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.

BABE REPORT | “Malort Is My Shepherd”

Chicago’s Babe Report, a new band featuring former members of FCKR JR, Yeesh, etc, shared their debut single back in April and the band are closing the year out with another one, the wild and radiant “Malort Is My Shepherd.” While Malort (a uniquely Chicago liquor that people seem to love having those who visit from out of town taste… possibly just to watch the reaction) is probably a questionable guiding light at best, the band sing of tour as vacation and generally going with the flow, wherever that may lead, over crushing drums and static guitars, shimmering in the din of it all.

BOLDY JAMES & THE ALCHEMIST | “Super Tecmo Bo” LP

Boldy James and The Alchemist work magic together. While ALC has been on a crazy tear for the past few years, his collaborations with Boldy truly stand out, an MC/producer pairing match made in Heaven. They teamed up again this year for Bo Jackson, one of the year’s best albums and just when everyone had finished their year-end coverage, the pair surprise released another album, Super Tecmo Bo. The latest offering clocks in at just under a half hour, and is Boldy James at his cold and calculated best. With just one feature among the nine tracks, Boldy goes in over ALC’s smooth loops and crisp snares, bringing his signature casualty to his life-of-a-hustler raps.

BORIS | “Drowning By Numbers”

Nearly 25 years into their career, it would still be a mistake to have any expectations on what a new Boris album might sound like. The Japanese experimental rock band has been adapting and transforming their sound for decades, with releases that cover shoegaze, noise, doom metal, pop, sludge, and beyond. The only thing that has become predictable is their uncompromising unpredictability. Which brings us to W, the band’s upcoming album, due out January 21st via their new home at Sacred Bones Records. Upon listening to lead single “Drowning By Numbers,” it’s evident we’re in for a treat, as Boris pair haunting art pop with steely post-punk rhythms and drifting no-wave muscle, almost reminiscent of Blonde Redhead with more a penchant for eternal dread.

C.O.F.F.I.N. | “Super Stupid” (Funkadelic cover)

Good Times RnR Comp 3 aka GTRRC3 has arrived, a massive compilation featuring rock ‘n’ roll covers (and beyond) from some of the underground’s absolute best punk bands. Organized by Legless Records, and the folks in Research Reactor Corp. and Gee Tee, the collection features the aforementioned bands in addition to Erik Nervous, Powerplant, Prison Affair, Snooper, M.A.Z.E., Spodee Boy, Mutant Strain, Set Top Box, Fried Egg, and so many others. Among the many highlights comes “Super Stupid,” a cover of Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain classic courtesy of noise punk rippers C.O.F.F.I.N. The band compress the original (already a certified ripper) into something a bit more muscular and depraved but structurally similar with the ramshackle depraviltiy all in tact.

CHRISTIAN FITNESS | “Hip Gone Gunslingers” LP

While it still feels like a relatively new project, Christian Fitness released their seventh record, Hip Gone Gunslingers, the much anticipated return of Falco and Jack Egglestone’s endless catastrophic cleverness. Maybe it’s a testament to the band that it still feels so fresh and maybe it’s the fact they’ve released records at a pace quick enough that you never get a chance to get sick of the previous record. Regardless, Hip Gone Gunslingers is a triumphant album, one of both sheer irreverence and eloquent takedowns of idiots, both famous and otherwise. The title track is a hilarious jab at anti-vaxxers while “Boutique Festival” laments exactly that, another unnecessary festival. There’s nothing like seeing the world through Falco’s eyes, grim in disposition but almost giddy to skewer it as a result.

THE CRADLE | “Half A Double Life” LP

Sneaking in just as the year is coming to a close, we included The Cradle’s latest, Half A Double Life on our “year-end feature” prior to it’s actual release this past Friday. Luckily we had already had the opportunity to hear this home-spun gem, and while I can’t say I’ve spent months listening to it, the calming nature of Paco Cathcart’s acoustic folk songs are consistently beautiful and engaging, with unique rhythmic flourishes and a wealth of swooning harmonies (courtesy of Lily Konigsberg). With songs written and recorded over the past three years, Half A Double Life is still very much cohesive as Cathcart sets both relatable mental pictures (pouring rain, crossing the street, etc) and offers stunning performances of hand-picked acoustics, sparse warbling synths, and delicate arrangements.

