Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (January 22nd - February 4th)

by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_) and David Anthony (@DBAnthony)

Welcome to FUZZY MEADOWS, our weekly recap of this week's new music. We're sharing our favorite releases of the week in the form of albums, singles, and music videos along with the "further listening" section of new and notable releases from around the web. It's generally written in the early hours of the morning and semi-unedited... but full of love and heart. The number rankings are arbitrary and we sincerely recommend checking out all the music included. There's a lot of great new music being released. Support the bands you love. Spread the word and buy some new music.

*Disclaimer: We are making a conscious effort not to include any artist in our countdown on back-to-back weeks in order to diversify the feature, so be sure to check the "further listening" as well because it's often of "countdown" quality too.

JANUARY 22ND - JANUARY 28TH:

1. SUPERTEEN | "Sodium Pill"

Salem, MA's SUPERTEEN are back, and with their return comes another incredible record, once again proving them to be Massachusetts' best kept secret. No one likes a secret though, they make people nervous, so let it be known, you need to be listening to SUPERTEEN and their upcoming album, Over Everything (due out later this month on Sad Cactus Records). 2016's Isn't A Person was one of our favorite albums of that year, and two years later, the band sound better than ever. Keeping their signature ramshackle qualities at the forefront, first single "Sodium Pill" is an apt introduction to the album, a clamoring and chaotic song with a surging pop-centric core shinning underneath the mess. The band switch between a loosely shouted harmony to straight up divergent paths, layering in a way that's as glorious as it is reckless. There's nothing haphazard about it, SUPERTEEN are deliberately challenging your ears to pick the song apart, and it just doesn't much more gratifying. - Dan Goldin

2. COREY FLOOD | "Soft"

Philadelphia’s Corey Flood may take their name from a character in a Cameron Crowe movie, but the band never plays their hand as heavily as someone in a Crowe film might. The two songs they’ve released from their debut EP, Wish You Hadn’t, show them embracing opposing parts of post-punk and goth music. Where “Feel Okay” had a harsher, mechanical feel, “Soft” is the poppier side of the coin. The song bounces in a way that’s less dour but no less affecting. The chorus sneaks in the side door, surprising you with how quickly the song seems to reach its payoff. But it’s Corey Flood’s ability to retreat back into a moodier space that makes it so powerful, as the band shows a mastery of mood—and an ability to write simple earworms—that makes both songs worthy of being played on repeat. - David Anthony

3. ONEIDA | "All In Due Time"

New York's Oneida have been making freaked out experimental art punk for over twenty years now and at no point have they shown any signs of slowing day. They're still creating at a steady mind expanding rate, still collaborating (2016's What's Your Sign with Rhys Chatham), still riding Kid Millions' unpredictable rhythms in every skronky direction. Set to release new album Romance in March, the album's first single "All In Due Time" stampedes, but does so with a reserved spaced out drift. Guitar echo bounces around with alien melodies, rattling around the hyperkinetic nature of the hypnotic yet spastic beat. It's actually one of the more straightforward songs Oneida have shared in a very long time, but it's still Oneida, and there's plenty to discover with repeat listens. - Dan Goldin

4. VARIOUS ARTISTS | "Post-Trash: Volume Three" LP

It may come as a surprise, but we really love this compilation... then again, of course we do. Featuring many of Post-Trash's favorite new artists (David Nance, Gemma, Shady Bug, The Royal They, Booji Boys, etc) and many of Post-Trash's favorite established artists (Deerhoof, Tera Melos, Gun Outfit, Bad History Month, etc), the compilation covers a wide margin of rock and it's most brilliant. It's all for a great cause too, raising money for Mariafund.org and the hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. It's free, but chip in if you can! Maybe it's just me, who knows, but I love every song and I can (and have) listen to all 51 songs from start to finish, on repeat. - Dan Goldin

5. NADINE | "Oh My" LP

People love to frame musicians new bands through the lens of their previous—or, in this case, concurrent—acts. It makes sense that Nadine gets compared to Phantom Posse, Nadia Hulett’s other band, and Ava Luna, whose members back Hulett in this project. And while there are traces of those bands in Nadine’s framework, the record fully embraces expanse, allowing the band to chase whatever thread they’ve found themselves stuck on. As a result, the record darts across genres, allowing them to embrace sultry neo-soul compositions, big dance breaks, and even some borderline prog compositions. It makes for a record that’s thrilling both because you never fully know where it’s going, but while remaining cohesive in spite of that. - David Anthony

JANUARY 29TH - FEBRUARY 4TH:

