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.

CLAMM | “Bit Much”

Following the Australian release of Beseech Me, and it’s worldwide reissue last year, Melbourne’s CLAMM return with their sophomore album, Care, another punk bruiser of a record. Due out in August via Chapter Music, the record’s lead single “Bit Much” is all brute force and punishing riffs, with distortion matched in heft by dense rhythms and hypnotically shouted vocals. The motorik drum beat pounds as the feedback and doubled vocals pick up intensity, with the mantra like hook, “it can be a bit much” exploring all we’re expected to deal with mentally. CLAMM are quintessential power trio, with each member digging into the straight forward burn of the momentum, the intensity spiking all over the place as they hammer away.

DAMA SCOUT | “Gen Wo Lai (Come With Me)” LP

Six years after their first singles (with subsequent singles and an EP since), London’s Dama Scout have arrived fully formed with their long awaited full length, Gen Wo Lai (Come With Me). Released via Hand In Hive, the album was worth the wait, an ominous and disorienting record of damaged art rock, noise pop, and dreamy experimental psych. The trio, led by Eva Liu, have made something so visceral and cerebral that it’s easy to get lost in the fog, wandering through thick clouds toward a mysterious glow in the distance. The band lurch into collapsing grooves and surrealist melodies, slinking between a calming serenity and outbursts of abrasive noise as they explore feelings of displacement and cultural alienation. With profound structures and a penchant for unpredictability, Dama Scout make music that’s wildly beautiful and sonically adventurous, finding that middle ground between memorable songwriting and expanding boundaries.

EDITRIX | “One Truck Gone”

Just over a year removed from their debut album, Tell Me I’m Bad, Western Massachusetts trio Editrix are back at it on Editrix II: Editrix Goes To Hell. The virtuosic art punk band remain in a league of their own, combining the sludge and chaos of noise rock with bent yet pop-centric melodies and oft progressive rhythms. The record’s lead single “One Truck Gone” makes good on all of those elements, tangling itself in shifting tempos, explosive drums, and impossibly knotted structures, all while retaining a sense of accessibility courtesy of Wendy Eisenberg’s complex with engaging vocal melody. With lyrics that explore disposability and people’s desire to trade in dependability for the next new shiny object, Editrix prove that being reliable will always outshine being the hot new thing. Editrix shred and destroy. Editrix are reliable.

J.R.C.G. | “Drummy”

Ajo Sunshine, the debut album from J.R.C.G. was one of last year’s absolute best records. Released via Castle Face, the music is kaleidoscopic and experimental, with ideas folding into one another, blending krautrock, no wave, punk, and touches of mutant bossa nova to create something that’s always changing shape. The solo project of Dreamdecay’s Justin Gallego is forever evolving, slinking between the shadows and the melting sun, blinding in sonic scope and arrangements. J.R.C.G. performed by Dreamdecay Music Group (as its being billed) are on a North American tour now with dates throughout the West Coast, South, and Midwest, and in celebration, they’ve released new single, “Drummy”. Presumably named for the big Latin influenced drumbeat that propels the song, it’s another swirling mix of dread and wonder, one that sounds alien in design but human in delivery. With thick layers of piercing noise and a steady groove, the track miraculously wobbles off its axis, with a celestial aura somewhere between bliss and terror.

J. ZUNZ | “Ráfaga”

It’s hard to define the music Lorena Quintanilla creates as J. Zunz, her solo project of the past five years. Known for playing heavy psych and garage infused shoegaze in Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, her work as J. Zunz opts for a minimalist electronic approach, one that’s rooted in repetition, but with a jazz like sense of freedom to bend and break any self imposed rules. Set to release her third album, Del Aire, on June 24th via Rocket Recordings (Gnod, Rubber Oh, Holy Scum), lead single “Ráfaga” is a mesmerizing introduction. The title, which translates to “burst” is foreshadowing, but it’s about what Quintanilla does prior to the burst that really hooks you. With a sparse bass pulse and programmed hi-hats, the haunting atmosphere is set, broken only by clattering drums that glitch with jazzy unpredictability, collapsing and clamoring at a whim. It’s stunning to listen to, especially on headphones, and gives the song a sputtering glow from start to finish.

MISTER GOBLIN | “Bunny” LP

Since the dissolution of Two Inch Astronaut back in 2017, Sam Goblin has poured himself into Mister Goblin, a solo project that really hones in on his unique songwriting perspectives and sense of humor. He’s released an album or EP every since 2018, primarily built on acoustic ballads that swoon and sweep with post-hardcore influenced chord progressions. With Bunny, the project expands to a trio, as Mister Goblin moves from Maryland to Indiana, and nothing is ever the same again. Together with Seth Engel (Options) and Aaron O’Neill (Cumbie), the trio reimagine Mister Goblin at it’s most dynamic. The song’s are heavier and more intricate, diving deeper into murky waters with a pop sensibility still afloat. The band format will definitely remind long time fans of Two Inch Astronaut, but throughout Bunny, Goblin and co. prove this no retread, as they move through heart on sleeve alt-pop jams to combustible post-hardcore. At the center of every song though remains Sam Goblin’s sense of melody and his sharp observational lyrics, taking a different look at the world around us.

NINE OF SWORDS | “With Help”

We’ve been waiting six long years for Nine of Swords to release even a minute of new music, and today we’re given exactly that. The Philadelphia based hardcore band will release their next album, Beyond The Swords, on June 3rd via Richmond’s Quiet Year Records, their first since the underground classic You Will Never Die. The band’s welcome return is cemented by “With Help,” the record’s first single and opening track, one thats as blistering and corrosive as ever. The band grind and trash, with harsh distortion and TJ’s feverishly blasted drum fills. It’s a cathartic way to spend just over a minute of your day, and the album is said to come from a place of optimism, so go ahead and release your toxins and reset. Rachel Gordon’s vocals toe the line between blood curdling and “a good talking to” as she screams to “get the fuck out of your head.” We can often be our own worst demons, but Nine of Swords are here to forcefully remind us there’s help for us all.

SPREAD JOY | “Repetition”

Spread Joy return with their second album, the appropriately titled, II, due out once again via Feel It Records (Crime of Passing, Delivery, Romero) on May 13th. Stretching out with nearly eighteen minutes of music, the band keep the formula the same, but expand with exaggerated immediacy, the occasional harmony, and maybe a bit more force. Lead single “Repetition” plays it smooth, finding a deep groove and letting it ride. In the context of the record it’s a brief respite from the constantly rattled nature of the album’s first two songs, but Spread Joy only allow the song to be calm for a moment, eventually moving toward the more abrasive once again. The bass kicks into over drive and the guitars begin to stab with purpose, the entire pace feeling as though hurled forward. Spread Joy lull us with a stop/start rhythm reminiscent of bands like PYLON or more recently Fake Fruit, and then they turn on the gas, with both sides of the song playing their part to perfection.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (April 18th - April 24th)