by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)

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 list is in alphabetical order and we sincerely recommend checking out all the music we've 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 top-notch quality too.

BETHLEHEM STEEL | “Audiotree Live”

Since the release of Party Naked Forever last November, Bethlehem Steel have stayed consistently on the road, bring that record’s crushing heaviness and emotional strain (and beauty) to a town near year you, and they show no signs of slowing down as they get ready to support Lemuria later this Fall with a new release in tow. There’s something about the way Becca Ryskalcyzk sings “if I sit still I can feel myself dying” that rings so true. On the band’s tour last month with Baked, the band stopped in at Audiotree for a session, capturing their explosive live energy with album staples and a brand new song, “4 Aliens,” proving this band just keeps getting better.

DEAD TENANTS | “LP II” LP

Brooklyn/Queens minimalist post-punk trio Dead Tenants continue to be one of the city’s best punk bands on their sophomore full length, a record so tightly wound and intrinsically coiled your neck could just snap. Conveniently named LP II, the album (released via Already Dead Tapes and Buzzhowl Records is rife with buzz saw riffs that scrape and prod at the impeccably tight rhythms, the sort of impenetrable force that has room to play with noise and hypnotic pummeling. The guitar takes wild stabs of dimly lit distortion and makes it feel nuanced, coloring in the shades of grey that oozes from the tangled precision of the bass and drums.

DEERHOOF | “Midnight, The Stars And You“

In a pairing of all things awesome, Deerhoof have decided to cover two musical selections from The Shining for a limited edition 7” due out on none other than Famous Class Records (Flat Worms, Thee Oh Sees, Nots, etc). While menacing and eerie aren’t generally words that one would use to describe the joyful carnage of Deerhoof’s sound, Deerhoof Plays Music Of The Shining’s first single “Midnight, The Stars And You” works wonders all the same. With a neo-orchestral approach to the film’s end credits song, it’s the sound of the turn of the century, a haunting take that would make any dull boy’s heart sputter. Deerhoof deliver it in all it’s majesty, sweeping strings and just the right amount of ominous whirring.

DUDS | “Type / Not At All“

Last year Manchester’s DUDS released their infectious debut, Of A Nature Or Degree, via Castle Face Records, an album that stood amongst our favorites of 2017. Wasting no time, it would appear the band are back again with Immediate, due out in less than two weeks time via Opal Tapes. While the band may or may not have turned their name into an acronym (depends where you look), little else has changed, and we’re grateful for that. Still one of the most unpredictable rhythm sections in post-punk, their songs swerve and jitter with a nimble take on structure, bouncing around like elastic stretched to the breaking point. The first two singles, “Type” and “Not At All” showcase the band in fine form on a record that has all of a sudden become one of our most anticipated.

FOND HAN | “Wronked” LP

There aren’t a lot of albums out there that can claim to sound “like nothing you’ve heard before” but I’d dare to suggest that Fond Han’s sophomore record can proudly make that statement, and best of all, without losing all accessibility in the process. Wronked, record in part in Chicago with Seth Engel and Brooklyn with Michael Thomas III, is a freeform odyssey of sonic exploration that dives between grindcore, jazz, noise, and depressive punk warbling to create it’s own sound, layered with contextual beauty that deserves a secluded listen to immersive oneself and really take in what is happening. Balancing forces of carnage and beauty, Fond Han’s contorted sense of experimental music is emotionally powerful and cathartically explosive.

KAL MARKS | “Today I Walked Down To The Tree, Read A Book, And When I Was Done, I Went Back Inside”

The crushing beauty of Kal Marks’ latest album, Universal Care’s, closer “Today I Walked Down To The Tree, Read A Book, And When I Was Done, I Went Back Inside” is something to truly behold, a song that’s swooning atmosphere and haunting dirges of uplifting progressions has a new video matches it’s beauty in stop-motion animation. Directed by Carly Lieberman, the clip synchronizes life between plants and the bugs that love them. Both the single and video’s every moment is carefully prepared for maximum effect, a heavy weight and radiant glimmer working in cooperation to create something striking and sincere.

THE MEN | “Ailment“

Once upon a time The Men made music that was nasty, corrosive, and alienating in all the best ways. Their first couple albums were shinning moments of unrelenting filth and chaos, darting between harsh sounds from death metal grind and crust punk scuzz. The times have changed, but the band have not forgotten their roots and will celebrate the early days with Hated: 2008-2011, a collection of the band’s earliest and most ferocious recordings. Take first single “Ailment” a song so steeped in noise, lo-fi sludge, and deranged vocal yelps, it’s hard to believe this band ever released an acoustic “camp fire” songs record. While it all has its own merits, “Ailment” is perfectly dark and dismal, aggressive and dirty, and The Men at their best.

TERA MELOS | “Lemon Grove” (feat. Rob Crow)

It has finally happened. Rob Crow and Tera Melos are together at last. Sure, their paths have crossed on other occasions (Nick Reinhart playing in Crow’s Goblin Cock is the most recent example that comes to mind), but this one feels special, each piece of the ravaged puzzle fitting in perfection. Shifting between time signatures as often as Reinhart and Crow trade vocals, this one is a storm of seasick collusions, Tera Melos flexing their dexterity in prime form, pushing the boundaries of their knotted post-hardcore, which says a lot considering who we’re talking about. It’s mesmerizing, genuinely a bit unbelievable, and the best they’ve sounded in years.

TROPICAL FUCK STORM | “The Future of History”

Just how awesome can a punk song about a human vs robot chess match really be? Well, in the hands of Tropical Fuck Storm and their arguably already classic debut album A Laughing Death In Meatspace’s latest single “The Future of History",” the answer is pretty got damn awesome. The Australian quartet look back at Gary Kasparov’s fateful match against Deep Blue (the IBM supercomputer) with a sinister video that goes well beyond their game and into a dystopian future, a fine-tuned setting for Tropical Fuck Storm’s collage of no wave, punk, soul, industrial, and the rest of the kitchen sink genres. It’s catchy and catastrophic, a controlled madness that rings with catchy hooks and tongue twister sing-a-longs.

Further Listening:

September 24 - September 30:

October 01 - October 07:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (September 24th - October 7th)