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.

BUILT TO SPILL | “Fool’s Gold”

There’s still nearly two months left before Built to Spill release their new album, When The Wind Forgets Your Name, and the album’s third single, “Fool’s Gold” really amps up our anticipation for the album. The album was recorded with a line up that paired Doug Martsch with members of Oruã, and yet “Fool’s Gold” has all the makings of a BTS classic. There’s world weary guitars, a slow drawn solo that appears and fades, only to come back ripping in the bridge, and a hard spun vocal melody with Martsch’s never wavering hopefulness, despite all odds. The video is also genuinely hilarious… finally a glimpse behind the curtains.

CHILD BITE & MULTICULT | “Split 12”” EP

Child Bite or Multicult are a match made in split EP heaven, and Hex Records have brought the Detroit and Baltimore bands, respectively, together at last. If you’re already into one or both of the bands, then you probably couldn’t hit the “order” button fast enough, but for anyone unfamiliar, these are two of modern noise rock’s finest bands. Multicult have always played with a tangled sensibility, adding some math rock dexterity to their otherwise low end heavy noise and sludge scraping post-hardcore. Child Bite are a more animated trio, their sound utterly vicious and weirdly psychedelic, sounding something like a party with a pit of snakes as your host. Both bands are in excellent form with three new songs each, making this an essential split.

EERIE WANDA | “Sail To The Silver Sun”

This year marks the return of Eerie Wanda, but like much of her career to date, Marina Tadic is once again taking a shift in her sound. Internal Radio, due out September 23rd via Joyful Noise Recordings, pulls away some of the buoyancy and breeziness of her past work, instead opting for something shadowier, with heavy keys and smoky atmospherics. Sultry, surreal, and dissociative. “Sail To The Silver Sun” is a perfect introduction to Eerie Wanda’s new vision, cutting through the fog with a heavy piano progression and anthemic synths. There’s a 80’s romanticism to the song’s slinking melody, delivered with stunning detachment, the embodiment of Lynchian dream-pop and artistic lounge croon.

FLOATIE | “Over The Terrain”

Through the Soil returns with their second benefit compilation, with all proceeds going to the National Network of Abortion Funds. The compilation is packed with great artists and bands, including Babehoven, Dummy, Horse Jumper of Love, Lala Lala, IAN SWEET, Ratboys, Wednesday, Sun Organ, Boosegumps, and many others. The highlight, as far as I’m concerned, comes from Chicago’s Floatie. It’s been a little over a year since their immaculate debut, Voyage Out, a true modern classic of art rock and mathy noise pop, and “Over The Terrain” is the first new music since. The track picks up where the band left off, creating music that sits impossibly between dreamy and knotted, creating disorienting structures that shift color and shape before our eyes. Floatie dart around but never lose site of the groove, and it’s especially stunning here as they hit the mid way point.

KAMIKAZE PALM TREE | “Predicament”

We recently wrote about Kamikaze Palm Tree’s “In The Sand” upon the announcement of the duo’s upcoming Drag City debut, Mint Chip, but we’d be remiss not to feature them again. With the album out next month, the Los Angeles based band have shared “Predicament,” the third single from their brilliantly wonky album. The song is immediately off axis, warped pop that pushes and pulls simultaneously, building a surreal repetition that feels utterly delightful and free of accessibility concerns. When the vocals hit there’s a tight post-punk magnetism to it, snapping into place where it seems least likely. Kamikaze Palm Tree are experimenting in a way that should appeal to fans of Deerhoof and Crab Day era Cate Le Bon, which aren’t comparisons we use lightly.

LITTLE MAZARN | “Dew Nears Yay”

Austin based duo Little Mazarn are set to release their new album Texas River Song on August 19th, the band’s first for Dear Life Records (Wendy Eisenberg, MJ Lenderman, Anne Malin). It’s a great fit for the oft-experimental folk-influenced project, joining a label known for forward thinking songwriters, and Little Mazarn’s beautiful home-spun songs are most definitely forward thinking. Built primarily on vocals, banjo, and singing saw, the band introduce their new album via “Dew Nears Yay,” a song that welcomes us into their world of natural bliss, gentle harmonies, poignant lyrics, and just a touch of haunting aura that seemingly comes with the times. The song is seeded with open spaces and wandering spirit despite (and maybe due to) its brevity.

