by Rainy Maple Sugar Candy (@hpfblog)
Welcome to Cool World. Please zip your phone inside the provided Faraday bag for the duration of the tour. There is no waiver to sign: you’re either going to make it out alive or you’re not. Shit’s on fire but the beer is cold for now.
If the year-old debate on Reddit has anything to say about it, Chat Pile’s genre is best described as “noise rock,” “hardcore,” “not hardcore,” “sludge scary despair,” or possibly just “Oklahoma.” All are correct. Thematically, the band’s sophomore full-length Cool World picks up where their debut God’s Country left off. Except now, as vocalist Raygun Busch has explained, those themes have “exploded from a micro to macro scale, with thoughts specifically about disasters abroad, at home, and how they affect one another.” He’s not kidding about the exploding part. If you learn one thing today, it’s not to question a man called Raygun Busch. If you learn three more things today, it’s not to question a guitarist called Luther Manhole, a bassist called Stin, or a drummer called Cap’n’ Ron.
Opening track “I am Dog Now” sets the tone for this expedition in no uncertain terms. Our Cool World narrator has been pushed to the limit and has nothing left to lose. He is dog now and you are going to listen, even if you refuse to look. This track was single number one released back in July and it was the correct attention-demanding choice to accompany the album announcement.
If you’ll just look out the window to your left, coming up next is “Shame.” Where “I Am Dog Now” may have made it seem like this was going to be a fully paws-to-the-wall post-hardcore journey, “Shame” is secretly (or maybe not?) an indie-grunge-rock song. Don’t @ me. It’s all in the chorus melody and that guitar. Surprise! This one feels a bit like if Nada Surf had seen some shit they couldn’t unsee, complete with oddly beautiful talk-singing and fully guttural growls.
Speaking of “oddly beautiful,” you’ll find that Cool World fits this description throughout, being as melodic as it is aggressive. Continue following the numbered trail on your map and you’ll discover nu metal-esque bass that will satisfy even the most discerning child of the mid-80s, doomy-ass guitar, and drums that only seem to get bigger and bigger. Special mention must be made of “Masc,” the third of three singles. The video is not to be missed. It’s not like it’s difficult to make toxic masculinity seem fucking ridiculous, but Chat Pile have done it with serious style and in a fully authentic way that a “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like” coffee mug could never even aspire to.
Fair warning: spending time in Cool World just might make any coming apocalypse bearable, so skip it if you’re hell bent on staying despondent without catharsis. “For fans of” IDLES and Protomartyr who feel like they might need something a bit stronger this time around. This record is going to make a lot of best-of-2024 lists and it deserves every spot.