1. ANNA MCCLELLAN | "Nail-Biting Song"

Previously on "Fuzzy Meadows," we've swooned about Anna McClellan's incredible songs, saying things like "it just doesn't get much better" and refraining from writing things in all caps like "ANNA IS THE BEST!" In case you are just tuning in though, the Brooklyn-via-Omaha songwriter is set to release her sophomore album Yes And No on Father/Daughter Records, an amazing collection of beautiful and bleak unfiltered pop. "Nail-Biting Song" is at times twangy and plucky, but usually weary and dejected, McClellan's voice is sincere and radiant, balancing an oft-depressed look into unshakeable anxieties with a hint to knowing optimism. The beauty of it all is so well defined between her voice and piano even as things become increasingly "unglued." Anna McClellan's music is so damn important, and "Nail-Biting Song" is a perfect example of her narrative power. - Dan Goldin

2. MIRANDA WINTERS | "The Futuristic District"

The past four years have proven one thing, Melkbelly have never written a bad song. Since their debut EP, Pennsylvania, they've come out swinging with the best blend of sweet pop melodies and devastating noise punk abandon we've ever heard, so it should come as no surprise that a new solo track from guitarist/vocalist Miranda Winters would be yet another smash hit... even without the colossal rhythms. "The Futuristic District" is a prime example of Winters' pop sensibilities, a radio friendly alt-pop song that's as infectious as your favorite "buzz bin" fuzz ballads. - Dan Goldin

3. PALM | "Rock Island" LP

In the world of overground music publications, math-rock gets a bad rap. Perhaps that’s why Palm has largely avoided the tag, because though they slot into that space, they also pull from such classic influences it can be harder to spot. Where Shadow Expert saw the band embracing the heavier end of their sound, Rock Island runs pop music through the grinder. The record shows that band’s capability for twisting a composition in a million different ways, always finding a new manner in which to manipulate the stand verse-chorus construction. Not only that, the band uses their borderline inhuman guitar sounds to write riffs that twist your perception of where notes begin and end. At its core, Rock Island is evocative because it shifts how you think without feeling like it’s trying too hard, which is what the best math-rock bands have always done. - David Anthony

4. LOMELDA | "Audiotree Session"

While Lomelda has always packed a punch on record, their live shows are something to behold. There’s an extra sense of urgency in the band’s live show, as Hannah Read’s voice feels as if it’s reaching into your chest and pulling out the parts of you that you try to keep hidden. It’s an emotional experience, and it’s captured perfectly in this Audiotree session, where the band shows itself as being able to replicate their recorded material while adding a new dimension to it all. Plus, if you watch the video in full, you get some great basketball talk, which is always welcome. - David Anthony

5. KAL MARKS | "Springtime In January"

Sometimes concern for our environment comes in strange forms. Take the video for Kal Marks' latest single, "Springtime In January," a deranged and blistering song about the ever growing threat of climate control's rapid destruction. The video, directed and animated by Carly Lieberman, captures a raise of alien trash spiders as they take over in the sleaziest of invasions. Things get weird, real weird. Speaking about the video's concept though, Lieberman shared: "I like making problems seem trivial by presenting larger less manageable problems. Carl (of Kal Marks) told me this song was about climate change, which is a clumsily managed problem created by humanity. So I started thinking about what would have to happen to make the self destruction of the entire earth seem like less of a problem. This video is about becoming so caught up in small scale problems, that we end up completely blindsided by the more damaging ones.” If this is what it will take to make people realize... I guess we better send in the alien trash-spiders. - Dan Goldin

6. QUEEN OF JEANS | "More To Love"

Philadelphia’s Queen Of Jeans make music that feels out of time in the best possible way. On “More To Love,” it’s clear that the band’s reference points are decidedly vintage, having likely studied the Motown catalog and the discography of Phil Spector. The song doesn’t sound at all dated, instead offering a modern spin on these kind of big, hook-heavy songs. It shows that Queen Of Jeans isn’t concerned with following any specific trend and, instead, finds themselves working toward a sound that never goes out of style. - David Anthony

Further Listening:

JANUARY 22ND - JANUARY 28TH:

JANUARY 29TH - FEBRUARY 4TH:

JANUARY 22ND - JANUARY 28TH:

1. SUPERTEEN | "Sodium Pill"

2. COREY FLOOD | "Soft"

3. ONEIDA | "All In Due Time"

4. VARIOUS ARTISTS | "Post-Trash: Volume Three" LP

5. NADINE | "Oh My" LP

JANUARY 29TH - FEBRUARY 4TH:

1. ANNA MCCLELLAN | "Nail-Biting Song"

2. MIRANDA WINTERS | "The Futuristic District"

3. PALM | "Rock Island" LP

4. LOMELDA | "Audiotree Session"

5. KAL MARKS | "Springtime In January"

6. QUEEN OF JEANS | "More To Love"

Further Listening:

JANUARY 22ND - JANUARY 28TH:

JANUARY 29TH - FEBRUARY 4TH:

by: post-trash staff