Album Reviews

If the album title came with a question mark, the answer would be a resounding ‘definitely not Chat Pile.’ The Oklahoma City noise-rock powerhouse’s third full-length finds them churning out 10 pitch-black tracks that offer better protection against bright days than SPF50 sunscreen.

A deeply uneasy dread creeps in the second opener “Creature” kicks off, moving like a slow-burning yet relentless vice. From there, “Same Rules” delivers hypnotic, unsettling post-punk, “PEN I S MALL” sounds like Unsane on a particularly miserable day, “Shrine” unleashes massive, Mastodon-esque riffs, and the sludge-drenched “Christabel ‘26” feels completely trapped in quicksand.

Lyrically, things are just as bleak. Vocalist Ray B. uses home invasions as a terrifying metaphor for social media, launches scathing attacks on Big Tech, and captures the soul-crushing reality of dead-end labor. Frankly, few bands have ever summed up their own sonic atmosphere better than Chat Pile does with the title of their closing track, “October All The Time.”

Who Loves The Sun is by no means a pleasant listening experience, but it definitely sticks with out, further solidifying Chat Pile as the most vital noise-rock band since The Jesus Lizard.