Essential Tracks This Week: Chat Pile, Japandroids, and more

Matthew Zargoski

It’s a big week for noisy bands with guitars! In fact, four of our five Essential Tracks this week more or less fit that description, with the fifth being the return of an Americana duo that’s a little less loud, but still features plenty of guitar. It’s not quite the Dudes Rock edition, but it’s not too far off, I suppose. Considering last week was all electronic beats and ambient pop, it never hurts to switch things up.

Chat Pile – “I Am Dog Now”

Summer just got a lot more gnar. Oklahoma City noise rock troupe Chat Pile are preparing the release of their sophomore album Cool World, and its first single “I Am Dog Now” is a tense, jerking torture chamber of riffs and pummeling rhythms. While most of the band’s music reflects similar shades of rust, they’re a remarkably versatile lot, able to move from apocalyptic dirges to eerie noise blues with ease. But this? This is just absolute ass-kicking, a total beatdown of the highest order that will go nicely with whatever frustrations you desperately need to vent right now.

From Cool World, out October 18 via The Flenser.

Japandroids – “Chicago”

Say it ain’t so, Japandroids! The venerated indie rock duo are releasing what will be their final album later this year, ending a spectacular run of earnest, distortion-laden anthems that began back in 2009 with Post-Nothing. Kicking off their farewell era is “Chicago,” which arrives on a blanket of fuzz and initially feels like it’ll remain suspended in midair, like My Bloody Valentine’s “Sometimes.” But no, David Prowse’s drums come crashing in, and “Chicago,” like all of the band’s best songs, goes big, aiming for the listeners in the cheap seats. But then again, nobody’s sitting down when a song like this is playing.

From Fate & Alcohol, out October 18 via Anti-.

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – “Empty Trainload of Sky”

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have spent recent years meticulously reissuing material from their back catalog, in formats both expected (vinyl—fingers crossed Time (The Revelator) materializes soon!) and less so (a pricey reel-to-reel version of The Harrow and the Harvest). But in August the duo will release their first new album in four years, Woodland. The first single, “Empty Trainload of Sky,” is a bluesy slow-burner with a smoky sensibility, the kind of red-sky Americana that soundtracks long drives through the desert toward nowhere in particular. It’s a simultaneously dreamy and earthbound standout, and a welcome return from one of folk music’s best songwriting duos.

From Woodland, out August 23 via Acony

Drug Church – “Demolition Man”

Drug Church always carried a bit of Big Rock Anthem immediacy in their muscular post-hardcore punch, but over time they’ve only pushed their hooks further and further up to the front. “Demolition Man” is a prime example of their mixture of rock melodies with hardcore urgency, achieving a balance similar to that of Militarie Gun but with more of a leaden foot on the gas. Much as their previous album Hygiene suggested, they’re growing even more pop-friendly while keeping the heavier aspects of their sound firmly intact.

From Prude, out October 4 via Pure Noise.

Unto Others – “Angel of the Night”

Unto Others (formerly Idle Hands) specialize in a kind of gothic heavy metal that merges two sides of the underground black leather spectrum in what often feels like stadium-ready results. Their new album Never, Neverland was produced by Tom Dagelty, who has worked with Ghost and The Cult, and that honestly just makes perfect sense. Their new single “Angel of the Night” is described by the band as a power ballad, which is essentially true, but it’s also more or less just a great gothic rock song with a bit of guitar heroics thrown in for good measure. A gorgeously gloomy song perfect for hoisting a lighter or spending a night with the vampire of your dreams.