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.

ALIEN NOSEJOB | “Television Sets”

Alien Nosejob, the ever evolving (and devolving) solo project of Australia’s hyper-prolific Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Hierophants Drug Sweat, School Damage) is created without limits, without restrictions. Set to release Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud on January 17th via Anti Fade / Drunken Sailor Records, we’ve arrived at essential Alien Nosejob. Lead single and album opener “Television Sets” is a barn-burning synth punk track that rattles with hypnotic energy and a driving energy that’s heavy without being aggressive. It’s a ripper, bursting straight out the gates, with a dense guitar choogle and quickly snapped vocals that frame a the ghost-town mentality of society as everyone becomes increasingly engrained in the TV as “television sets are going cheap.” It’s a big surge of anxious energy and forward momentum, like a jolt of electricity that comes bursting from the wall as power grid overloads.

BACCHAE | “Leave Town”

Washington, DC post-punk band Bacchae are set to follow up their full length debut and 2018’s self-titled EP with their sophomore album, Pleasure Vision this March. Due out on Get Better Records (Control Top, Empath, Tweens), the brainy quartet’s music veers between high energy pop-punk and artful post-punk dexterity, surging with animosity and big hooks in equal measure. The record’s first single and album opener, “Leave Town,” is caustic and destructive, riding a careening guitar line that rattles somewhere close to noise rock, and vocals that are nimble in structure but forceful in temperament. It’s a great introduction for anyone previously unfamiliar with the band, and a bold statement of a lead track from their upcoming J. Robbins produced record.

CELESTIAL SHORE | “Sunnyland” LP

After five years Celestial Shore has returned with a new record, Sunnyland, and while the band remain broken up, we’ve been gifted a posthumous album one of the Brooklyn DIY scene’s finest. Recorded back in 2015 by Deerhoof’s John Dietrich, it’s a clear reminder the trio’s psych-pop ripped harder than most. With their head still firmly in the clouds, Sunnyland is both wild and heavy, diving between jagged moments, noise and gentle melodies, Celestial Shore bend in every direction but they never break, keeping tight amid the wildest of progressions and structures. They may not be “back” (though each member remains busy) but this a welcome return even if it’s the last new music we get from them.

CINDY LEE | “Heavy Metal”

Ever since Calgary’s ultra-influential band Women broke up, the band’s mastermind Patrick Flegel has been making music under their drag guise Cindy Lee. Set to release the project’s fifth album, What’s Tonight To Eternity in February via Superior Viaduct (Cube, EXEK, Devo), the record welcomes us once again to the thick and surreal dreamworld of Flegel’s music, rooted in 60’s girl group pop and R&B but filtered through a foggy lo-fi lens that contorts the would-be-pop sound into something far more experimental. Lead single “Heavy Metal” is on the accessible end of Cindy Lee’s ethereal nature, twinkling under blankets of whirring guitar noise a lost soul nugget rescued from tape warped to time. It’s a gorgeous song even with it’s melody buried underneath, the juxtaposition of the swooning progression and the hazy recording giving it that special kind of glimmer.

DUSTER | “Summer War”

Fuzzy lo-fi heroes Duster released their first new album in nineteen years in December via Muddguts Records (Gnarcissists, Habibi, Ice Balloons), reminding everyone why they’re considered one of slowcore’s best. The self-titled record stands confidently among their previous efforts, every bit as good as the music released during their initial run, recorded live to tape once again in their garage practice space. While they only released two singles (“Copernicus Crater” and “Letting Go”) prior to the release, the album is full of highlights, especially “Summer War,” one of Duster’s heaviest songs to date. The guitars are gloriously layered with their signature space rock adoration, colliding with pinched feedback and restrained tempos to bloom into sunspots that slink into view. It’s big on syrupy melody, pulling you along for a cosmic ride at a leisurely pace.

GENTLE HEAT | “A Lure”

With new release Phase, a new two song single, Gentle Heat have never sounded better, expanding their noise pop and shoegaze ability into a freeform shape. The immersive single, while only a pair of songs, feels expertly composed, and wrought with gigantic sweeping movements. “A Lure,” the single’s a-side crashes with the enormity of a tidal wave, a song that uses post-rock structures to make something closer to their usual dreamy shoegaze. The song is confident and colossal, setting tonality and haze firmly in place before traversing from section to section. Everything feels exactly where it should be, and each moment is allowed to breathe, but swift change is always near, as they progress forward with an utter grace, using rich harmonies (buried ever so slightly for fantastic texture) to build toward a crescendo that takes its damn time.

HANDLE | “Punctured Time”

Manchester post-punk trio Handle (which features two former members of the great but short-lived DUDS) will release their vibrantly discordant debut album In Threes this March via Upset The Rhythm (Kaputt, Lunch Lady, Trash Kit). The band embrace a similar territory to DUDS but expand further into the no-wave territory, with noise and avant-garde influences coming together to create something that’s abrasive but still rooted in danceable grooves at their core. The band’s first single “Punctured Time” is a striking introduction, a jagged outburst that tangles the bass, synth, and drums together into tight knots that dart around with limitless energy. Experimentation is key with their sound. There’s nothing off limits and the song ebbs and flows with both skronky abandon and atmospheric drifts.

