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.

ANDY THE DOORBUM | “Send Help” (Big Business cover)

My introduction to Andy The Doorbum came a few years back in 2016 when he was direct support for Big Business on their East Coast tour. His set was truly something to be hold, part eerie folk, dimly lit metal, ambient noise, and a good deal of performance art. It was both mystical and mystifying, I didn’t know exactly what to make it, but it felt right at that moment. Even When The Cat Comes is Andy The Doorbum’s latest album, a triumphantly haunting record of comprised of covers from friends that include Jucifer, Ceschi, and the aforementioned Big Business. “Send Help” is a track from Biz’s Command Your Weather, and Andy The Doorbum’s doom-riddled folk version of the song is expansive, capturing the tension of the original and wringing it out a molasses pace.

BRIGID DAWSON & THE MOTHERS NETWORK | “Ballet of Apes” LP

The Brigid Dawson years of Thee Oh Sees were some of the finest the long running band has had to offer. While still a frequent collaborator (but no longer a core member), it stands to mention that her presence has always made the band better, offering vocals and keys and a slightly more refined touch to the ever shifting garage punk freakshow (this is meant as a compliment). Now, after all these years, Dawson has released her solo debut, Ballet of Apes, billed under the great name of Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network. While intrigue had this record among our most anticipated, the album is utterly brilliant, a timeless gem of a debut that gets better with every listen. Recorded with contributions from Mike Donovan (Peacers, Sic Alps), Mikey Young (Eddy Current, Total Control), and Sunwatchers, there’s an old soul to Ballet of Apes, but a sound that refuses to sit still, channeling floral psych, acid folk, reverberating soul, and caustic balladry. Each song moves within its own unique space and time, with Dawson’s gorgeous voice and contemplative songwriting the thread that ties it all together. This is one of the year’s best records.

DIG NITTY | “Lomita”

Brooklyn’s Dig Nitty will release their debut album Reverse of Mastery in July, a long awaited record built on a wave of catchy songs, each one perfectly written and formed into place. You may remember the band from the opening track on our latest compilation, and now they’ve shared “Lomita,” our first official taste of their full length. Recorded together with Alex Molini (Pile, Philary), Dig Nitty waver between dreamy surf pop, fuzzy garage rock, and simmering “churchy” tranquility, their album colored with many shades of the landscapes they’ve grown around, from California to NYC. “Lomita” is a breezy track with unavoidable earworms, an upbeat song that juxtaposes its sunny disposition with lyrics that deal with somber reflections. Each of Erin McGrath’s vocal lines are immaculately delivered, following it’s own rhythmic bounce, circling around with infectious melodic refrains. I’ve been singing this song for weeks around my home and it’s starting to feel like I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.

FRED CRACKLIN | “Boar Drill”

We had the pleasure of premiering Fred Cracklin’s new album, Anxiety Kinship, back in the beginning of April, and we’ve been revisiting the record on a regular basis. It’s all over the place and chaotic as can be, in the best of ways, blending together furious math rock, prog, noise, avant-garde jazz, and the rest of the experimental music kitchen sink. “Boar Drill,” one of the album’s many adventurous highlights, now has an equally awesome music video, produced and animated by Wishbone Zoe. From the colors to the concept, everything about this video is great and it truly enhances the song, the way a video really ought to. While the song shares a spirit with Hella’s early output, the video and it’s vivid colors and splattered reality tell the literal story of the boar drills and their quest to the center of the mountain. Much like Fred Cracklin, they’re doing it on their own terms.

SHILPA RAY | “Manic Pixie Dream Cunt”

As one of our favorite modern songwriters, Shilpa Ray has proven to dig right into the core of societal anxiety, sharing views of the life at its ugliest to the dreamier moments, incorporating a bit of everything into her classic and commanding style with an anything goes attitude. Her last full length, Door Girl, is a masterpiece of cultural dissection, and she’s returned with her first new music since 2018’s Nihilism EP in the form of stand-alone single “Manic Pixie Dream Cunt”. We love Shilpa Ray is all forms, but there’s nothing quite like her enraged intensity. Setting out to create an anthem in the vein of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl,” Ray has absolutely delivered. Built on a raw clamor, her yelp is as vicious as its bite, landing with punk disdain, howling over the steady pulse with primal force and a kick to the teeth that really needs to be heard. If the next Shilpa Ray album is soon to follow, we can’t wait.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (May 18th - May 25th)