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 | “Carvers, Farriers, and Knaves”

There’s no build up, no advance warning, and no time to collect yourself with Big|Brave’s new single “Carvers, Farriers, and Knaves,” the opening track from the band’s upcoming seventh album, Nature Morte. Due out February 24th via Thrill Jockey (Sumac, Liturgy, Lightning Bolt), we’re introduced to the song as though mid-way through it, brought on by the immediacy of Robin Wattie’s stunning vocals. Its been nearly a decade since the Montreal based trio introduced us to their dissonant art sludge and yet we’re as floored as ever as they continue to progress and push boundaries, getting ever heavier, more textured, and sonically adventurous. Their latest wrestles between beauty and dread, with gargantuan distorted riffs ringing side by side with nuanced ambiance and unpredictable pacing.

BLACKLISTERS | “Leisure Centre”

Our heroes Blacklisters have returned, time to get weird. The Leeds’ based band are set to release a new EP, Leisure Centre, the first of several, on November 18th, capturing a weekend of live in the studio recordings. The band’s bold sense of humor and utter depravity remain unparalleled, thanks to piercing guitar attacks and dense as concrete rhythms, the entire thing slinking and convulsing in a slow motion tornado of filth and smirks. Lead single “Leisure Centre” is an ode to yuppy ideals and the idea that a quick trip to the country club will solve everything, and Billy Mason-Wood continues to prove himself the UK’s best vocalist, hanging on notes and slurring words until they feel utterly manic and potentially dangerous. The fusion of all four members comes together perfectly, violently raw and mischievously charming.

CUSTOMER | “Floorboards / Absolutely Nothing”

With a solid year of shows that have seen Customer support Chastity Belt, Yucky Duster, MJ Lenderman, among others, we’ve been anxiously awaiting recordings from the Brooklyn based quartet. Led by Nicola Leel (Doe, Maneka, The Glow) and joined by Mallory Hawk (Double Double Whammy, How Says), Greg Rutkin (Cende, LVL UP), and Dave Medina (Cende), the release of “Floorboards” and “Absolutely Nothing” may be the band’s first singles, but it’s far from their first rodeo. There’s a natural chemistry to be found on our introduction to Customer, two songs that surge with punk energy, sprightly tangled riffs, and subtle hooks that worm their way ever deeper. “Absolutely Nothing” is taught post-punk energy, darting around spoken word directness and a collapsable chorus, while “Floorboards” takes on more of a dream pop ease.

FUCKWOLF | “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos”

It would be fair if your first inclination was to skip over a song called “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos” by a band called Fuckwolf. You’d be missing out though. All questionable titles aside, this one is a real kraut-punk ripper. The San Francisco trio (feat. members of Peacers) are set to release their official full length debut, Goodbye, Asshole, next month via Silver Current Records (Howlin Rain, Oh Sees, Wooden Shjips), a great home for their “scuzz-wave” oeuvre. Nearly two decades in the making, “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos” comes extra spicy out the gate, a cosmic adventure of extra terrestrial riffs and hypnotic motorik boogie. There’s a primitive edge to it even as it soars its own astral plains, kicking up dust with massive rock ‘n’ roll muscle, ripping through thick clouds with a furious need to groove.

JOBBER | “Heel Turn”

With two bombastic and punchy singles already released (“Entrance Theme” and “Hell In A Cell”), “Heel Turn,” the last pre-release single from Jobber’s debut EP takes a more dissociative approach, opting for a mellow melodic and an expansive progression. Taking inspiration from Failure’s brand of “space rock” post-hardcore, the song settles on a massive drumbeat, full of tom heavy texture. Kate Meizner uses the opportunity to wrap together instantly memorable melodies, really snaking between verse and chorus with pinched harmonics and a hook that detaches into blown out bliss. The song, a reference to a wrestler “turning bad” and becoming the “heel,” is a metaphor for making life changes and the anxiety of slipping back to old habits.

