| God's Country | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 29, 2022 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:21 | |||
| Label | The Flenser | |||
| Producer | Jared Stimpfl | |||
| Chat Pile chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from God's Country | ||||
| ||||
God's Country is the debut studio album by American rock band Chat Pile, released on July 29, 2022, through the Flenser. It received universal critical acclaim, including the "Best New Music" honor from Pitchfork, and earned honors on several publications' year-end lists.
Following the release of two EPs in 2019 and a cover of Sepultura's "Roots Bloody Roots" for a compilation by the band's record label, Chat Pile announced their debut album God's Country on May 24, 2022, alongside its lead single "Slaughterhouse". [1] Subsequent singles "Why" and "Wicked Puppet Dance" were also released prior to the album. The band performed a show in its hometown of Oklahoma City on the day of the album's release and also immediately sold out two October dates in New York City. [2]
The album cover is a photograph of the Oklahoma County Detention Center, where eleven people died in 2022 before the album's release. Bassist Stin said, "That punitive, authoritarian hand is always right over you at any given time." [3]
God's Country is centered around real-world themes of horror. "Slaughterhouse" describes a 2014 beheading that occurred at a local food processing plant, while "The Mask" is about a 1974 mass murder of six restaurant employees in Oklahoma City. [3] Vocalist and songwriter Raygun Busch described "Why", a song about homelessness, as "the scariest song on the record" and "Pamela" as "extremely personal in a lot of ways despite essentially being Friday the 13th fanfiction." [4] "Wicked Puppet Dance" touches on drug addiction. [5] Closing track "grimace_smoking_weed.jpg" took its title from a list of options for one of the band's earlier EPs. It was released a six-minute long demo in 2021 but was transformed into a nine-minute song for the album, and Busch's lyrics were inspired by the films In a Glass Cage and Mysterious Skin . [4]
Busch also cited Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 1996 album Murder Ballads as an influence on his storytelling and characters. [3]
The album was originally titled Execute God, but the band changed it due to similarities with Portrayal of Guilt's 2021 album Christfucker. [6]
God's Country was recorded independently by the band members. This process allowed the band to save money and put forth its own vision for the album. Busch compared it to the film Tangerine, which was shot on an iPhone, and Have a Nice Life's debut album Deathconsciousness , which was recorded on GarageBand, as examples of art made by the masses using computer technology. [3]
Drummer Cap'n Ron uses an electronic drum kit containing samples that are further manipulated to produce an industrial sound. Stin's bass sounds are created using a Rusty Box pedal and a cab microphone. During the songwriting process, Chat Pile's instrumentalists are responsible for writing riffs, which are further jammed upon for Busch to lay his lyrics over. [3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100 [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Beats Per Minute | 84% [8] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8/10 [9] |
| Metal Injection | 9/10 [10] |
| New Noise |   [11] |
| OndaRock | 7.5/10 [12] |
| Our Culture Mag |  [13] |
| Paste | 8.0/10 [14] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10 [15] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.3/5 [16] |
God's Country received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an overall rating of 84, based on six reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Pitchfork awarded God's Country with its Best New Music distinction. [15]
Touché Amoré lead singer Jeremy Bolm named the album his favorite of 2022, and Uniform guitarist Ben Greenberg also listed it as one of his 2022 favorites. [17] [18]
| Publication | Accolade | Position | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandcamp | The Best Albums of 2022 | — | [19] |
| BrooklynVegan | BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2022 | 37 | [20] |
| Exclaim! | Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2022 | 13 | [21] |
| Paper | PAPER's Favorite Albums of 2022 | — | [22] |
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2022 | 30 | [23] |
| Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2022 | 39 | [24] |
| Rolling Stone | The 15 Best Metal Albums of 2022 | 5 | [25] |
| Sputnikmusic | Staff's Top 50 Albums of 2022 | 7 | [26] |
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2022 | 30 | [27] |
| Uproxx | The 2022 Uproxx Music Critics Poll | 45 | [28] |
All music is composed by Chat Pile
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slaughterhouse" | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Why" | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Pamela" | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Wicked Puppet Dance" | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Anywhere" | 5:47 |
| 6. | "Tropical Beaches, Inc." | 3:46 |
| 7. | "The Mask" | 2:57 |
| 8. | "I Don't Care If I Burn" | 2:54 |
| 9. | "grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg" | 9:05 |
| Total length: | 40:21 | |
Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek. The project is named after the Korean super flyweight boxer Sung-Kil Moon.
