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.

BANANA | “Tiny Bones”

“Tiny Bones” is the first single from Banana’s upcoming Post-Grunge Revival, a song that begins with a sweet yet sinister vocal melody and a dirge-y bassline that would feel at home on In Utero. The guitars enter in with fractured cuts, as Chelsea Urchin’s voice does much of the dynamic gymnastics, weaving between highs and lows with an impeccable control before everything erupts at the chorus. There’s a lot of character in Urchin’s voice, from inflections to enunciations (the exaggerated repetition of phrases at 1:04 reminds me of the Toadies in the absolute best of ways), contorting the same words with added emphasis. The band wriggle back in forth with colliding drums and big distorted riffs, shifting into an extended bridge that allows them to stretch out, to seek and destroy. They make the most of it to be sure, permeating the fills with feedback and the quick addition of a snaking melody just as the song roars to a close.

CHILD BITE | “Vexed Life”

This year, like most years since their inception back in 2006, has seen Child Bite busily releasing singles and splits, keeping their manic chaos alive, one (to three) tracks at a time. After a three year wait however, the Detroit noise rock band are set to release Blow Off The Omens, a new full length due out this November on Housecore Records. Lead single “Vexed Life” opens with a caustic groove, the guitars and bass both screaming out in noisy disdain. Shawn Knight’s vocals take several different shapes, low and warbling in the verses, yet growled and garbled in the hook (“nothing works here, I’ve been here for years” has a nice touch), eventually doubled and approaching hypnotic, as they twist structures and corrode one section into the next. Child Bite twitch with an unnerving energy through the mud, blasting complex rhythms beyond the encompassing sludge and primal freak-outs.

ISOBEL CAMPBELL | “Runnin’ Down A Dream” (Tom Petty cover)

We haven’t heard new music from Isobel Campbell since the 2010 release of Hawk, the third and (seemingly) final collaborative record the Scottish singer released with Mark Lanegan. The silky voiced folk musician played all the music and handled much of the production on those records with Lanegan (as well as having played in Belle & Sebastian), and early next year will see the release of her third solo album, There Is No Other. She quietly released the lead single “Ant Life,” back in August and she returns with our second preview of the album, a cover of the Tom Petty smash hit “Runnin’ Down A Dream.” Campbell takes the framework and melody and gives it a dream-pop update, converting the song’s main riff into a blissfully buzzing hum, trapped in the calm of her gorgeous voice. She adds a delicate softness to the original’s urgency, while retaining it’s charm and appeal. It’s a bold reimagining that manages to create a new atmosphere without straying to far from the path.

PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE | “Up and Up”

Following last year’s otherworldly debut, Modern Meta Physic, Brooklyn’s Peel Dream Magazine have announce it’s follow up: Up and Up, a new EP due out in November via Tough Love (Value Void, Ulrika Spacek). The record’s first single and title track is your dose of needed tranquility for the week, a serene and expansive song that feels adrift from the stress and pressures of life, simply floating on its own wave length. There’s a bit of directionless feel to the extended into, locking you into their Stereolab influenced groove, and letting it all wash over before they slide into the verse. Modulated synths and motorik grooves combine effortlessly with a mesmerizing pulse, one that allows for sparse harmonies and deep bass to appear and disappear as textures in the patchwork, forever moving forward.

WOOLEN MEN | “Mexico City Blues”

The eight songs on Woolen Men’s new record, Human To Human, deepen their affinity for Americana fried post-punk, awash with blown out guitars and burnt front-porch jangle. There’s a balance of dark and light, focus and chaos, familiar melodies and motorik rhythms that veer between human and alien. First single and opening track “Mexico City Blues” sets the tone with a warm dissonance and a hypnotic bass groove, the drums skittering freely within the time. The vocals hit with the impact of a city bus, not so much in intensity (they’re very chill) but their presence is radiant, wandering over the rolling fuzz and reverberating distortion with a casual resolve. This is an album introduction done right, it’s a bit dark and mysterious but as inviting as they come, the guitar’s rusty scrape adding grit to the otherwise unshakable beat. These are freaky times we’re living in, let yourself unwind together with Woolen Men.

Further Listening:

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