Pile of Love is a new band comprised of Nick Cogan and Chris Villeneuve of the Albany-based hardcore band Drug Church, Ryan Graham of the Albany-based pop-punks State Champs, Kevin Geyer of The Story So Far, and Morgan Foster of Mobin’s Child. Now where do you think they have their HQ? Would you guess Albany, NY? Well don’t, ’cause they’re out of LA. It will make more sense once you’ve actually listened to the group’s music. They get a lot of sun out in LA and Pile of Love is a very sunny-sounding band. In fact, if they didn’t already call California home, I’d be very surprised to learn that they weren’t making plans to relocate there. Pile of Love’s oeuvre is what old folks oncee might have called “indie rock,” as in guitar pop and rock made by unsigned bands. That’s what they used to refer to groups like Material Issue and The Smithereens before they cut deals with labels like Mercury and Capitol, and “college rock” after the fact. Smooth melodies, hooky guitar work, manageable levels of distortion, and steady rock ‘n roll beats. It’s surprising to see a bunch of guys who made their hay in their respective DIY and punk scenes return to such an unselfconscious and normie style of rock music, but I suspect a few of them remember hearing Teenage Fanclub while back in college and somehow managed to smuggle a secret affection for their sound throughout the long hazing of their hardcore days. According to Ryan in press materials provided by the band, it didn’t take more than a couple of free form jam sessions to settle on their sound, which confirms my theory that we are witnessing some kind of a return of the repressed in the Freudian sense- only it’s all positive stuff that they’ve uncovered from their subconcious- from the warm washes of guitar gusto to the optimistic uplift and emotional stability of Morgan’s vocal performances and lyrics, it’s about as well-adjusted as rock music gets. The band seems pretty happy with the results as I understand and they should be, these tunes are solid and very easy to enjoy. This is quite the stack of tenderness Pile of Love has made, and it’s waiting for you to dive into- headfirst!
You can buy and stream Pile of Love below via Bandcamp.
Follow Pile of Love on Instagram.
