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.

200 STAB WOUNDS | “Masters of Morbidity”

There’s no question that Cleveland’s 200 Stab Wounds are one of the hardest working bands in death metal. They’ve been on the road CONSTANTLY over the past few years, both supporting and co-headlining tours with Undeath, Gatecreeper, Cannibal Corpse, Creeping Death, Obituary, and beyond, earning a reputation as one of the absolute best metal bands in the process. I wasn’t immediately sold, but upon seeing them live, I instantly understood. With that dedication to touring and a massive fanbase, the band have moved from Maggot Stomp to their new home at Metal Blade, effectively positioning the band to decimate the metal mainstream. Their brand of primal death metal is brutal and bludgeoning but never really showy. It’s heavy as all hell and full of caveman force, but the breakout album, Slave to the Scalpel does it without the need for dazzling technicality. With “Masters of Morbidity,” it would seem they’re staying the course, but jaw-dropping (or jaw shattering) moments abound. Built on the type of riff that’s destined to cause severe neck problems, we need to acknowledge Owen Pooley’s impeccable drumming, digging between blast beats and polyrhythms, nimble fills and dense pounding. The whole things winds and twists toward putrid annihilation.

BEAUTY PILL | “Fugue State Companion”

It could be said that there are probably too many reissues. Anniversary editions of records that aren’t even out of print. Albums that are never out of print. Beauty Pill’s upcoming Blue Period collection however, is not one of those releases. This one is Essential with a capital E. Pairing together the timeless classic that is The Unsustainable Lifestyle LP and the You Are Right To Be Afraid EP on vinyl for the first time ever, this is the one we’ve all been waiting for. We all know the narrative that critics were less than thrilled with the record upon release, which is a great reminder that opinions are like assholes, every one has one and sometimes they stink. The Unsustainable Lifestyle is a profound album, both in its sonic vision as it restructures art-rock, and in the lyrics, an exploration of hard times under hard circumstances. Its impeccable from start to finish, the type of record that feels as radiant now as did nearly two decades ago. Blue Period expands the picture with unreleased b-sides including “Fugue State Companion,” a song that topples with a reckless rhythmic intro before gliding into the blissful melodic pocket that Chad Clark has perfected, with guitars that swarm both in the immediate and the distance. The song’s lyrics make reference to Star Wars (“they gotta slice open the tauntaun”) while setting its sights on grasping at straws.

FIEVEL IS GLAUQUE | “Clues Not To Read”

Fresh off the completion of a full US tour together with the one and only Stereolab, international collective Fievel Is Glauque announced their second full length album, Flaming Swords. Due out November 25th via MATH Interactive, the collective led by Zach Phillips and Ma Clément expand their experimental lo-fi psych jazz fusion further into the unknown. Following lead single “Save The Phenomenon,” the band bring us their latest, “Clues Not To Read,” which, clocking in at nearly four and a half minutes, is their longest song to date. Fievel Is Glauque make use of every second of their extended composition, wandering off the wispy path with complex progressions, building and shifting with a carefree ease, feeling light and breezy. They travel deep down the rabbit hole, with an extended instrumental passage led by sax, keys, stunningly intricate drums, and guitar that sits somewhere between classical music elegance and mathy prog rock sprawl.

FLEA COLLAR | “Burning Desire”

I had never heard Cleveland’s Flea Collar prior to last week, but hot damn, “Burning Desire” is a great introduction. The band play a weird blend of basement indebted punk, hardcore, and demented rock ‘n’ roll, built on punk filth with a sense of deranged humor. With members that have played in Bad Noids, Cement Shoes, and Woodstock ‘99 among others, the quartet - terrifically billed as Cookie, Spot, Blitz, and Sparky - warp their collective pedigree into a new brand of fried and warped punk, packed with boogie, disgust, wildly shifting tempos, the oddly enough, the occasional monolithic stoner riff. At times they sound like Lumpy & The Dumpers meets Thin Lizzy, and all the joy that promises. It all blends together triumphantly on “Burning Desire,” the first single from their upcoming self-titled album, out November 25th via Feel It Records. Just in time for the holidays, Flea Collar have come unleashed, barking out big time rock ‘n’ roll that coexists with freaked out hardcore. This is rip shit basement punk at its most fun.

PILE | “Loops”

Pile have never quite released the same album twice, but remain almost impossibly consistent. The ability to constantly change and progress their sound while still remaining unequivocally “Pile” is a testament to the strength of their songwriting and their collective performances. Even as the pieces change and the puzzle rearranges, the quality and vision remains intact. All Fiction, due out February 17th, may just be their biggest leap into new territory thus far, and yet it feels like the Pile we’ve always loved. They’ve changed focus, moving away from the guitar/bass/drums attack into a world more expansive, filled with strings, synths, and studio experiments, but their sense for fractured rhythms and sprinkled melodies feels familiar. “Loops,” the record’s lead single is a mountainous introduction, blasted with Kris Kuss’ near melodic percussion and synths that creep, crawl, and set a shadowy tension. The guitars are there to disorient, but it’s the layered atmosphere and pounding beat that really carries the song to Rick Maguire’s shimmering hook. From there all expectations are subverted, opting to ebb and flow toward a gentle tranquility, dropping out sections of the syrupy refrain until its most skeletal resolve.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (November 7th - November 13th)