The long-distance Columbus/New York-based buzz-rock brother duo of Seth and Clayton Peacock are called Rat Motel, and they’re ready to unleash “The Pile.” The duo released their debut album The Rat Motel in 2023 and have been building their reputation for simmering live performances opening for the likes of The Beths, Pile, The Dirty Nil, and Twen among others. They’ve also become known for hosting their own festival in Columbus called RATFEST. But now, they’re starting to release the first singles off their upcoming sophomore album due out next year.
Today, Rat Motel are debuting their latest single, “The Pile,” a smoldering slow burner filled with demented versions of surf-rock bass riffs and hauntingly whispered vocals that build up to a big, cacophonous conclusion that will leave you stunned.
“The process of writing ‘The Pile’ was one of constant reinvention,” explain the band about the new single. “It started out as a vaguely Ty Segall-style riff-centered garage rock tune back in 2023, but over the next year, it became progressively murkier until it was almost unrecognizable from the original. We demoed it to our standard metronome—a straight four-on-the-floor kick pattern—with no intention of keeping that track. But by the time we went into the studio, the song felt like a massive sea creature we had to keep chained down with the constant heartbeat of the metronome. In mixing, a series of La Femme-inspired percussion parts tied everything together, creating an infectious underwater groove we didn’t realize we had been building the entire time.”
Check out the track below.
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Photo credit: M. Leonor Neto
