2024 has been filled with great albums by amazing artists (Micah Schnabel, Man’s Gin, The Jesus Lizard, Lonesome Shack, to name just a few), though the album I was most anticipating was the sophomore release from the Oklahoma noise rock band Chat Pile. I have written about them numerous times before on this blog, including just last month, clearly illustrating my excitement about the band’s work. They have a knack for portraying the horrors of the modern world in a way that does not feel exploitative, but in a way that actually feels unsettling. Much of their work has focused on the suffering of small town America, though their new record, Cool World, has turned their lens outward towards the suffering of the world. In the words of Chat Pile’s vocalist Raygun Busch, “it’s just a big anti-war statement, the whole album – every song is about how much I hate war. Man’s greatest shame.”
Cool World closes with the song “No Way Out”, an appropriately bleak way to end a bleak album. The song is propelled by a jazzy bass line and Busch yelling about losing hope for the future:
“From the time you were born it was over
Dreams shattered on the ground
Back then I was a believer, a dreamer
I got nothing now.”
According to Busch, the song is directed towards the fossil fuel industry helping to bring on global climate change. Their greed has contributed to an encroaching climate disaster from which there is “no way out”. Global climate change has been in the scientific and public discourse since the 1980s, but little has been done to help curb the issue. The United States has a platform to do something significant to help stave off disaster, but it has never been a priority. Busch wonders what kind of future we are leaving for the younger generations.
Cool World is essential listening.
Buy Chat Pile’s music here.
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