PERSONALITY CULT | “Pressure Point”

Personality Cult are the punk band we all need. The North Carolina based solo project turned full band are making blistering punk with larger than life power-pop riffs. Led by Ben Carr, last year saw the release of his self-titled album via Drunken Sailor Records, an infectious record that spared no volume and explosiveness while creating monstrous hooks. Rattling around your brain with propulsive energy and jagged pop, Carr’s songwriting walks that line better than most, excelling on all ends. Personality Cult has expanded since that release, the line-up now comprising members of Paint Fumes, Mind Spiders, Bass Drum of Death, and beyond. February 14th will see the release of New Arrows, their sophomore album and first with Dirtnap Records. Produced by Marked Men/Radioactivity’s Jeff Burke, their first full band effort is near flawless and easily repeatable. “Pressure Point,” the album’s first single is a great introduction, swarming in like bees on acid, the band let their guitars ring with tension and dive in as a rhythmic pulse frantically pushes forward. There’s an anxious exuberance to it, with jittery stops and starts, but it’s undeniably anthemic with howling vocals and quick and dirty solos that burst at an unnerving point. Played fast and loud, it rips.

PILE | “Firewood”

Since the release of Pile’s latest (and arguably best) album Green and Gray, the band have spent the remainder of the year on the road, winding their way through the States, Europe, and the UK, continuing to earn a reputation as one of this era’s greatest live forces. Just a head of their last run of the year the band released a video for album highlight “Firewood,” a track that really captures so much of what makes them such an incredible band - from the bent melodic sensibilities to unpredictable shifts in dynamics and slow building tension. It’s pretty much a perfect song as far as I’m concerned (but don’t take my word for it, just listen for yourself). The video is “the life of a storm chaser” which can be a fitting analogy for the song’s themes of getting older while continuing to push forward with art.

POISE | “Poise” EP

Poise is the latest project from New York’s Lucie Murphy (who previously released music as Bruise and Lucie Void) and she’s recently released her self-titled debut EP. Murphy’s songs have a sweetly discordant crunch to them with distorted guitars and piercing feedback setting the tonality for songs that dip between forceful indie rock and haunting post-hardcore tinged pop. Joined by Max Kupperberg (ex-Bruise, Palehound), Poise’s songs fell well crafted, with a sense of urgency that spikes and wanes with the acerbic structures. “Seethe” may be the highlight, a well tanged song that digs its way through sludge and comes out bright on the other end.

RASPBERRY BULBS | “Ultra Vires”

In great but unexpected news: Raspberry Bulbs have returned and will release their third album, Before The Age of Mirrors, in February via their new home at Relapse Records. They’ve been quiet since 2014’s Privacy, but with the upcoming record’s first single “Ultra Vires,” it’s clear they are still up to the same crusty black metal-influenced punk we’ve come to love. The sound is similar to the embodiment of filth, from the guitars gritty distortion and the effected vocals to the dingy production and distant crack of the drums. The New York band have always sounded as though their music was born from some mutant gutter scum, and it remains in that fine form with “Ultra Vires,” a blown out and impenetrable piece of disgusted noise punk.

TREADLES | “And The Rocks And The Trees And The Empty Air Between“ LP

Just before capping off the year with a run of shows, New Orleans’ Treadles surprise released their first full length album And The Rocks And The Trees And The Empty Air Between, one that we’ll be enjoying well into the new year and beyond. Following a single on Saddle Creek’s “Document” series, the full length format really allows the band to explore their dynamic sound, incorporating elements of folk, earthy shoegaze, and post-hardcore together to create something that sounds uniquely theirs. Led by KC Stafford (who also plays in Thou), their emotive vocals are balanced by crashing rhythms and ever evolving songwriting, taking hard left turns and winding their way toward gorgeous resolve on tracks like “The Devil With You” and the slow burn masterpiece “A Swaybacked Mare.” There’s a great depth of feeling throughout, laid bare in quiet reflection and cathartic howls on an album that demands close attention.

WEDNESDAY | “Billboard”

The Asheville, NC band are making introspective rock songs rooted in dissonance, caterwauling guitars, and ragged pedal steel. Wednesday’s three guitar approach is big and blistering, but their music retains a gentle quality, one in touch with Karly Hartzman’s (guitar/vocals) thoughts and surroundings. It’s dreary pop music that isn’t afraid to get messy and their sophomore album I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone blends the best elements of dampened grunge, noise pop, and indie-folk together into something deep and honest. Due out February 7th via Ordinal Records, the “Billboard” video captures the band in their home recording set-up, garage, bedroom, and all, creating the music they want and having fun doing it. It’s honestly refreshing to see their purity and enjoyment coming through the clip even as the song explores anxious feelings and uncertainty.

XETAS | “The Hierophant”

Austin’s Xetas are sort of like a firecracker of punk energy, always ready to go off, and quick to explode. With each member of the trio contributing to their songwriting, there’s a live-wire pulse running through their music, captured in gritty detail on their upcoming sophomore album The Cypher, due out in January via 12XU Records. Massive guitars and bass contort between noise rock and triumphantly ugly punk, honed in and razor sharp in attack. “The Hierophant,” the album’s first single crackles with static guitars and a post-punk groove that sounds like an arena sized version of peers like Spray Paint. It’s muscular and intelligent, just the way heavy music should be. The video mainly finds the band goofing around, a welcome reminder that regardless of subject matter, they’re still having a good time.

Further Listening:

NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 01:

DECEMBER 02 - DECEMBER 08:

December 09 - December 15:

December 16 - December 22:

December 23 - December 29:

DUMMY “Angel’s Gear” | MOSS JAW “Dry Remains” | YOUR OLD DROOG “Jewelry” LP

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (November 25th - December 26th)