Who Loves the Sun is the third studio album by American rock band Chat Pile. It was released on September 4, 2026, through The Flenser. The album follows the band's second studio album, Cool World (2024), and their collaborative album with Hayden Pedigo, In the Earth Again (2025).
Critical reception
Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average score of 8.1 out of 10 from fourteen critic scores. According to Metacritic, it received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from thirteen critic scores.
Tom Morgan of Clash called it "a layered portrait of a world sleepwalking into disaster that is somehow gripping and even fun, in a mosh-the-pain-away manner". Kyle Kohner of Exclaim! wrote that the band "sound even more unhinged, as if the years have only confirmed every fear, grievance and nightmare they first screamed into existence on God's Country", while Grant Sharples of Paste said "Chat Pile reminds you that we're all just bugs under the proverbial boot, ready to be squashed at a moment's notice." John Amen of The Line of Best Fit commented, "[Who Loves the Sun is] inarguably a bleak statement. The band’s virtuosic instrumentation and Busch’s enthralling vocals, however, make for an ironically life-affirming manifesto". He concluded, "Leave it to Chat Pile to turn a compendium of horrors into something exquisite".
Furthermore, Eli Enis of Pitchfork wrote that "the favorability toward Chat Pile's alt-rock touchstones, as opposed to their metal ones, injects the album with enough dynamic variation that it doesn't feel like a straight rehash." Alastair Shuttleworth of The Guardian was less positive, stating that "the overall direction, a straightforward softening of their early ugliness, disappoints."
Track listing
"Pen I S Mall" is stylized in all caps.
Personnel These credits have been adapted from Tidal.
Aaron Tackett – drum kit Austin Tackett – electric bass guitar Griffin Sansone – electric guitar Randy Heyer – lead vocals Morgan Brown – additional mixing Ben Greenberg – mixing and mastering Brittany Sawtelle – background vocals ("Intruder" and "Influence") Claire Hannah – background vocals ("Intruder" and "Influence")
Charts + Chart performance for Who Loves the Sun Chart (2026) Peakposition French Physical Albums (SNEP) 167 French Rock & Metal Albums (SNEP) 55 UK Albums Sales (Official Charts) 44 US Independent Albums (Billboard) 45 US Top Album Sales (Billboard) 15
References