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.

THE CRADLE | “One Too Many Times”

The Cradle aka Paco Cathcart releases a lot of music, some more avant-garde driven and other times its transfixed more toward a beautiful tranquility, but it’s also willingly experimental and interesting in its own right. When all blended together, as on Laughing In My Sleep, the project’s upcoming album (due out in August via NNA Tapes), The Cradle is at its best, thoughtful and unfettered in its vision and sonic scope. Lead single “One Too Many Times” is a great introduction to the new record, built on an Eastern modality, the song is gorgeous and catchy, without reliance of standard structures or simplistic instrumentation, instead bubbling with the kind of lush patchwork and pastoral melodies that have made The Cradle a true visionary for nearly a decade.

FREDDIE GIBBS & THE ALCHEMIST | “Frank Lucas“ (feat. Benny The Butcher)

Following last year’s Bandana LP with Madlib, Freddie Gibbs returned with a new full length, Alfredo, entirely produced by The Alchemist, their second album length collaboration (following the Curren$y assisted Fetti). Surprise released in the wake of the latest reminder of never-ending police brutality and systemic racism, Freddie Gibbs keeps it in the streets with his latest, including stand-out “Frank Lucas,” with boasts of “boosting the crime rate” without concern, while proving his knack for grimy lyricism never flinches. Teaming together with Griselda’s Benny The Butcher on “Frank Lucas,” two of this generation’s best MCs go in over a haunting minimalist beat with extended verses that speak violently against the feds and authorities in the name of the hustle, with more than a little braggadocios flair to keep up appearances. This isn’t exactly hip-hop for social justice or conscious though, but it’s hard-nosed rap that makes no apologies.

LIVING GATE | “The Delusion of Consciousness”

I’m no death metal expert, but I also resent the idea that one has to be to enjoy and write about it. Living Gate, a new project featuring members of YOB, Oathbreaker, Amenra, etc. got together to make what classic death metal, and it sure does rip. Deathlust, due out June 12th via Relapse is inspired by the classics (Bolt Thrower, Carcass) as well as the new breed of death metal bands (Tomb Mold, Blood Incantation), invoking that classic ungodly sound, void of studio polish and set to rapidly destroy. While Living Gate certainly play with faster tempos than the aforementioned bands, their technical prowess and tumultuous riffs sound evil and pummeling, a juggernaut force of catharsis through extreme shredding intensity. bludgeoning rhythms, and a primitive sense of oncoming dread.

MAL DEVISA | “Vicious Nonbeliever” EP

Whenever Mal Devisa aka Deja Carr releases something it’s always reason to get excited. While somewhat reclusive, Carr is without a doubt one of most incredible musicians releasing music these days. Her album Kiid is a genuine masterpiece, and the sporadic releases that have followed always feature that same visionary spark. From minimalist ballads with just bass and Carr’s soulful vocals to booming rap tunes where she absolutely bodies the beat with intelligent lyricism, the past five years or so has proven Mal Devisa is one of the best across all genres explored. Vicious Nonbeliever is a collaborative with producer DJ Lucas, and while the songs aren’t all new, they’ve been missing from the internet for quite sometime. The songs all favor Mal Devisa’s hip-hop side, with a selection of beats that only Carr’s chameleonic delivery can possibly wrangle into a set of complex smash hits.

MR. MUTHAFUCKIN’ EXQUIRE | “Bootlicker (Burn Baby Burn)”

Brooklyn’s Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire has a tendency to flip between wildly extravagant braggadocios raps and conscious hip-hop lyrics, often within the same song. For over a decade he’s been the life of the party but also someone who isn’t just flapping gums, usually with a point to make that bears repeating. On “Bootlicker (Burn Baby Burn)” a new stand-alone single dedicated to “everyone impacted by police brutality” and benefiting The Bail Project, eXquire lays out the both the plague of police targeting blacks as well as the history that has kept black culture at a disadvantage in our country. Opening with “bodies always droppin’, and all our babies watching, they chased him down, and blocked him off and live streamed while they shot him,” he’s not mincing words.