EARL SWEATSHIRT | “Tabula Rasa” (feat. Armand Hammer)

There should be no doubt what you’re getting from the pairing of Earl Sweatshirt and Armand Hammer, and with “Tabula Rasa” the three MCs really go above and beyond to deliver on the promise that comes from that particular collaboration. Opening with a hard-nosed verse from ELUCID (truly one of the best rappers of our modern era), before billy woods and Earl both offer their own abstract and psychedelic brands of rap experimentation. All three paint with vivid lyrical strokes over the Theravada and Rob Chambers, blasting between lines that set pictures and then warp them into personal vignettes and blurred memories. After two singles, Earl Sweatshirt’s upcoming album, Sick!, is shaping up to deliver the clearest vision into his brand of hip-hop majesty yet.

HOLIDAY MUSIC | “Angelfire”

“Tis the season,” as they say, for Holiday Music and while this probably isn’t the Holiday Music you’re thinking of, it’s our certainly our preferred version of Holiday Music. The Boston-via-Austin-via-[Boston based band are gearing up for a new record called The New World in February and with it comes the record’s lead single, “Angelfire.” With a reversed tape effect on all the guitars and a beat that we’ll go ahead and call “a bop,” the lo-fi band sound gloriously present and willingly detached all the same. They squiggle and swerve their way in and out of focus as Mike Hlady’s vocals bounce between pop immediacy and warbled psych drifts.

KIM GORDON & J MASCIS | “Abstract Blues”

With their new two song single on Sub Pop, it would seem that living legends Kim Gordon and J Mascis are truly brining out the best in each other. While neither need any sort of introduction, this single is surprisingly the first time the pair has worked together, despite nearly four decades of involvement in the same circles. The singles play to their original strengths, the songs are raw and primal, with Gordon at her most punk while Mascis is committed to a constant shred… or dare I say sludgefeast… eh, I’ll stick with shred. B-side “Slow Boy” is particularly fired up with the intensity of a basement punk band (generally not found in life-long veterans), Gordon’s vocals howl and shake, as she reminds everyone to catch up. If these two did a full length, we’d be all for it.

KRIMI | “Demo CS” EP

KRIMI is a great new punk band from Perth, Australia featuring a few familiar faces from Cold Meat, Nerve Quakes, Body Type, and Product, but their sound is one unique to this new formation. The band tear through lo-fi punk and razor sharp guitars to a rhythm section that’s more indebted to new wave, allowing the band to both boogie and sound aggressive at the same time. There’s old school punk vibes to it but the lyrical content is firmly placed in modern times as singer Ash (the brilliant vocalist in Cold Meat) takes aim at consumerism, the internet, and social injustices.

MACH-HOMMY | “Balens Cho” LP

Having already released one of the year’s absolute best albums with Pray For Haiti, New Jersey’s own Haitian born legend Mach-Hommy wasn’t done yet. As year end lists already began trickling out the praise for his record, he returned with Balens Cho (which translates to Hot Candles), a brief but undeniably essential release. Clocking in at just about 24 minutes in length, the album’s eight actual tracks continue to find Mach-Hommy at his all time best, riding over jazzy looped beats (much of which come courtesy of Nicholas Craven) and working his lyrics with a crystal clear delivery as he offers lines on par with the greats, cementing his place among them yet again. From the braggadocios “Labou” to the important self-care of “Self Luh,” Mach-Hommy is spitting solid gold raps that favor intelligence and heart over simply being the hardest.

MALIGNANT ALTAR | “Realms of Exquisite Morbidity” LP

On first, second, third, and fourth impressions, Malignant Altar have released one of the year’s best death metal albums with Realms of Exquisite Morbidity. The title really says it all, but there’s something undeniably special about the way the Texan death metal quintet have built their full length debut, with dynamics that move between utter annihilation and a more serene and ominous terror. From the chiming church bells and their natural reverb of the intro into the decimating riffs and thunderous rhythms (huge shout out to drummer Dobber Beverly), it’s impeccably well constructed, matching ferocity with brilliant textures that keep this record endlessly repeatable. There’s a lot going on here and it’s well worth spending the time to digest.

