Oklahoma City's own no wave/sludge mavens Chat Pile are back with Masks, their debut 7" for vaunted Seattle imprint Sub Pop Records. In tribute to the legendary label's early years, the band have included a cover of "Sifting" off Nirvana's debut album Bleach. Additionally, Chat Pile have donated $3,000 to DREAM Action OK, a local community-led immigrant advocacy group.
The band's official statement:
It’s a true dream to put out a single on Sub Pop, and our new song ‘Masks’ hopefully honors the spirit of the mythical, sometimes mystical, city of Seattle. Thanks in part to the movie Hype, we have long been obsessed with Seattle, the American underground of the late ‘80s, and Sub Pop and their tools of world domination. Everything we learned about packaging Chat Pile, we learned from Sub Pop co-founders Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt.
We wanted to cover a song from the early Sub Pop era, and something off Bleach seemed the obvious choice. Songs like ‘Paper Cuts,’ ‘Negative Creep,’ and especially ‘Sifting’ are fairly lateral to the type of sounds we make with Chat Pile. (Perhaps next time we’ll take on a TAD song!)
To mark the occasion, we’ve also donated $3,000 to DREAM Action OK, a community-based organization that aims to empower our local immigrant community through advocacy and education to ensure justice for all immigrants. Learn more about DAOK here.
Thanks to Sub Pop for giving us the opportunity to put this single out - we hope you enjoy it.
And most importantly, FUCK ICE!
Continuing the series that includes the tracks "Mask," "The Mask," and "Masc," "Masks" melds the driving force of 2024's Cool World with the dusty, claustrophobic atmosphere of last year's In the Earth Again, their collaboration Texas avant-garde guitarist Hayden Pedigo. Taken in conjunction with that ICE-directed invective, it's pretty obvious what inspired "Masks." From the opening verse:
Until you fill them in / Until they find you out / Until they fuck you up / Until there is no doubt
Later, the post-chorus continues:
Look around you now / They could be anywhere / Look around you now / They could be anywhere
This sentiment is affirmed by the inclusion of a faithful (though still very Chat Pile) cover of "Sifting," itself a thumb in the eye of figures of authority academic, religious, or otherwise. Leave it to Chat Pile to take a song Kurt Cobain called "slow" and "boring" and inject it with psychological torment and political urgency. Come August, Chat Pile are scheduled to play a series of European and UK festivals including PALP and ArcTanGent. Check out tour dates and both tracks below.
The Masks 7" is out now on vinyl and streaming platforms via Sub Pop Records. Vinyl and limited-edition t-shirts are available while supplies last.
08/06 Âncora, PT @ SonicBlast Festival
08/08 Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
08/14 Col Du Lein, CH @ PALP Festival
08/22 Bristol, UK @ ArcTanGent Festival
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