Spell Runner and Throat Culture, and succeeded in giving this bill a post-punk flavor that felt right. If this night was a mixtape someone made you, there wouldn’t be a single skip in the track list.