NNAMDÏ | “Black Plight“ EP

If you didn’t already know, NNAMDÏ can do it all. While he’s gained national notoriety over the past few years for creating his own brand of spaced out R&B and experimental hip-hop, he’s also proven over and over again to be one of Chicago DIY’s best musicians, from post-hardcore to prog and math rock, playing all instruments with expert intricacy. His latest EP, Black Plight (which incredibly raised over $10,000 on Friday) is a heavy effort, both lyrically and musically, a blistering set of post-hardcore songs that are focused on the recent tragedies of police violence against the black community. NNAMDÏ addresses it head on, tearing against those that want to keep black voices silent and the police that perpetrate the murders of innocent black men and women again and again. It’s all a call to arms and one that can’t be made in vain.

OBNOX | “Savage Raygun” LP

Cleveland’s Obnox remains an inspiration, an artist who has worked tirelessly over the last decade to create a dense catalog of concept albums that draw no lines between hip-hop, punk, soul, garage rock, psych, and experimental music. From freak jazz to militant rap and fried punk, Lamont “Bim” Thomas has been using his voice to create music with expressive freedom, using his words to often convey his experience as a black man in America and the injustices that result. He’s been doing this since the beginning, but his latest double album, Savage Raygun, has an immediate impact now more than ever. Released via Ever/Never Records, the album seamlessly blends together everything that makes Obnox’s swirling lo-fi world in a way that no one else could. Combining hip-hop and punk with psych and soul rarely works, but Obnox makes it feel effortless, just a slew of ideas that come together naturally to share his message.

OCEANATOR & BARTEES STRANGE | “Tear The Fascists Down” EP

Brooklyn’s Oceanator and DC’s Bartees Strange have teamed together for an EP of covers, with all proceeds donated to the New York affiliate of Survived and Punished. The three covers (two from Oceanator and one from Bartees) are each stunning in their own right, working their own magic to the civil rights soul of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” the protest folk of Woody Guthrie’s “Tear These Fascists Down,” and and the uplifting sentiment of Charles Neblett’s (of The Freedom Singers) “If You Miss Me At The Back Of The Bus” The solo recordings of each feel dripped from the heart, with the words as vital now as they were when they written, a message of hope and resilience, one that inspires good people everywhere to keep fighting for a better world.

THIRDFACE | “Grasping At The Root”

Nashville hardcore band Thirdface have returned with “Grasping at the Root,” their first newly released song in over a year, and not a moment too soon. The scorn in Kathryn Edwards’ vocals sounds both raw and urgent, an explosive howl that calls to break the chains and fight toward freedom. The buzzsaw guitars shred and eerie feedback sets the tone for a primal outpouring, one of animosity and aggression for basic human rights. Edwards screams “How long can we go, walls closing in, time to make our move” with a forceful sincerity, that feels very much fed up but also dominant in its resolve for change; kicking down doors one brutally sludgy riff after another. Thirdface creep and slide through the song’s many shifts, each one a compelling glimpse into their dexterous hardcore.

YAUTJA | “Test Subject”

While we’re on the subject of uniquely heavy music from Nashville, Yautja return with “Test Subject” in four years, and a stand-alone single recording during the sessions of their highly anticipated new record. If you’re in the market for a burst of cathartic aggression and unwieldy metal that plays by its own rules, no one does it better than Yautja, and “Test Subject” is as good an example as any. From the initial grinding riff to Tyler Coburn’s relentless drums, the song is a sonic assault in under two minutes, with technical metal and a ferocious urgency that can be felt as they bark “cut it out, infected, multiply” over a monstrous collision of crushing menace and mayhem.

Further Listening:

May 26 - May 31:

June 1 - June 7:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (May 26th - June 7th)