Are definitions important anymore? We are so far past the days of tribalism when it comes to our favourite musical artists. With all music available all of the time at the touch of our fingers then boundaries have long been blurred into non-existence. Just look at the artists that feature on 6Music’s so-called “Indie Forever” playlist. How many of them would have been deemed ‘Indie’ back in the 80s or 90s? We are in the melting pot…
Spawning out of this cauldron of influence is Chat Pile, a band who defy definition. They exist within what you could term “heavy” or “alternative” borders and yet they are so much more. Over their previous two albums, Chat Pile managed to create a music that is emotive, full of righteous anger, very funny, and deeply sincere. Low slung bass and spindly guitars are crushed against slabs of metal sludge and grungey darkness. Barely spoken words merge into full guttural screams making the listening to their music a brilliantly disorienting experience. One that removes us from ourselves whilst also managing to ground our trains of thoughts on what it means to be alive in 2026.
For their third album, Chat Pile have decided to stretch their sound even further whilst maintaining their core, thunderous centreground. Who Loves The Sun is rammed with melodic hooks and strands of DNA from a more eurocentric starting point. You can imagine the approving nod from Mr Robert Smith (a well publicised lover of the heavier side of music) on opener ‘Creature’, whilst ‘Shrine’ contains moments of guitar picked melancholy worthy of a Factory Records or eighties Rough Trade release. And yet, for all of the seemingly UK based influence, there is one band, from Chat Pile’s very own United States, that Who Loves The Sun mostly feels like an heir apparent to and that is Pixies. This is not meant to lay any accusations of plagiarism or lazy copycat tropes at the feet of the band, what it is is a ringing endorsement because much like Pixies, Chat Pile are completely unafraid to lay us flat with a scream whilst guitars are seemingly beamed in from a completely different continent. Both bands (especially in that early Kim Deal featuring run of Pixies) are/were morphing the form of heavy music into a new, genreless blend that is excitingly fresh and completely tapping into the zeitgeist. Much like Surfer Rosa and Doolittle brought in music fans from multiple avenues, so do Chat Pile and especially on this album which deserves to be the record that truly crosses over into the public consciousness. Just listen to grunge-sludge of ‘Influence’ which sounds like the bastard child of Bleach era Nirvana, Unknown Pleasures-era Joy Division and the harmonic beauty of My Bloody Valentine.
Who Loves The Sun is a vital document of what it must mean to be an American right now. The way songs decay, fray, and hammer home points is a perfect representation of an angry, confused and battle-ready mindset. This is music that just has to exist. It is birthed from a myriad of influences yet remains its own, singular and beautiful self. Chat Pile is fast becoming one of the most important and unique voices in modern guitar music and yes it may be heavy but it is also completely intoxicating.
They may have just released the best album of the year.
Chat Pile website/ Bandcamp / Instagram / Facebook
Review by Simon Tucker
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List