Sludge metal and noise rock outfit that come from the abyss that is Oklahoma, as this album has been my most anticipated release and it paid off in sludge spades. I’ve been a fan of these guys since their debut release of God’s Country. That album was haunting, heavy, and harrowing with all of those attributes being the aesthetic for the bleak social commentary on how we as a first world country do not take care of our own. They’ve touched on points of homelessness, poverty, school shootings, mental health, worker exploitation, etc. Fun stuff, yo! So yeah, they’re not all sunshine and rainbows, but that’s why I love their nihilistic realism and that crushing sound is what makes them memorable. And it makes you feel seen and heard. I talked about them before from the early days of Crate. I’m that big of a fan to the point that I can even confidently say their sophomore record, Cool World is still my favorite album of 2024. As opposed to God’s Country, that album was all thrills and no frills with the tracks being concise, but memorable on their riffs. Their message seems to be the same there as their haunting screams pound into your ears that atrocities are still happening here and overseas. They did a collab album that I was not that into, but recognize the talent was there. “Radioactive Dreams” is a must listen on that album. And that thought process seemed to be consistent here on Who Loves the Sun, because boy howdy…when it comes to their studio albums, they are now three for three with this one. Cool World is still my favorite from them, but this album is not that far off. It’s probably their second best for my tastes. They still gives you an miasma of dread especially in Raygun Busch’s vocal performances, in which he absolutely resonates with his haunting act. It’s not just screaming his brains out, it’s putting life into characters that is tormented with their inner and outer demons. Or they’re doing the tormenting themselves. Chat Pile’s confrontations with the displayed topics are concentrating on making you uncomfortable, while placing the ones in charge of these untenable crimes with their heads on a pike. Sometimes they reference other forms of media and art to get the message across. Their purpose is to give criminals of humanity whiplash and focus on our impending doom, as they touch subjects like technology, climate change, incels, and infanticide. The title of the album could be referring to how we take the things that give us life for granted, however even though they can give, they can take it away too.
The opener “Creature” reminds me of Nirvana with Raygun sounding absolutely unhinged like an actual creature. The impending doom is there as we have been placed a hex on our own actions that our civilization is now destined to be underwater. It’s an appropriate topic concerning the next track being “Deep Blue” with them touching the subject on AI plaguing the internet right now. Loved this as a single, as it’s their catchiest song here and the pitch change on the second chorus is one of my favorite moments and is worth putting this song on repeat. “Same Rules” sounds defeatist in people telling him there’s a God and bottling it all in. And I need to say something about “PEN I S MALL”, despite it being released as a single and having the most hilarious song title of 2026, I was not into this at first. I thought the riff and instrumental was ok, but then I listened to this song multiple times and I think Raygun channeling his goblin energy won me over. His manic vocal performance about corporate exploitation is absolutely insane and probably gives him a headache every time they had to perform this. It’s now one of my favorite cuts here. “Shrine” has these twangy riffs that progress into a hulking monster every time they reach the chorus. The monster laments on how people’s lives withers into nothing as they say yours is worth nothing at all. Every time it gets compelling whenever the chorus has him to “share his grieving”. “Christabel ’26” is a warning that behooves you to realize that these tech oligarchs will leech off of you like again…a parasite. And yeah, we’ve seen that people are tired of their governments letting their “true constituents” suck the livelihood of the people they are supposed to serve.
“Intruder” is a call back to the 2019 Korean thriller film, Parasite (banger movie by the way), which makes total sense if you seen the movie and know the band’s usual motifs. It’s also, not surprising since Raygun is a huge film nerd. Both of these pieces of art touch on the theme that what goes around comes around when it comes to class indifference. “Influence” comes to us like a truck with their haunting refrains that hounds on us for being desensitized to the atrocities around the world via doomscrolling. Despite the news headers having some horrific reports, we’ve seen it happen when the public no longer cares about children being bombed, trafficked, or the subjects of school shootings. It’s infuriating, but people will gladly brush it aside to cope for their own mental health. Hell, I’m guilty of it too. And then we get into, “Family Funeral”…oh man. Even after a myriad of times I’ve listened to this song, I still don’t know how I’m going to talk about it on here. It’s not only the best song on here, but their best ever. It stays with you. Not only Raygun’s vocal performance just stays with you (especially the end), but the arc the character he plays stays with you too. It’s about the Greek mythological story of Jason and the Golden Fleece and the character of what Medea went through. I won’t spoil on what she does, but I’ll touch on how she feels. It’s disturbing. It’s one of the most disturbing cries for help and visceral anger I have heard in a song. What makes this song so brutal, is despite the story being a myth, the actions she does relates to real life very well. As you see a lot of headlines that match the crimes of what she does as you can think how can a human being do that? All Human beings have potential to become monsters. We needed a breather of a closer at “October All the Time”, but it’s still not a snoozer for sure. A beautiful reprieve is needed when things are gloomy and bleak. as I write this on October. But is the reprieve for us? Again, I’ve said this on my Neurosis overview, I do like the epitome that the Earth and the Sun will move on, but humanity will not win.
Despite the political messaging resonating with me, there are only a few tracks where sonically I thought the tracks were good, but not as impactful. In “Same Rules”, I wish the songwriting was memorable as the other ones as well.
Who Loves the Sun is cohesive, intense, and absolutely charged on ruffling my feathers. The messaging is some of the most intense I’ve heard this year. Cool World is still my favorite, but this one comes pretty damn close. I’ve been excited to talk about this one, as this got me riled up to talk about not only the bleak songwriting, but just this was another avenue to vent the follies of humanity as a whole. This will be one of my favorite records this year at its darkest. It’s a crushing sound that also sears into your brain and I’m glad people are sounding praise for this band. I cannot wait for what’s next for them as they are one of the most consistent groups that I’ve been following all this time. They evoke this feeling not on making you give up, but to fight for others. But David, if our destiny is dust, then would it still be worth it to fight for others? My thoughts in the microcosm of things and my voice into the void. Yes. I think people and this world are always worth fighting for.
FAVORITE TRACKS: CREATURE, DEEP BLUE, PEN I S MALL, SHRINE, INFLUENCE, FAMILY FUNERAL, OCTOBER ALL THE TIME
LEAST FAVORITE: SAME RULES
You can purchase this album on Bandcamp and their discography is also available for streaming. Links down below.
[Bandcamp]﹡[Apple Music]﹡[TIDAL]
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