NAIMA BOCK | “Giant Palm” LP

With life (and a never ending run of bad politics) seemingly kicking us in the face at all times in recent memory, it feels great to sink yourself into Naima Bock’s solo debut, Giant Palm, as gorgeous an escape as they come. The former Goat Girl member steps out on her own, leaving behind that band’s perfectly dusty post-punk twang in favor of embracing her roots, opting for lush folk and orchestral pop, delivered through an ever changing lens of Brazilian influences (where Bock spent much of her childhood), electronic textures, and stunning classical touches. Every song offers something a bit different, with Bock’s beautiful voice the constant, sitting perfectly in a mix of sweeping strings, woodwinds, choirs, and beyond. Tracks like album stand-out “Toll” offer an ever building mix of acoustic instrumental layers and a genuinely stunning progression, with Bock’s locked in melody at its heart.

NNAMDÏ | “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous”

NNAMDÏ has remained incredibly prolific in the years since BRAT, sharing albums and EPs that seemingly scratch different itches for the musical polymath. From the fuck-the-police-centric post-hardcore of Black Plight, to the Looney Tunes score indebted Krazy Karl, and Are You Happy, his electronic collaborative EP with Sooper Records labelmate Lynyn, NNAMDÏ has always proven he can do anything, and we’re here for all of it. Please Have A Seat is NNAMDÏ’s first album for Secretly Canadian (together with Sooper), a jump to the big leagues and “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous,” the album’s first single, feels like a new classic. NNAMDÏ embraces his unique penchant for animated hip-hop, speaking on the catch 22’s of fame and popularity, getting brilliantly weird in the way that made us fall in love with his music nearly a decade ago.

SLOAN RIVERS | “Burn Down”

Sloan Rivers is the unlikely duo of Rebecca Ryskalczyk (Bethlehem Steel) and Jessica Boudreaux (Summer Cannibals), not unlikely in terms of mutual sound and talent for songwriting, but more so the fact that pair have never been in the same place at the same time. In lieu of that, they have a songwriting chemistry, evidence by the dark synth pop of their first single, “Burn Down”. Ryskalczyk and Boudreaux’s voices blend together effortlessly, keeping a sense of mystery over squiggly synths that pair dread and wonder together, helplessly transfixed on the plight and destruction as everyone pretends all is fine. There’s a majestic 80’s quality to the music, its programmed beats and fluttering synth progressions a soaring backdrop for Ryskalczyk’s voice.

SPASI | “HTCM in Block City / Jerk Squad”

I know little to nothing about Seattle’s SPASI, but the band’s debut single “HTCM in Block City / Jerk Squad” is a great introduction (H/T to Tremendo Garaje for bringing this one to our attention). The band make boisterous post-punk with an obvious nod to Devo and the B-52s, with synth punk sputters and funky grooves coming together with quirky charm. The two songs are sharp and robotic, with every turn as angular as they come, a retro vision with a futuristic bent. There’s plenty of great layering, personality, and sonic clarity to each of the songs, separating them from the clinical and dull cavalcade of post-punk bands as well as the grimier side of the genre.

STEREOLAB | “Robot Riot”

The treasure trove of Stereolab’s archives never seems to stop giving and just a year after the release of Electrically Possessed [Switched On Volume 4] the pioneering “groop” return with Pulse of the Early Brain [Switched On Volume 5], collecting material dating back to their earliest days as well as b-sides, live tracks, and remastered songs from the later end of their recorded catalog. “Robot Riot,” the first single from the compilation was originally written and recorded to accompany sculptures made by Charles Long, and while another song ended up being used, “Robot Riot” is previously unreleased. Its quintessential Stereolab, with a hypnotic rhythm and surging waves of noise that texture the otherwise space-age lounge charm of the song’s shining resilience.

Further Listening:

july 20 - july 26:

JUNE 27 - JULY 03: