Chat Pile – God’s Country (Review)

This is the debut album from Chat Pile, a noise/sludge rock band from the US.

God’s Country is a 42-minute cry of anxiety, despair, and pain, which manifests as noise and sludge rock coalesced into nine emotive tracks. Other elements such as industrial, punk, and grunge have also made it into Chat Pile’s shapeshifting sound, resulting in a charismatic journey into impassioned desperation and energetic angst.

Chat Pile have developed a distinctive and idiosyncratic sound for themselves, and God’s Country showcases this with passion and individuality. As a rough starting point, think of a catastrophic merging of Daughters, At the Drive In, Godflesh, Nirvana, and Kowloon Walled City.

The songs are raw, loose, and unhinged, but not undirected or without purpose; far from it, in fact. This is a band with a message, and the skills to craft enticingly jagged and dangerous-feeling songs to portray this accordingly. God’s Country is a very honest and open record, one which has been birthed by specific people at a specific time in specific circumstances; there is nothing that’s cookie cutter or that’s phoned in here.

The band have a filthy sound that infects the listener and insists that they pay attention. The music is diverse and well-rounded. The songs have a range of textures and styles sewn into them. Chat Pile are quite content to peel out jam-kicking riffs, but also to create contemplative introspective wanderings, or menacing atmospheric workouts. Despite this broad musical base, the music is more brutal than that of many much heavier bands. In their unflinching portrayal of societal issues, they’re absolutely punishing. Chat Pile are like a hammer to the face.

God’s Country is a striking and memorable record. Make sure you check this out.

Highly recommended.