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.

ARTSICK | “Look Again”

The ragged power-pop of Oakland’s Artsick is sickly sweet and overloaded with hooks in a way that reminds me of Tuscadero, a comparison I don’t make lightly. With Fingers Crossed, the band’s upcoming debut album (due out later this month via Slumberland), the band, led by Christina Riley (Burnt Palms), blast out technicolor fuzz pop, syrupy and thick but breezy as can be. It’s immediately engaging and upbeat, but it’s not without its own nuances. “Look Again,” the album’s third single, is jangly and full of earworms, but it’s slightly more reserved than the previous singles, a song that manages to feel slightly melancholy while sounds otherwise radiant on the surface. It’s not an easy task to pull off but it works its magic in doing so.

CURTIS GODINO PRESENTS THE MIDNIGHT WISHERS | “No Place Like Home”

“No Place Like Home” has sucked me in like a tractor-beam. This is our introduction to the world of Curtis Godino presents The Midnight Wishers and their self-titled album, due out February 11th via Shimmy-Disc/Joyful Noise Recordings. Curtis Godino is a musical polymath, capable of grandiose songwriting from psychedelic prog and funk to experimental soul and all that may lie between. For hIs latest project, a warped homage to 60’s girl groups, he put together The Midnight Wishers, a stunning trio of vocalists. This is the “girl group” sound of the past as heard through the vortex of a black hole ripped in time. With minimal compositions, “No Place Like Home” is dreamy and beautiful with an inescapable sense of dread and terror courtesy of the haunting organs that permeate the recording. It’s that balance between evil and bliss that is keeping this one on repeat over here at Post-Trash HQ.

DEERHOOF | “Devil Kids” LP

One of the biggest drawbacks of the pandemic time spent without touring is that none of us had the opportunity to see Deerhoof live. Whether it’s your first time or 30th time, it’s always incredible, the kind of performance that temporarily restores whatever may need restoring within you. While the band continue to be responsible and cautious for humanity’s sake, they did get together to play in guitarist Ed Rodriguez’s basement for a Bandcamp live broadcast, and the results are now eternally captured with the live album, Devil Kids. The band’s performance feels like the result of a caged tiger finally getting set loose, it’s explosive, jubilant, and proves you can’t keep a great band down. With a set that highlights much of the material the band has released since playing live (and there’s a bunch of it), the entire band sounds brilliant, weaving together that intelligent chaos and unshakeable charm they’ve built their career around.

EXEK | “Unseasonable Warmth”

Melbourne’s EXEK take a more experimental approach to post-punk than most, unafraid to slink into new territory from dismal layers of cataclysmic synths to noise scrawled spoken word. The band are forward thinking and triumphantly dynamic, earning them a reputation as one of “your favorite band’s favorite bands”. Set to release their latest album, Advertise Here, via Castle Face Records on February 4th, the band have shared two great singles, with “Unseasonable Warmth” out this week. The song features a sinister groove that’s as hypnotic as anything we’ve heard since the days of Tago Mago. With spoken vocals that drip the occasional melody and the sound of the cosmos drifting beneath it, this one is swarming in minimal bleeps and bursts, a visionary blend of lounge jazz, krautrock, no wave, and post-punk brilliance.

TRAPS PS | “Etc”

Traps PS, a real gem of the LA underground, returned last year with And The Enclave Clap, a collection of previously unreleased tracks as essential as any other release in their catalog. Turns out the band were clearing the cache before announcing their next, all new record, Prim Dicer. Due out January 28th via Mock Records, the band’s art damaged punk sounds as caustic as ever on lead single “Etc,” with tightly coiled rhythms and corrosive guitars punctuating the discordance. Andrew Jeffords’ (guitar/vocals) voice has reminded me at times of both the great Guy Picciotto and Tom Verlaine, and both ring true on “Etc,” with a commanding rasp that soars amid the most fractured of circumstances.

WENDY EISENBERG | “Don’t Move”

Leave it to the ingenious Wendy Eisenberg to create something that could be described as banjo-led Appalachian music meets math rock and yet still stands among the best music you’re likely to hear. The virtuoso musician took to the banjo for last year’s exceptionally great Bent Ring LP and the results were staggeringly beautiful, creating pieces of music both minimal yet lush in arrangement. “Don’t Move” is the tangled centerpiece of it all, a song full of questions and reasoning, brought to life as Eisenberg’s fingers run up and down the banjo with dazzling picked melodies that rush like thoughts through a restless mind. The track re-emerges with the Cora Laszlo directed video, a shower scene shot with the same grace and majesty as the song that soundtracks it.

WIDOWSPEAK | “Everything Is Simple”

We’re still pretty enamored with Plum, Widowspeak’s last full length released back in 2020, a record that helped us get through rough times. Turns out times are still rough so its great news that the band have announced their next record, The Jacket, due out in March via Captured Tracks. Following up last year’s Honeychurch EP, the band sound their impeccable best on new single “Everything Is Simple,” a track that’s heavy on noir twang and dreamy brilliance. The core duo of Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas are joined by their original drummer Michael Stasiak as well as J.D. Sumner and Michael Hess to fill out the sound, the results of which can be immediately felt on their latest. From the grit of the guitars and piano to the density of the bass, it feels both blissful and knotted, an aural reflection of the refrain, “everything is simple until it’s not”.

YOUR OLD DROOG & THA GOD FAHIM | “No Days Off”

Last year, on top of five solo releases between them, Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim released two collaborative albums, the first of which, Tha Wolf On Wall St, stood out as one of the year’s best. The pair are back together for its sequel, Tha Wolf On Wall St 2: The American Dream. While details on the project are slim so far, the duo shared the record’s first single “No Days Off” just as everyone was taking some time off. Produced by Fortes, the beat is pure brilliance with laid back soul loops, soft strolling snares, and a warm trumpet. It’s the type of beat that feels infinity listenable and allows both Droog and Fahim to do their individual thing, from hard-wired punchlines to stream of consciousness flexing. Their styles are a great contrast that brings out the best in each other and this record has just jumped into our most anticipated.

Further Listening:

December 20 - January 02:

January 03 - January 09:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (December 20th - January 9th)