Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo releases In the Earth Again

The sprawling expanse of the American heartland is many things: picturesque as it is desolate, familiar as it is alien. Very few settings manage to capture such contrasting characteristics in equal measure, so it’s no wonder that the endless roads and forgotten towns of the deep countryside are practically synonymous with the general concept of a “post-apocalypse”. Although there’s a bleak horror to the very real rural decay of “Flyover Country,” there’s a tragic beauty in its stillness, something which OKC noise rockers Chat Pile and Texas-raised, Oklahoma-based fingerpicking guitarist and composer Hayden Pedigo masterfully capture on In the Earth Again.

In the Earth Again unravels new, yet-to-be-explored layers of complexity for Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo’s artistic visions. Despite their works occupying what seems like completely opposite ends of the genre and tonal spectrum, Hayden Pedigo and Chat Pile’s Captain Ron, Luther Manhole, Raygun Busch, and Stin radiate a genuine synergy with one another that extends far beyond their music. Each residents of rural America with a penchant for the weird and eclectic, it was only a matter of time before their paths crossed in Oklahoma City’s underground/DIY art scene, first as friends during Hayden’s relocation from one panhandle state to another, and eventually as artistic collaborators as that bond crystallized....