Happy Halloween! Today has a lot of interesting releases, but I'm not going to have as much time to dive into them as I'd like - real life calls. That said, I did have a chance to check out a few records this morning before things got crazy. 

I feel like we've been awaiting for the new collaborative album from Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo for a loooooong time. It finally dropped today, although those of us who preordered the vinyl started receiving it a week ago or longer. I've only had a chance to play the physical record a couple times and have streamed it a couple more times this morning, and I'm still figuring it out. As was made obvious from the singles, this is a quieter, gentler Chat Pile than we got on the first two albums (both of which I ranked as number one of my personal albums of the year list when they released). Except for when it's not. In between the instrumental tracks and prettier vocal songs are a few songs that are as noisy and punishing as anything Chat Pile has done so far. And they're scattered throughout the album, so just when you're settled into a groove with it, it shakes things up, keeping you off balance. "The Magic of the World" is probably the prettiest, most approachable song Chat Pile has ever written, with singer Raygun Bush delivering perhaps his best traditional singing ever over lovely acoustic guitar. It's followed immediately by the crushing, fuzz-drenched wall of noise that opens "Fission/Fusion," an instrumental track that would have sounded right at home on the sweaty, paranoid debut album God's Country. 

"Unsettling" is a pretty good word to sum up Chat Pile in general, and it certainly applies here, although in different ways than the earlier releases. It's too early to say if this one will climb to the top of my personal list for 2025, but even if it doesn't take the top slot, In The Earth Again reaffirms my love for this band. After only two albums, they're already challenging themselves and doing unpredictable things. They may not sound anything alike, but in a way they remind me of one of my other favorite bands, British post-punk legends Wire. Like Wire, Chat Pile are already showing signs that they're not content with doing just one thing and are driven to try unexpected and possibly divisive things. 

I have a couple friends who are absolutely nuts about everything that Stephen Brodsky is involved in. I totally get it - the guy is incredibly talented, and comes across like a really fun and approachable dude. I didn't start diving into Cave In and all of Brodsky's myriad projects until a few years ago, so I'm not quite as obsessed, but I still enjoy his music quite a bit. This new album, Cut to the Core Vol. 1., is probably for the hardcore Brodsky fans. It is a collection of hardcore songs, performed acoustically. I'd admit that I'm not familiar with the original versions of many of these songs, but that didn't stop me from grooving to this collection. 

After two albums with a lot of acoustic guitar, let's pull a Chat Pile and go in a completely different direction. The new Primitive Man album is the most oppressively heavy thing you'll hear today. Everything this band does feels like wading through a blackened tunnel in waist-deep water with a Xenomorph hunting you, and Observance is no different. If you need something dark and soul-crushing this Halloween night, welp, here you go. I'd say "enjoy," but that's not really the right word for doom this pummeling. 

I'm closing thing out today with Forever Home: Live with Orchestra Pitreza by Mono. I became absolutely obsessed with Mono after seeing them live for the first time during their tour this year with Alcest. I've said this before, but I'm not a huge fan of live albums, but that's because most fail to truly capture the feeling of being there, and usually the vocals just don't deliver for me. That's absolutely not the case with this album. Not only does instrumental music have an inherent advantage in not having to worry about vocals, the pairing with the orchestra makes for exciting new versions of these songs. If it weren't for the audience reaction sounds, you could easily mistake this for a studio album. It's a stunning collection of beautiful tracks, and I'll absolutely have to add this to my record collection.

Once again, Happy Halloween, boys and ghouls!