Review: Chat Pile – In the Earth Again
This album sounds like pumpkin guts smell. I will elaborate no further.
Chat Pile seem like they’ve been pretty hard at work lately. Between last year’s Cool World, the Blood At Night tapes, Raygun’s contribution to Cold Fronts – Volume 2, and a pretty busy touring schedule, I wasn’t expecting an LP out of the band for at least a couple years. Yet here we are, just barely a year after Cool World with another record in hand, this time a collaboration with folk guitarist Hayden Pedigo.
I was pretty surprised to hear that these two acts would be working together. Hayden’s stuff is all pretty mellow acoustic Americana with a bit of a math-y flair—a far cry from the chaotic, crashing riffs of Chat Pile. More curious than skeptical, I went into it eager to see how they would manage to blend the two. And the conclusion I’m glad they came to is that they don’t always have to.
Hayden seems to bring out a softer side of the band with this release. Out of the 11 tracks on the record, only three of them really feel like raw, unadulterated Chat Pile. For the most part, In the Earth Again alternates between tracks with lyrics and tracks that are instrumental, most of which are pretty laid back (especially by Chat Pile standards), but there are some moments in them that get a little heavier.
Image courtesy of The Flenser on Instagram
Among the many highlights from this album, Raygun Busch’s acoustic guitar playing might be my favorite. “I Got My Own Blunt to Smoke” and “A Tear For Lucas” are both entirely Raygun and completely incredible. “A Tear For Lucas,” especially, is one of the most heartbreaking and emotional songs I’ve ever heard and serves as a perfect closer. In terms of traditional Chat Pile bangers, “Never Say Die,” Fission/Fusion,” and “The Matador” will meet all your noise rock needs, and “Demon Time” and “Radioactive Dreams”—the two singles they released ahead of the full album—serve as nice marriages between Chat Pile’s sound and Hayden’s.
There’s something overwhelmingly autumnal about In the Earth Again, at least to me. I suppose it could be the warm colors of the album art, or the fact that it comes out on Halloween, but I think it’s more than that. Several of the songs have lyrics about loss or change, which coincides nicely with the changing of the scenery all around me. I’ve taken this record with me on more than one drive through the countryside to look at the leaves, and I’m sure I’ll be doing the same again next year. And if you want to do the same, I’d say today’s the day.
4/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
In the Earth Again is out today through The Flenser.