NAIMA BOCK | “30 Degrees”

Naima Bock, the former bassist of the great Goat Girl, is stepping out on her own as a solo artist newly signed to Sub Pop. Having released her debut single, A-Side “30 Degrees” isn’t a million miles away from her former band, with Bock sharing a similarly mellow tonality, with lush harmonies and deep vocals weaving together beautifully. It’s an encouraging debut that finds Bock embracing the lead role, with intricate arrangements and a relatability to the anxieties that come with saying our final “goodbyes”. It’s tense but gorgeous, shadowy but shimmering, and we’re excited to hear what comes next.

OPEN HEAD | “Enticing Offer”

In the world of press emails there are a lot of RIYLs and FFOs thrown around, a blessing and a curse. After a while you take them with a grain of salt, but every now and then there’s one that intrigues, such as a simple combo of US Maple and Sonic Youth. With interest piqued, I was recently introduced to the music of Kingston, NY quartet Open Head. Set to release their full length debut, Joy, and Other Sufferings, in February the band’s latest single “Enticing Offer” makes good on those lofty comparisons, by namely being unwieldy. The song is violently abrasive and free in form, attacking and receding without warning or natural flow, but it’s the jarring nature of it that gives it room to land. It’s messy in the absolute best way, and their debut is worth getting excited about.

REMEDY | “Crazy 8’s” (feat. Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Cappadonna, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, Solomon Childs, & Streetlife)

Having recently executive produced albums for both Inspectah Deck and Ghostface Killah, long time Wu-Tang affiliate Remedy returns with his first new full length in over a decade, Remedy Meets Wu-Tang. This one is as much a family affair as any official Wu compilation records (The Saga Continues etc) and probably has more of a true Wu feel than almost most anything the group has done in recent memory. Remedy brings nearly the whole family together on “Crazy 8’s,” a tru “wu-banga” that opens with Ghostface boasting, “ayo, I dropped outta school when I was two years old, changed my open diaper, went on the road.” The looped strings and detached beat feel like classic Wu as everyone drops in for quick but punchy verses.

S.H.I.T. | “Hidden In Eternity / Eraser III”

Toronto’s S.H.I.T. come screeching back after far too long with a new single, Hidden In Eternity b/w Eraser III, via Iron Lung and La Vida Es Un Mus that proves once again they’re among the best modern hardcore/punk bands around. It’s scuzzy and ferocious, dripping and bleeding in all the right places, but with a furious sonic clarity that makes this new 7” stand among the band’s best releases. There’s a definite depravity in both the music and vocals, the guitars soaked in distortion while the lyrical content offers more a sense of disgust. It’s brash and immediate, the feedback warning shots really only the chance to catch your breath as they rip and shred, capturing all the dirt of the performance in a surprisingly clean mix.

THANK | “Paris Syndrome”

Repetition is key to “Paris Syndrome,” the second single from Thank’s upcoming full length debut, Thoughtless Cruelty. With a massively distorted synth and bass offering a hypnotic backdrop, the sense of instant familiarity allows the band to veer of the course, throwing harsh spikes of sordid aggression and humorous panic into the mix as Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe sings and howls of abstract memories, whether his own or not, in a way that’s very much up to you to make any sense of. When the one word hook of “browbeaten” comes crashing in the band offer layers and layers of noise (some of which was apparently played using a vibrator). The video is just as amusing as the song, whether you’re reading the lyrics or reading about the well thought “concept”.

YOUR OLD DROOG | “Space Bar”

Last year, as 2020 was coming to a close and people were checking out, Your Old Droog dropped what should be a considered a modern hip-hop masterpiece, Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition, a conceptually solid and impeccably delivered look into his roots. The perennially under-rated MC kept delivering this year, with two collaborative albums together with Tha God Fahim, and two solo albums, the latest of which is Space Bar, a surprise release that touched down just as November ended. While Time was heavy on skits and interludes that tied the concept together, Space Bar feels more focused, an unending flow of Droog’s punchline raps. Weaving in references and jabs into every line, there could be collegiate courses dedicated to his lyricism, as his clever wordplay continues to hit on another level.

Further Listening:

NOVEMBER 22 - NOVEMBER 28:

NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 05:

DECEMBER 06 - DECEMBER 12:

DECEMBER 13 - DECEMBER 19:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (November 22nd - December 19th)