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 | “Fantastic Man”

While we were very excited about “Sports Drink,” the first single from Blacklisters’ long awaiting third full length, Fantastic Man, the second single and title track has upped the bar for a record we already consider one of our most anticipated of the year. Everything is boiling over on this one - the depravity, the abrasiveness, the sarcasm - in that special well that has left us so profoundly transfixed with this band. It’s a slurred and biting take down of meathead idiots, the type that run from feelings to instead pump iron, those who favor machismo over being human. The guitars scrape and pulsate with a near hypnotic flood, while Billy Mason-Wood’s deranged wails about “a full time guy” and “a constant drain” don’t so much rip from the mix as they do seep between the oft atonal heft.

COREY FLOOD | “Heaven Or”

Philadelphia post-punk trio Corey Flood are set to release their full length debut, Hanging Garden, in early September via Fire Talk Records (Dehd, Pure X, Mamalarky). Following their great Wish You Hadn’t EP, their record sounds fully realized and packed with a catchy blend of post-punk and artistic indie rock, with each members voice heard throughout the album. Lead single “Heaven Or” is taut yet breezy, opting for a significantly lighter atmosphere than their EP’s shadowy sound. There is a noticeable push toward dream pop that can be felt in both the guitar melodies and Ivy Gray-Klein’s earworm vocals. It’s a great song that bubbles with dynamics and stuttered rhythms, offering a surrealism that only adds to its sentiments of shaking yourself out of stagnant behavior.

EXHALANTS | “Bang“

The ever crushing density of Austin’s Exhalants is a thing of pure beauty, a band that seamlessly bridges the gap between noise rock, post-hardcore, punk, and no-wave into some kinda unholy squalor you can’t help but love. Their self-titled debut remains a personal favorite, one of those records that re-floors you with every listen. Two years later the trio are back with Atonement, a new full length due out via Hex Records (Gaytheist, Pinko, USA Nails) this September, and we’re basically counting down the days until then. “Bang” is our first glimpse into what they’ve been up to and well… it certainly does kick things off with a bang (Exhalants aren’t ones for false advertising). The song’s massive riff swarms with buzzing intensity while the colossal rhythm claws like an oncoming bear attack, the entire band leaning into the dissonance before an experimental shift adds a brutal bit of discordant groove.

GANSER | “Emergency Equipment & Exits”

We last wrote about Ganser’s upcoming album, Just Look At That Sky, all the way back in April, featuring “Lucky” among that week’s best new music. That was only three months ago and yet it kind of feels like a lifetime. Thankfully, we only have a more weeks to go before the release of the album via Felte and we’ve been treated to their latest single “Emergency Equipment & Exits,” quite possibly our favorite of the bunch so far (you can stream five of the album’s nine tracks now on Bandcamp). While “Lucky” dug its fingers into noise rock and abrasive riffs, “Emergency Equipment & Exits” is built on a tight rhythm and a piercing melody. The intensity is raw and focused, pulling back to an occasional pause just to keep the sound wobbling and off-kilter, before surging forward again. The beautifully shot video captures the band in performance before vocalist/bassist Alicia Gaines gets the urge to leave, as if called to nature, taking to heart the song’s final lyrics, “it’s a long way down, I don’t want to be here.”

JEREMY RAY | “M.I.N.O.”

Up until about two years ago, Jeremy Ray was the vocalist/guitarist in the incredible DC experimental duo Dove Lady, one of our favorite DIY band’s in recent memory. While those days may have passed, Ray is getting ready to release his first solo effort, coming in the near future from Vain Mina Records (Poolblood, Eliza Niemi, Quaker Parents). Until then however, we have “M.I.N.O.” (Murder Is Not Opportunity) our first chance to hear Ray on his own, with a statement that feels vital as the fight for racial equality moves forward. It’s a gorgeously warped song, one that feels a bit alien, but with a subject that feels present, immediate, and utterly important. Ray weaves in and out of a dreamy melody, with a jangly rhythm that shuffles in and out of frame, colliding the otherworldly vocals with our harsh reality. Ray offers a powerful message to his black community, singing “Some of the greatest lies ever told / That she's not as beautiful / That we're not wonderful / That we have no power” and it rings with profound positivity. We can’t wait to hear more from Jeremy Ray.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (June 29th - July 5th)