“The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon” — great title. It belongs to Pile, the veteran Boston indie rockers, who’ve made it the lead single and quasi-title track from their forthcoming Hot Air Balloon EP. That one’s coming in January, so yes, we’re officially into the part of the year when artists start announcing 2024 releases. Wild!

“The Birds Attacked My Hot Air Balloon” is an ominous slow-drift that blurs the line between post-rock and post-hardcore, so I’d say the music pairs well with the words. Pile’s Rick Maguire had this to say about it:

It started off as just an image that felt related to the music (floating peacefully through the air), but it naturally turned into a story of that peace being interrupted by fear and navel-gazing. I usually use songwriting as a way to look for and work through whatever might need to process, and that’s how this one shook out.

Watch the music video below.

The Hot Air Ballon EP is out 1/5 on Exploding In Sound.