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.

EMPATH | “Diamond Eyelids”

Philadelphia’s Empath make that good shoegaze, the kind that feels free of shape but never directionless. Their new album, Visitor, is out in February and the album’s second single “Diamond Eyelids” is packed with rhythms that stick like glue while everything else blurs together. It’s a well crafted mix of aggressive distortion, homespun fuzz, and warm yet punchy hooks. The video is wild, with a Sarah Squirm like birth going on as the puppet band eventually emerge into this world.

HORSEGIRL | “Billy”

Horsegirl are still a very new band. It doesn’t really matter that every major site has named them a buzz band or that they signed to Matador prior to playing more than a handful of out of town shows, the fact remains that their latest single, “Billy” is only the band’s fourth song that’s been released to date. The other fact that can’t be ignored, is that all four of those songs are awesome, which is why Horsegirl are an important band. “Billy” continues down the path of “Ballroom Dance Scene” with serrated shoegaze and dream-pop layers paired together with exceptional harmonies that never feel traditional but always land so perfectly.

HYPERDONTIA | “Hideous Entity“ LP

After their colossal debut album, Turkey / Denmark’s Hyperdontia followed it up with a string of great singles and splits, creating a strong buzz for the band as one of modern death metal’s best. With their sophomore album, Hideous Entity, they make good on the hype, creating an album that’s equal parts brutal, technical, and flush with some of the greatest riffs of the year. Released on Dark Descent Records, there are enormous riffs that slow the pace only to heavy shit up on a record that is constantly evolving but always crushing.

IT THING | “God’s Car”

I’ve had “God’s Car” stuck in my head since I first heard it. The second single from It Thing’s upcoming full length debut, Syrup, is rattling with shattering cymbals noise and amp feedback (there’s an audible hum and its awesome). The band, based out of Hobart, Australia, dig into a mix of garage punk, power-pop, and maybe a touch of sugary hardcore, but it’s Charlotte Gavan-Glover’s commanding vocals that really make this song so infectious. Written about being in a car with someone who has road rage, It Thing are unraveling all tension.

MAN-EATERS | “Communal Cortege”

I’m not exactly sure when it happened (I blame C.O.F.F.I.N.) but I can say that I am very much into new punk bands that sound like big sleazy 70’s rock & roll bands that were just tossed out of the bar. Chicago’s Man-Eaters are making a ruckus of that variety, with tongue-in-cheek fun paired with explosive shredding riffs. Set to release their second album, Twelve More Observations on Healthy Living, via Feel It Records, lead single (and it’s wonderfully dated video) “Communal Cortege” is all gasoline and explosives, a song that’s gritty and glorious.

NICFIT | “Fuse”

Having formed over a decade ago, Nagoya, Japan’s Nicfit have taken the long road toward releasing their full length debut, Fuse. The album’s title track creeps forward with a singular, stilted guitar line that sounds like the opening to your favorite noise rock song, but then digs into something decidedly more punk, crashing into big stop/start riffs that pummel and groove in equal measure. It’s well constructed but played real loose, full of intention yet brimming with undeniable feel. Hiromi howls and contorts her vocals over the shifting tempo as the band sprawl from the detached beginning into a flooding surge and back again.

OVLOV | “Buds” LP

People like to throw a lot of comparisons out in regards to Ovlov, but they all fall short in really capturing what it is that makes the band so special. On the band’s third album, Buds, they capture all the hallmarks of previous albums Am and Tru, but they boil the new songs down to their absolute tightest, with the ever impeccably dense drumming of Theo Hartlett and Jon Hartlett’s bass the spine of the songs. Steve Hartlett’s songwriting embraces the pop elements that have always been there, creating a set of earworms that feel instantly classic.

PINCH POINTS | “Reasons To Be Anxious”

Pinch Points, Melbourne’s finest punk band, are getting ready to release their second full length album, Process, next March but you don’t have to wait to pick up their latest single, “Reasons To Be Anxious,” out now via Mistletone Records. As ever, it’s impossible to decide which is sharper, the lyrics or the music, as the band make incredibly darting punk that jitters with unbelievable precision. The guitars definitely recall the brilliance of Uranium Club, but the lyrics are more direct, with the gang vocals running through a list of modern anxiety’s we all know too well. Pinch Points forever.

SHILPA RAY | “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy”

It’s been four long years since Shilpa Ray released the New York-centric concept album Door Girl, but the Brooklyn based songwriter has kept us engaged with new EPs and singles in the time since. “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” is her first single in over year, a sweeping soul indebted punk ballad that speaks volumes from the title and pointed lyrics through to the industrial boogie that follows. Ray’s Bandcamp notes it was “written about Senator Susan Collins and her infamous press conference after the Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford hearings. It’s about women who succeed from undermining the success of other women or choose to gain success from exploiting the oppression of other women.”

SWEEPING PROMISES | “Pain Without A Touch”

Sweeping Promises released their debut album, Hunger For A Way Out, which quickly became the undeniable smash hit of the pandemic, a record that Feel It couldn’t keep in stock (but somehow managed to press 9x within a year). With the word of mouth spread to every corner of the punk world and beyond, the album reached mainstream hype based entirely on how good it is, a rare feat these days. So it makes sense that as soon as it was safe to do so, the band hit the road. Now they’ve joined Sub Pop (in conjunction with Feel It) for their new single “Pain Without A Touch,” another lo-fi punk hit with danceable rhythms and little-to-no polish.

Further Listening:

November 08 - November 14:

NOVEMBER 15 - November 21:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (November 8th - November 21st)