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.

DUSTER | “What You’re Doing To Me”

The legend of Duster has grown in recent years as indie bands have become increasingly inspired by the Bay Area trio’s mix of lo-fi, slowcore, and their signature melancholic space rock. While that influence has spread throughout the DIY world, there is but one Duster (and one Helvetia for that matter) and none have really come close to replicating the magic and nuance the band created back at the turn of the century. Last year saw the band come back together for the first time in nearly twenty years for shows and some yet to be heard recordings. Before we get to hear those, the band are reissuing their long out-of-print catalog as a boxset from Numero Group, entitled Capsule Losing Contact. In addition to their pair of exceptional records and their stunning EP, the collection will feature a handful of b-sides including “What You’re Doing To Me,” a song that perfectly captures the majestic spaced out drift of their intricate and sonically manipulated lo-fi pop.

ELIZABETH COLOUR WHEEL | “23”

Boston’s Elizabeth Colour Wheel truly don’t fit in to any preconceived genres, their sound uncompromising and unwilling to lend itself to restrictions. Pulling bits and pieces from shoegaze, black metal, drone, noise rock, and wailing avant-garde goth-pop, there’s truly nothing like it. After a few exceptional EPs (check out last year’s Queen Tired on Midnight Werewolf Records), the band will release Nocebo via The Flenser, a welcome home for the dark and experimental. With only two tracks under the six minute mark, Elizabeth Colour Wheel take extended approaches to their sound, allowing room for each of their tendencies to breathe, adapting in time throughout their compositional tracks and never colliding head-on. “23,” the album’s first single roars open with a pounding wall of sound, their shoegaze pinnings pushed to the forefront. Midway through the song, following a blistering hook and sonic freak-out, the energy creeps toward a halt, slipping into something more serene as the vocals become ornate and haunting. Just as you’ve been falsely lulled, the band tear into a massive blackened post-rock crescendo… until it’s time to erupt yet again. It’s a roller coaster and every moment is thrilling.

GRIM STREAKER | “A.D.D.”

Brooklyn’s Grim Streaker are getting ready to release their first full length, No Vision, in May and the band are sharing an early sneak peak with first single, “A.D.D.” As one of our favorite new local bands, the quintet’s latest is a riotous and grooving beast that stutters with agitated and jittery energy and a general lack of concern, delivered with a perfect, “I’m A.D.D., I don’t care.” It’s propulsive throughout, charging toward the rough distortion of the bridge and the surge of Amelia Bushell’s howling vocals. There’s a not-giving-a-fuck attitude to it, but the collapsable rhythm really locks in and shines, taking detached drum fills and sputtering them into garage punk glory.

SHANA CLEVELAND | “Face of the Sun”

La Luz’s Shana Cleveland (vocals, guitar) is set to release Night of the Worm Moon, a new solo album in early April via Hardly Art. Exceptional title aside, the first single “Faces of the Sun” is stunning, a delicate swirl of surf pop, cosmic folk, and what sounds like a Western flamenco influence in the guitar playing. Like the sun setting in the desert, there’s a chill in the otherwise hot air all around Cleveland’s lyrics and the song’s ominous acoustics. The melody floats with a cinematic quality, dangerous and beautiful, like a transmission lost in the dust, drifting in and out of focus. I truly can’t wait to hear more of this record.

TIM PRESLEY’S WHITE FENCE | “Neighborhood Light”

Call it a new Tim Presley album or a new White Fence album (or both), it really doesn’t matter, the important thing is it’s coming out next week and we can’t wait to hear this thing in the full. The experimental garage pop and psych rock auteur spent last year collaborating once again with Ty Segall and Cate Le Bon, but this next solo record as Tim Presley’s White Fence, due out via Drag City, stands be to a return deep into the world of Presley’s own imagination, drawing from every corner of lo-fi punk to droney pop. “Neighborhood Light” is a fantastic new single, one that builds layered guitars and whirring fuzz into something breezy and reminiscent of Television’s classic Marquee Moon era.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (January 14th - January 20th)