Chat Pile
Who Loves The Sun
Flenser (2026)
If Chat Pile were a film, they would be a dark thriller. The kind that builds tension until the end and, once we reach the third act, still might not ever show the killer. It's plodding and intense and, while I just pulled out a genre reference, the best thing about the band is how much they defy conventional musical labels. They definitely fall into the dark and heavy realm between post-hardcore and noise-rock, but it's more layered than that. They use death metal font and the tempos are often far slower than any of those styles named. Sometimes the vocals are calmly spoken, sometimes they are harshly shouted. I would personally put "Christabel '26" as one of the standouts and definitive tracks on Who Loves The Sun. At 4 minutes in length, it's sometimes heavy, sometimes plodding, sometimes soft -- but the shifts are never jarring or surprising. It's a steadily shifting emotion. I'd also describe the overall sound as the waste material that oozes out of an industrial processing plant. It's a sludgy, dirty composite. It's usually not a compliment when I say that every song feels longer than it actually is, but Chat Pile manages so much … Read more
Generacion Suicida
Hombre Nuevo
Vitriol (2026)
On the tail end of Autogramm’s 2018 tour of Mexico (what little I remember of that week now is a … Read more
Real Numbers
Was It Always This Way
Slumberland Records (2026)
I feel like this may be the first 12", 10-song release in my collection from Real Numbers, a dreampop meets … Read more
Alien Nosejob
How A Mosquito Operates
Anti Fade, Iron Lung (2026)
The one-man band of Alien Nosejob continues to crank out short, angry hardcore in quick bursts. I've lost count of … Read more
Cancer Bats
Give Me Dirt
Marshall Amplification PLC, New Damage records (2026)
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Bright Eyes of Gold”, “Give Me Dirt”, “Long Tooth”, “Fools Like You” Almost exactly two years ago, … Read more
