Combining grimy sludge metal and noise rock with an outsider, folk-art edge, Oklahoma City-based noisemakers Chat Pile resonated with fans by holding up a mirror to the existential dread and financial pressure that now characterises the American Dream in the 2020s. The band’s second studio album Cool World maintains that mission statement, incorporating additional goth and indie rock influences that expand the aesthetic they established on debut God’s Country, our Album of the Year in 2022.