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is the third studio album by American rock band Brand New. It was recorded from 2005 to 2006 in studios in Long Island and Massachusetts with producer Mike Sapone, and released on November 21, 2006 through Interscope Records, making it their major label debut. The album arose following the online leaking of several unfinished demos that were meant to be early blueprints of the upcoming record. Two singles from the album were released – "Sowing Season" on November 21, 2006, and "Jesus Christ" on April 30, 2007. The album peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard 200, becoming the band's highest-charting record at the time of its release.
Stereogum is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
Torche was an American rock band from Miami, Florida. The group formed in 2004 and has released five full-length studio albums, four EPs, two split albums, and three singles. They released their fifth and final full-length studio album, Admission, in 2019.
Microcastle is the third studio album by Deerhunter. After the album had been leaked on the internet, it became available on iTunes on August 19, 2008, while physical copies were released on October 27, 2008. In the U.S. the album was released on Kranky and on 4AD in Europe. The album was recorded over the course of one week in April 2008 by Nicolas Vernhes at Rare Book Room Studios in Brooklyn, NY. In the U.S., the album has managed to sell over 50,000 units.
Girls was an American indie rock band, formed in San Francisco in 2007. The band comprised two key members: Christopher Owens, songwriter and lead singer, and Chet "JR" White, who played bass and produced. Girls' sound was heavily inspired by the music of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with their sound being described as lo-fi, surf rock, rock and roll, psychedelic rock, pop rock, country rock, and garage rock.
Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other releases, they have released five studio albums: ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse in 2009, Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me in 2011, Is Survived By in 2013, Stage Four in 2016, and Lament in 2020.
Marrow of the Spirit is the fourth studio album by American metal band Agalloch, released on November 23, 2010.
Ty Garrett Segall is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his solo career, during which he has released fifteen studio albums alongside various EPs, singles, and collaborative albums. Segall is also a member of the bands Fuzz, Broken Bat, the CIA, GØGGS, and Wasted Shirt. He is a former member of the Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Party Fowl, Sic Alps, and the Perverts.
Braids is a Canadian art rock band originating from Calgary, Alberta and based in Montréal, Québec for most of their career. Braids currently consists of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith. The band met at a young age and began collaborating in high school. Their debut album, Native Speaker, was released on January 18, 2011, in Canada and the United States to generally positive reviews. The album was shortlisted for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. The band's second album, Flourish // Perish, was released on August 20, 2013. Their third, Deep in the Iris, was released on April 28, 2015, and was awarded the 2015 Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.
The Seer is the twelfth studio album by the American experimental rock band Swans. It was released by Young God Records on August 28, 2012. Producer and front man Michael Gira funded the recording of the album with the sales of the live double album We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head (2012).
Ygg huur is the fifth studio album by the American black metal band Krallice. The album was recorded between July 4 and 8 at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves Studio and was self-released digitally by the band on July 30, 2015, with physical versions released in September. The album received widespread critical acclaim for its dense, complex songwriting and unique sound, featuring on a number of end-of-year lists by music publications.
Slow Forever is the fourth studio album by American black metal duo Cobalt, released by Profound Lore Records in 2016. It is a double album and the band's first with vocalist Charlie Fell, who replaced founding member Phil McSorley. The album leans more heavily into blackened sludge metal, similar to acts like Anciients and Tombs.
Big Thief is an American indie folk band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2015. The band consists of Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia (drums). Between 2015 and 2024, the band also included longtime bass guitarist, Max Oleartchik.
Johanna Warren is an American musician, actor and filmmaker. To date she has released seven solo albums.
Wednesday is an American alternative rock band from Asheville, North Carolina, currently signed to Dead Oceans. The band consists of vocalist Karly Hartzman, guitarist Jake Lenderman, lap steel player Xandy Chelmis, drummer Alan Miller and bassist Ethan Baechtold. The band's style has been described as a mixture of shoegaze and country rock, while their lyrical content has been praised for its storytelling about life in the American south.
Gami Gang is the second studio album by emo band Origami Angel, It was released as a double LP by Counter Intuitive Records on April 30, 2021. The album was recorded and completed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chat Pile is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band is composed of four members using the pseudonyms Raygun Busch (vocals), Luther Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap'n Ron (drums). Their debut album God's Country was released on July 29, 2022.
Hellmode is the fifth solo studio album by American musician Jeff Rosenstock, released through Polyvinyl Record Co. on August 31, 2023. It has received positive reviews from critics.