Album Review: Who Loves The Sun by Chat Pile
Album artwork for Who Loves The Sun by Chat Pile
Love them or hate them, Chat Pile, since their inception have became an unrelenting sludge-driven force to be reckoned with as they headline tours and festivals around the world where no stage or venue floor is safe from vocalist Raygun Busch (Ray B. for short) getting the dogs out.
Keeping their finger firmly on the pulse, the Oklahoma noise outlet born from the minds of film lovers & critics have made it their mission to put on blast the ever-greying world we live in through their signature sound, melding sludge and doom metal sensibilities with erratic ramblings that upon the surface would have anyone labelled a madman. But diving deeper, the lyrics reveal an understanding of the festering rot that clings to our lives that we are all too distracted by or told to ignore for our own (and shareholders) benefit.
From the bowels of modern society, namely a burnt out shopfront on city outskirts, eclipsed by the somewhat vacant 50-story Devon Tower, “Who Loves The Sun” sets the tone before we’ve even hit play on the record. A glaring reminder of corporate greed, the hoarding of wealth and societal decay, Chat Pile know what they’re doing and where they want to take us. The continuation from the acclaimed “God’s Country to Cool World” and now this new entry, it’s clear the emphasis placed early on highlighting the political and societal failings their state has faced as well as beyond was no fad or phase, it’s allowed them to become this dreary beacon that won’t stop shining no matter it’s upkeep.
Singles Deep Blue and Same Rules sees Chat Pile carry that all too familiar Flenser swagger with lyrics laced in cynicism and twangy bass lines. However the most noticeable evolution across both tracks is as mentioned in interviews with the band, the vocals feature subtle layering unlike any on their previous releases. Notably the guitars being so overpowering in the past added a metaphorical layer that made Ray B’s words carry phantom weight as they fought to stay above water but now, now there’s this introduction of actual melody and something akin to hooks which feels so out of place for the band but as mentioned before, the layering adds a sneaking confidence that allows them stay on even keel with the rest of the instrumentation and at times even lead. It’s a hopeful flicker of what’s to come and how even though the praise that was thrown upon them when they dropped “God’s Country”, its success hasn’t gone to their heads and they haven’t chosen to sit idle as their popularity grows.
Shrine explores the wage-gap in Oklahoma City and it’s repetitive nature signalling the endless cycle of dead-end corporate jobs. Intruder discusses excessive surveillance in the wake of flock cameras sprouting up everywhere in the US, and Influence speaks of doom-scrolling and the constant feed of advertisement and social anxiety we’re spoon-fed to keep us in an ugly consumer trance. There’s one thing that’s hard to believe Chat Pile could do any better and it’s deliver a message, but as you progress through the record you realise the subject matter mixed with an abrasive nature and moments of uncanny groove, “Who Loves The Sun” is a prime example of a band already at the top of their game continuing to explore their sound and make it work without feeling like forced innovation for relevancy.
From start to finish a crushing presence looms and does not relent. Each track taking on a separate theme poses the issue that transitions could be somewhat difficult considering the significance of each, however they all tie in with one another and each transition is seamless leaving each track feeling complete before moving onto the next. One criticism Chat Pile have suffered in the past is each track blending so seamlessly into one another that it creates this ‘comfy-brain’ sensation where each songs identity is lost and you lose track of where you are in their past albums. This isn’t the case here as they’ve learned by amping up track identity tenfold and this is partly due to the aforementioned introduction of hooks and vocal layering. This album reeks of replayability and feels written with the intent to be memorable which is more apparent compared to past releases.
Without a doubt this is a step up for the band as they continue to raise the bar for themselves and their genre. Dialling further into the world burning around us, exploring new styles while remaining grounded in what they do best, “Who Loves The Sun” is an album that doubles as an abstract of a dying planet that’s being mined and abused at the hands of commercial gluttony, and an example of how a band can embrace practices and ideas that are not traditional in their space and make it work beautifully.
FFO: Sprain, Show Me The Body, Primitive Man, Portishead, Daughters
SCORE: 8/10
Who Loves The Sun is out on all streaming platforms now, released via The Flenser.
