I never knew I had an urge to build an aural memory of a connection between Nick Drake and Unsane. Then I heard In the Earth Again the new collaboration record by Hayden Pedigo and Chat Pile. How can two acts so vastly different create such an immersive experience without sounding the sum of its parts and yet creating such a highly diverse record?!
There is a certain je ne sais quoi on this record because it combines things which in this way seemed non-connectable – Hayden brings in his Ambient version of Americana which relies as much on soundscapes as it does on finger-picked guitars; Chat Pile on the other hand bring the harder, more maniacal (and unfortunately realistic) parts of Noise Rock to the table. Thus, at first glance the combination might be difficult one, but one should not underestimate one fact: Both bands are not connected via scenes or locations, so that they wouldn’t even have to think about the expectations of their peers and friends, socialites and critics: Nevertheless, there is surely a certain kind of kinship between them as neither act comes from a “big market city” with a “mega-diversified scene”, both come from Flyover-Country, USA, one from Oklahoma City, the other one from Amarillo – that might explain the openness in attitude and willingness to cooperate with the other a bit. Furthermore, it might result in a certain underdog-mentality and in an anything-goes mindset that limiting your musical realms will not lead to progress but to stagnation.
This record offers so many things that one would not associate with either act – the very soft sparkling, instrumental intro ”Outside” which easily moves into the equally dreamy, but this time, somewhat enthralled dangerous second track ”Demon Time”. On this track we also have the typical most slogan’esque line which has become a staple of Chat Pile-records, just remember the line ”Why do people have to sleep outside?” from God’s Country - here it is ”I don’t wanna go outside” and the laconic vocals can be taken as an example how this record goes from track to track, from movement to movement because the same vocal line is repeated on the third track ”Never Say Die!” which otherwise has no real connection to its predecessor as it is much faster, louder and more abrasive in all its distorted Noise-Doom glory. But it’s these little elements that show that this record is much a collection of songs but one that challenged both sides to come up with something different as to come up with regular Chat Pile or Hayden-tracks would not make sense for such a project. The fourth track ”Behold a Pale Horse” (talk about a cowboy-country-track title!) is another awesome example because one would think that the distortion is delivered by the Oklahoma quartet whereas the dreamy picking is probably done by Hayden.
The interesting thing about the record is the fact that with every spin I have a new favorite track, which is a good sign. And it’s not even always the same “genre” I like best on this record, because sometimes I like the really calm parts (like ”The Magic of the World”) and something it’s the hard noisey stuff (like the crunchy ”Fission/Fusion”)! The fact that this record excels at both ends (and in the middle) is a testament to its quality. And I haven’t even spoken about ”The Matador” which connects all of the threads and is one of the best tracks of the year! Enjoy the best collaborative record to come from flyover-country this year, enjoy Hayden Pedigo and Chat Pile! Thanks, guys!
