Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Cool World (Chat Pile album)
2024 studio album by Chat Pile From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Cool World is the second studio album by American rock band Chat Pile. It was released on October 11, 2024, through the Flenser.
Like its predecessor, the album received universal critical acclaim and placed on several publications' year-end lists.
Remove ads
Background and theme
Summarize
Perspective
Cool World borrows its title from the film of the same name (1992), setting the tone for an "unsettling atmosphere" with a horizon widened to depict a "decaying planet".[1] It serves as a continuation of their 2022 debut album God's Country, "only amped up".[2] Vocalist Raygun Busch explained that the project covers "similar themes" to their previous album but this time expanded to a "macro scale", focusing on "disasters abroad, at home" as well as their impact.[3] Busch states the album is "about the price at which we eat sugar in America," referencing a quote by French philosopher Voltaire.[4] Bassist Stin added that the goal was to "stretch the definition" of their sound in order to touch on their personal tastes beyond just noise rock and "challenge" the limits of their previous record.[5]
The album was mixed by Ben Greenberg of Uniform which marks the first time Chat Pile worked with a mixing assistant from outside of the band.[6]
Lyrically, the album touches upon poverty, war, and American imperialism. The song "Shame" criticizes the Gaza war, referencing "kids falling apart" and "broken tiny bodies, holding tiny still hearts."[7] The album's artwork displays a giant cross from a megachurch north of Oklahoma City, off of Interstate 35.[8]
Remove ads
Singles
Alongside the album announcement on July 16, 2024, the band released the lead single and opening track "I Am Dog Now", described as a "chunky, grating, post-hardcore/noise rock anthem", accompanied by a Will Mecca-directed video.[6] According to Busch, "Masc", the second single released on August 20, was one of the most important songs on the album as it talks about the "horrors of interpersonal intimacy" but is still in sync with the theme of "oppression, despair and malaise" throughout the album.[9] The third single "Funny Man" came out on September 24 and sees the band delivering a "seething, freaked-out rager" that ranges between "head-crushing riffs" and "90s-style funk-metal".[10]
Remove ads
Critical reception
Summarize
Perspective
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Cool World received an average score of 84 based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for The Line of Best Fit, John Amen gave the album a score of 9/10, concluding that "Cool World is instrumentally gripping, vocally enthralling, and lyrically calls out the horrors of late-stage capitalism".[23]
Year-end lists
Track listing
All tracks are written by Chat Pile.
Personnel
Chat Pile
- Raygun Busch – vocals, recording, photography
- Luther Manhole – guitar, glockenspiel, recording, photography
- Stin – bass, tape loops, synthesizer, recording, photography
- Cap'n Ron – drums, recording, photography
Additional contributors
- Matt Colton – mastering
- Ben Greenberg – mixing
Charts
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads