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.

BIG|BRAVE | “Half Breed”

Montreal based trio Big|Brave’s last record, A Gaze Among Them, was one of our favorite albums of 2019. The band are ready to follow it up with their fourth full length, Vital, due out April 23rd via Southern Lord. Judging by the first single, “Half Breed,” it’s going to be another beautifully heavy record built on piercing feedback and soaring melodies. At just over eight minutes in length, Big|Brave take the opportunity to get expansive (as they do more often than not), letting every drone and drift careen endlessly. The band’s use of minimal rhythms is always stunning, with the placements carefully chosen, bringing a primal lurch to the otherwise meditative sludge. As always though, it’s Robin Wattie’s vocals that really pull everything together, her voice both commanding and cautious, the perfect way to cut through their atmospheric doom.

DINOSAUR JR. | “I Ran Away”

About two years ago we said that J Mascis’ Elastic Days was the best thing the legendary musician had released in about a decade. Thankfully that same sentiment can be said about Sweep It Into Space, the upcoming album from Dinosaur Jr., due out in April via Jagjaguwar. After a pair of albums that always felt slightly amiss for the trio (maybe due to the high expectations that follow an album as great as Farm), the band sound triumphant on their latest, picking up the same magic they’ve been offering since the 80’s and 90’s. Lead single “I Ran Away” is a gorgeous bit of the band’s “ear-bleeding country,” with a subdued twang, a dense rhythm and some great Mascis lyrics.

LAUNDROMAT | “Flat Planet”

Following the great Green and Blue EPs last year, Laundromat are set to complete their EP series with Red, due out in April via Brace Yourself Records. While this is not a collection of King Crimson covers (though that would be cool), we’re always excited to hear new music from Toby Hayes and his Laundromat project. “Flat Planet” is the EP’s lead single, another slinky gem of dreamy krautrock and heavily “vibing” slacker pop. Hayes has a gift for writing songs like this, with a beat you can sink right into, colored with perfect noise pop bursts and earworms of blistering distortion and fuzz, giving us the texture we’ve always dreamed of.

THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD FERRIES | “Suns Out Guns Out” LP

The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries sound like the veterans they are on Suns Out Guns Out, out now via Ernest Jenning Record Co. With members of Shellac, Codeine, and Kahoots, the trio have made an album that, above all else, is immediately enjoyable and infinitely listenable. The band use their artier past to create something that pulls from it but never really leans on their previous projects. It’s more their collective experience that shine through as they boil it on down to great songwriting, reliant as much on sludgy punk as it is power-pop. Each song has a perfected tone and a dense rhythm so dialed in that it feels classic, memorable, and yet utterly new.

MCKINLEY DIXON | “Make A Poet Black”

McKinley Dixon has been releasing great forward-thinking hip-hop records for the past five years via Citrus City in addition to an essential single on Saddle Creek. We were late to the party but spent much of last year listening and re-listening to everything the Richmond MC had released. Dixon has since joined Spacebomb and is ready to release For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her, an album that should bring his music to wider audiences, if there is any justice in the world. Dixon is an incredibly versatile lyricist, creating music with a conscious mentality that still manages to knock. The album’s first single, “make a poet Black” is a perfect encapsulation of what he offers, with brilliant lyrics over a wild piano-tinkled beat void of drums. If Kendrick released the exact same song it’d be a smash hit, so give McKinley Dixon that same respect.

MISTER GOBLIN | “Four People In An Elevator And One Of Them Is The Devil” LP

It should be known by know that Mister Goblin (aka Sam Goblin, formerly of Two Inch Astronaut) is a great songwriter, but it’s never been more evident than it is on Four People In An Elevator And One Of Them Is The Devil. With lyrics that are both tongue-in-cheek and sincere (often simultaneously), the project structures everything with the utmost impact, diving into hooks that don’t wait until the chorus to seep into your memory. It’s like a moving playbook on how to write a great song, from the album’s conceptual opener “The Devil” to the reflective “At Least,” each song explores genuine emotion and the complexities that come with it. Songs wander into sweeping crescendos and back into swooning acoustics with a graceful simplicity, each moment driving the next and building upon the last.

NIGHTSHIFT | “Outta Space”

There are a lot of great songs on Nightshift’s debut album, Zòe, and perhaps the best thing about it is that each one stands out in its own unique way. There’s a unity that allows it sound coherent, but their blend of post-punk, psychedelic rock, and motorik dream pop takes many shapes from the mesmerizing sprawl of “Piece Together” and the nervous post-punk of “Make Kin.” The disorientation of “Outta Space” is what sucked us in, a song that grooves and drifts out of time from their usual sharp focus. This one feels formless, a cloud of lush harmonies and a crackling framework that’s steeped in jazzy touches with a French-pop sort of malaise, as hypnotic as it is mysterious.

OPPOSITE SEX | “Owls Do Cry”

It’s been nearly five years since Dunedin, New Zealand’s Opposite Sex released the great Hamlet via Dull Tools and all has been quiet. The band are back though and things have become increasingly noisy on their new record, High Drama. Released this week, the band sound explosive, trading between stark minimalism and the more abrasive end of atonal post-punk. With plenty of stand-out moments on the LP, the colossal “Owls Do Cry” may be the highlight. It’s a haunting song with a dark narrative, one that balances innocence and terror in equal measure. Lucy Hunter’s vocals sit unfeathered and undeterred amid swirling distortion and a swampy progression, the song’s grim dirge juxtaposed with her defiant voice. When Opposite Sex eventually skid off the rails, it’s to everyone’s benefit.

RENÉE REED | “Où est la Fée”

Shaping up to be a very special debut, Renée Reed’s self-titled album shows an artist that sounds self-assured enough to navigate space and texture. The singles each feature a sort of looping progression, one that sits alone in its own mesmerizing state of reverberating beauty. It’s a solo album that feels like a solo album, the reflections of a singular mind, brought to life with a minimalist approach, and its all the better for it. The latest single “Où est la Fée” takes a different approach to the same mentality. It’s still minimal but instead of warm finger picked guitars and dazzling acoustics, this one has a haunting organ setting the tone, notes hanging around like a spaghetti western horror ballad. The atmosphere is tense but sparse, as Reed croons away in French, with a heavy feeling of heartbreak (despite my not knowing a word of French).

THA GOD FAHIM & YOUR OLD DROOG | “Tha YOD Fahim” LP

The true “Dump Gawds” just keep on dumping. Following the extraordinary Tha Wolf on Wall St collaboration in January, Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim didn’t even wait a month to release Tha YOD Fahim, one of the year’s most anticipated hip-hop records. While Droog hails from Brooklyn and Fahim from Atlanta, the two are kindred souls as far as modern hip-hop goes, with a tireless work ethic and the desire to keep banging the illest verses over dusty beats. Droog has become one of rap’s most clever lyricists, inspired by MCs like Redman and MF DOOM, while Tha God Fahim goes in with bars that hit direct and clear with an often radiant positivity and knowledge (he’s also an incredibly gifted producer, delivering many of the album’s beats). Together, they are unmatched. With already proven hits like “Mailman” (our favorite hip-hop track of 2020) and “Charles Barkley,” the duo expand for a full length where every line hits and each artists brings their personal flare, forever intertwined on stand-outs like “Icee Shop/Entrées,” “Slam Dunk Contest,” and “Disney World.” Free of commercialism in a way unlike most, this is pure hip-hop, through and through. There’s no stopping these two as make a push toward the all time greats. (*BONUS* Tha God Fahim has released a new track every single day since on his Youtube channel, many of which also feature Droog. Dump Season is upon us.)

Further Listening:

February 15 - February 21:

February 22 - February 28:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (February 15th - February 28th)