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.

BLACKLISTERS | “Sports Drink”

The greatest noise rock band on the planet has returned. Welcome back Blacklisters, we’ve missed you dearly. It’s been five years since the band’s last full length, Adult, and three years since the Dart EP, but this August the band will release Fantastic Man, their third LP via Buzzhowl Records (Thank, Gloop, Prayer Group) and A Tant Rever du Roi. The record’s first single comes courtesy of “Sports Drink,” a song that features the band’s penchant for sarcastic humor and calamitous noise, this time spearheaded by the corrosive riff rather than rattling low-end. The song comes increasingly unglued as the relatively straight-forward vocal delivery turns frantic, slurred, and shouted as the songs pounds forward. The video features song hilariously bad basketball with a bunch of motivational slogans, my favorite being the simple “Hoop Dreams”.

CHRISTELLE BOFALE | “Skipping Stones” (Demo)

Slack Capital 3 was released on Friday, with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Austin Justice Coalition, a local ATX group that seeks to educate and build community. The 41 track compilation was curated by Eric Braden (Big Bill, First Humans Records), Nathan Lankford (Austin Town Hall Records), and local booking agency Howdy Gals, featuring a wide selection of Austin musicians such as Spoon, Daniel Francis Doyle, Daphne Tunes, The Teeta, Sun June, and Christelle Bofale. Having released the fantastic Swim Team EP last year and the single “Miles” earlier this year, Bofale has earned a position among the “artists to watch elite,” an incredible songwriter that speaks from the heart. Her music blends together sparse indie singer-songwriter material and comforting blues with the unshakeable soul of her voice, captured brilliantly on “Skipping Stones,” a bare bones demo that shines. With every inflection and shake of Bofale’s vocals comes introspective thought, the feelings working themselves into the beautiful timbre of a confident melody. “Skipping Stones” is nothing short of stunning.

DEERHOOF & WADADA LEO SMITH | “Breakup Songs“ (Live)

It’s been less than a month since Deerhoof released Future Teenage Cave Artists, a genuine contender for album of the year honors. In support of Black Lives Matter however, the band are back with a new live record, To Be Surrounded By Beautiful, Curious, Breathing, Laughing Flesh Is Enough, a collaboration with avant-garde jazz trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith, recorded during 2018’s NYC Winter Jazzfest. “Breakup Songs” is our first glimpse into the set, and the pairing of Smith and Deerhoof sound immaculate, the trumpet skronks working as a necessity against the delightfully disjointed framework of a song that induces whiplash during gentle movements and something far more severe at it’s no-wave sludge conclusion. Let this be a reminder, put on your damn masks so everyone can better and we can go see Deerhoof live again.

MEYHEM LAUREN | “Glass 2.0” LP

One of our favorite rappers of the past decade, Meyhem Lauren has been on a never-ending hot streak since he first caught our ear on Action Bronson’s classic Dr. Lecter. This week he’s returned with Glass 2.0, a new full length collaboration from producer Harry Fraud, the companion to 2018’s Glass. While many of the tracks were previously featured on Extra Glass, the record comes together to sound cohesive, with Meyhem Lauren offering both mafioso gangster rap and enough wavy and fly lyricism to keep his Queens swagger celebrating through the toughest of times. This isn’t really a reflection of current events, as most of the songs come from sessions that began several years ago, but Laurenovich rides each beat with crime boss status, his low-profile delivery offset by his high-profile lifestyle. “Brunch at the Breakers” in next level hip-hop and Meyhem Lauren absolutely bodies Fraud’s beat.

PYRRHON | “Abscess Time” LP

New York’s Pyrrhon are easily one of the most exciting bands making technical death metal these days, and they’ve steadily been pumping out great records for near ten years. While we’re pretty new to their music (as we always say, better late than never), their albums offer maximalist impact on first impression, a whirlwind of knotted technicality, carnage, and forward thinking structures that as dark and dismal as they are intelligent and destructive. The band’s latest album, Abscess Time is due out at the end of this week via Willowtip Records, but the entire thing is exclusively streaming over at Metal Injection. Pyrrhon’s sound is relentless, built on dexterity that bounces around pulling influences from noise rock, prog, grindcore, and black metal into their sound, reshaping those influences under a death metal fury, void of subtleties, but erupting with a depraved brilliance.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (June 15th - June 21st)