JUNE MCDOOM | “On My Way”

June McDoom’s songs keep you transfixed in a way that her peers rarely do. With her first two singles, “The City” and “Stone After Stone,” we were welcomed into her world, a blend of wilting folk, intricate layering, and a psychedelic touch that pulls influence from jazz and reggae to sound collage. At the core of her self-titled debut (due out next month via Temporary Residence), is the beauty of McDoom’s voice, gentle and soft but with an unwavering clarity. With “On My Way,” her vocals seem to float suspended in air and time, a calming specter drifting over acoustic guitars, soundscape clattering, and a breezy beat. There’s an ease to the song’s progression, zoning in and out as necessary, blurring the focus but never upending the strength of McDoom’s natural grace.

OOZING WOUND | “The Good Times (I Don’t Miss ‘Em)”

DIY’s favorite thrash band ain’t a thrash band no more. Chicago’s Oozing Wound have been pigeonholed for much of the better part of the past decade, and well… it didn’t always fit then, but it certainly doesn’t fit on their upcoming album, We Cater To Cowards. Due out January 27th via Thrill Jockey Records (Tortoise, The Body, Bummer), the tempos have curdled but the attack remains as blistering as ever. “The Good Times (I Don’t Miss ‘Em)” is built on buzzing riffs and lumbering rhythms, the trio setting their sights between the harsh scrappy side of Nirvana and the scummier end of the AmRep catalog. Much like their timeless influences, Oozing Wound manage to find accessibility within the rotting tension, pulling out hooks while swinging with reckless abandon.

PSYCHIC GRAVEYARD | “Haunted By Your Bloodline”

The weird and unnerving world of Psychic Graveyard is coming for us all. They can’t be stopped. They shouldn’t be stopped. With recent and upcoming shows together with Chat Pile, Osees, Melt-Banana, and beyond, the Rhode Island band continue to chip away at our senses with the entrancing menace of “Haunted By Your Bloodline,” a new stand-alone single via Deathbomb Arc. They’ve been on a tear for years now, and it would appear they just keep getting better, consistently releasing new music and consistently one upping themselves. “Haunted By Your Bloodline” follows suit, a song loaded with bleeding synths, stammering noise, and a relatively motorik beat, creating a brilliant level of discomfort. Eric Paul’s (Arab on Radar, Doomsday Student) vocals are as drawn out and taunting as ever, a wormhole of digital terror and surreal dystopia.

STUCK | “Do Not Reply” (feat. Miranda Winters)

The thing about a great EP is that it always leaves you wanting more. Stuck’s Content That Makes You Feel Good is a prime example, a perfect encapsulation of the Chicago quartet’s nervy post-punk that’s had us eagerly awaiting more. With US and Canadian tour dates spanning much of the year’s remainder, the band return with a new single, “Do Not Reply,” out now via Born Yesterday Records (Lifeguard, Lawn, Caution). The song, which features guest vocals from none other than Miranda Winters (Melkbelly, Mandy), keeps the razor sharp dynamics of Stuck’s catalog well intact while expanding with, dare we say, a hint of pop splendor. It’s delightfully claustrophobic as the band bend corners as tempos shift, collapsing and stretching without warning, moving from tension to the ever rare Stuck moment of syrupy shimmer.

THA GOD FAHIM & JAY NICE | “Bloodspiller” LP

The Dump Gawd gonna dump. Less than two weeks after Tha God Fahim released Duck Czn: Tiger Style together with Mach-Hommy (their second collaborative record this year), Fahim is back again with Bloodspiller, this time joined by Atlanta via Delaware’s Jay NiCE. Frequent collaborators in their own right (most recently on 2020’s An Album Called Classic with RU$H), Tha God Fahim and NiCE do what any great duo does, split the difference in style with each MC holding their own weight and artistic lane. Fahim goes sage as always, spitting his casual corner store rhymes with his own brand of gangsterism, wisdom, and stream-of-consciousness, while NiCE tends to keep it a bit more gutter, keeping a mix of lyrical muscle and “fly shit” swagger. With production from Nicholas Craven, Mike Shabb, Bombay, and others, songs cut in and out, with dusty beats, jazzy loops, and vibrant drumwork, the perfect framework for Fahim and NiCE to talk their shit.

Further Listening:

October 10 - October 16:

October 17 - October 23:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (October 10th - October 23rd)