BULLETIN #6: 04/11/24: CHAT PILE: COOL WORLD
ALBUM REVIEW: Chat Pile's second "proper" album lands to much acclaim. How does it compare to their action-packed debut, God's Country, from 2022?
CHAT PILE: COOL WORLD
THE FLENSER
2024
When God’s Country came out in 2022, it was difficult to move in noise rock circles without hearing another voice being added to Chat Pile’s adoring throng. So much so, in fact, that it became a turn-off for me. I became the hate-breeder of my own negativity for the band, such was my exhaustion with the empty plaudits.
Not so much because I felt like God’s Country wasn’t worth the enthusiasm - it definitely was - and still is - I just found it nauseating that reviews were waxing and coverage was being awarded by writers who wouldn’t normally give this music the time of day. The random number generator had spat out Chat Pile, and now everyone from The Guardian to Kerrang! were talking with authority on a band they would have ignored if there hadn’t been some self-perpetuating momentum gathering around them.
Where were the same voices lauding Ken Mode, Helms Alee, Mr.Phylzzz or Wormrot? Off the top of my head, there werenplenty of noise/noise rock/heavy LPs just as worthy of the attention in 2022. It had the air of bandwagon jumping to me, so I got turned off.
I’m awkward like that.
Of course, once the hype and FOMO wore off, I undulged God’s Country and, of course, if you’re reading this, you already know that it’s a really great, diverse, ferocious, amusing and killer LP. I’m just saying lots of other stuff came out that got ignored unjustifiably. If journos paid proper attention, there’d be a lot more coverage for a lot more great music. But instead of listening to records, they listen to each other, and thus the spiral continues.
Ho Hum.
So here we are, anyway, two years down the line. Chat Pile released a soundtrack LP to a lo-fi Oklahoma movie, Tenkiller, but Cool World is ostensibly the follow up to God’s Country and their “proper” sophomore effort.
What I love about the band is how content they are to wear their influences on their sleeves - and although many of them are obvious, they never feel unimaginative, copied, phoned in or cheap. You can hear In Utero, Daydream Nation, Goat, Atomiser and even some fairly revolting Korn influences. But don’t let that put you off. They haven’t gone all Nu Metal, thank fuck. You can just tell they grew up with some of those darker bass sounds and beats underpinning their music collections.
The preview tracks for Cool World, are, across the board, great tasters for the wider album. I Am Dog Now, especially, launches the LP in a visceral In Utero fashion, and is probably the icon track of the LP., but for real Nirvana influence, Frownland has to take the cake. Its core riff is very much inspired by Scentless Apprentice - and its to its credit.
The band do a good job of getting you on side. You sense they’re fans, and if you hear them in interviews, it’s undeniable, so you can’t help but back them all the way. There isn’t a point at which you feel like you’ve busted them for ripping someone off - you only feel the inspiration and and join them in the joy of it - because despite the oblique referencing, the songs and the band have their own unique voice.
Side One’s closer, Camcorder is the weakest track on the album and the only one I feel the need to skip. It’s comparatively long and lifeless. It doesn’t really take you to the places the other songs do. I’m surprised it was included, because it stands out, at least to me, as being the LP’s singular low point.
Both Tape and The New World, the pair that take us into Side Two, have a bit of the Jesus Lizard about them, despite Raygun Busch saying he’s not particularly a fan. He does some very convincing Yow-isms for someone not that arsed. The New World, inparticular, is an album highlight.
Masc follows and stands out for being more washed with guitars than pinned down with a hard riff. Milk of Human Kindness follows. It’s an enjoyably mopey dirge, but the album’s closing track, No Way Out, is the real highlight - not just of the second side, but of the entire LP. It’s got Duane Denison guitars and stop/start rhythms that recall Pure, Head and Goat in equal measure but still sounding more like Chat Pile than anyone else.
It’s a great one to end on.
I’m not convinced it’s a God’s Country beater. They set the bar quite high for themselves. This time round they sound more indignant. Angrier. Ultimately though, the songs are slightly less consistent. The highs are probably higher, but there aren’t as many of them.
That’s not to say Cool World is a disappointment - it’s definitely not. It’s entirely worth your bucks - and I’m desperate to see them play these songs live.
I think though that perhaps I was hoping for a nine out of ten and got a respectable seven or eight.
That’s not to be sniffed at. But would it be an album of the year?
I doubt it.
But hey - don’t listen to me. Wait to see what The Telegraph says about it.
Ave, Ultra!