Companion tracks “Camcorder” and “Tape” give a distant and grainy impression of violence. The previous is chilly and eliminated, trudging together with the sinister tempo of Michael Myers. Busch sings of a shadowy evil whose form isn’t completely clear, one thing that may have been finely fleshed-out on God’s Nation. However his last response to this nebulous malignancy, “let’s watch it once more,” is environment friendly in its brevity. This easy, open-ended phrase, sung with Busch’s trademark dread, suggests a sick enjoyment of voyeurism—that what we’re willfully watching is simply too sick to explain, however too intriguing to disregard. “Tape” is extra formally and texturally wealthy, with a pulsing, uneven beat and a bassline that nods to Metallica’s indelible “Enter Sandman” riff. Busch screams tightly-worded verses, the flesh from his throat shredding off the muscle. “They made tapes!” he shouts. “It was the worst I ever noticed.” Right here, the tune’s omitted particulars are doing the heavy lifting; you would possibly image some hideous snuff movie, or information clips from Cambodia circa 1973.
Though Cool World doesn’t stomp with the identical weight of God’s Nation, Chat Pile’s stylistic experiments repay. “Humorous Man,” for instance, opens with a storm of mine-blasting drums and leaded bass that might rip by means of a Glenn Branca piece. Then, as if bursting from the Trojan Horse, it morphs into articulate, melodic rock; Busch sings with a pointy and breathless cadence that journeys alongside like sure strains of Modest Mouse. Busch dealt in concise brutality on God’s Nation, however on “Humorous Man” he flexes a extra poetic and summary grasp on language:
I broke my knees upon the pearl and onyx
Within the corridor of trophies constructed to honor my father
Spilled the blood, gave ’em as a lot as they needed
Nonetheless needed to dance for my supper
Nonetheless needed to give them my physique
With its cinematic verses and high-wire leaps from no-wave to tweaked-out indie to hardcore, “Humorous Man” represents the head of Chat Pile’s explorative potential. Busch has defined that the tune is about “being a servant, indentured or in any other case,” but it surely additionally suggests the corporeal value of wealth, and the generational trauma of those that bled for it. Chat Pile know that regardless of the place you’re from, all blood leaves the identical stain.
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