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.

BLACKLISTERS | “Auf Dem Tisch” EP

There is no better gift than waking up on a Saturday (presumably well rested) to a new surprise Blacklisters EP. With their first show in two years going down over the weekend, the Leeds based quartet used the rare occasion to release Auf Dem Tisch, an exact year to the day of last year’s Leisure Centre. The band’s latest contains everything we’ve come to love about their sordid brand of noise rock with cavernous low end, slurred and deranged vocal performances, and scrapping guitars, but there’s a real loose quality this time around. Auf Dem Tisch never feels fussed over, there’s an almost lo-fi sense to it. They’re still peeling the paint from the walls, but the entire mix feels like a swarming collision of abrasive ideas, with a wall of sound execution. Their sense of humor and rampant sarcasm is fine form on throughout with an ode to powered milk, banal employment, fitness, and a general prodding at other people’s expectations. The lyrics however are often deliberately enveloped in the carnage, the whole thing an impeccably dissonant showing of unruly brilliance.

BOLDY JAMES & NICHOLAS CRAVEN | “Brand New Chanel Kicks”

It can often be hard to tell when exactly a song was written and while Boldy James has released a few records since his near fatal accident, it’s safe to assume his upcoming new collaboration with Nicholas Craven was the first post accident. Reportedly recorded while still fresh in a neck brace and wheelchair, there’s no stopping Boldy and he’s quick to remind us why he’s one of modern hip-hop’s best. While “Brand New Chanel Kicks” starts with business as usual, drug talk and street moves with specific details, Boldy James also uses the opportunity to reflect on his accident and the following rehab stint, addressing the struggle to get moving again, strengthening against the odds, and rising from his wheelchair in yep, brand new Chanel kicks. Over a soulful beat from Craven that bubbles and twinkles with restraint, Boldy James is plugged into the game, speaking to the come up and all that entails in his story - moving weight, bouncing back from near paralyzation, and avoiding lock-up.

CEL RAY | “Piss Park” EP

Earlier this year Cel Ray released Cellular Raymond, their first EP and one of the most promising debuts of the year. They’ve spent the year lighting up shows around Chicago and the Midwest and they’ve wasted no time with the second record. Piss Park, out via Six Tonnes De Chair (Pinch Points, System Exclusive, Warm Drag). Their latest EP keeps the magic ripping with blistering velocity and infectious personality, it’s clear the quartet are having fun and the music is all the more engaging as a result. With songs that range from a scene evaluation of the local mall to finding a place to pee in public, Cel Ray’s Maddie Daviss is finding inspiration in her day-to-day settings, taking a unique perspective as she sardonically yelps about “cool haircuts,” pretzels in wet mouths, and the general dangers of biking in the dark. The band whip around riffs with rapid momentum, the bouncing rhythms paired with progressions that often feel composed in a full-on sprint. Rampant hooky fun that absolutely rips with elastic percision.

ENFORCED | “Casket”

Richmond’s Enforced are among the best thrash metal bands in existence, their colossal sound like a bulldozer in a tornado. Their albums play with a ferocity that leaves a wake of destruction in its path, and this year’s War Remains is one of metal’s most brutal sonic assaults. While “Casket” was previously released as an exclusive flexi for Decibel Magazine, the quick and brash single was given new life this week as it was released digitally to the world, and whether it’s one or two years old is of little consequence. Enforced come stampeding out the gate and we’d expect nothing less, the riffs pulverizing at warp speed as the rhythm pummels with impenetrable intensity. There’s nothing subtle about “Casket,” even in it’s brevity the impact of the song is felt in smoldering wreckage. Written about alcohol abuse and the devastation it can cause, the sense of dread and carnage is immediate, a swift brain exploding rampage that digs in with frightening velocity.

PILE | “Only For A Reminder”

All Fiction proved to be a major statement in the Pile’s exceptional catalog, a record that approached new territory with the utmost confident, bridging a gap between their dynamic post-hardcore sound they’ve perfected over the past decade and the more ethereal and enigmatic drifts into meditative sound collage. The songs left off the record, captured on the upcoming Hot Air Balloon EP, feel like essential moments in understanding their sonic shift, further exploring new influences and textures. “Only For A Reminder” is a real gem, the disorientation of the alien modular sounding synth line setting the tone, wrapping itself in circles for Rick Maguire’s earnest vocals. It’s a song about feeling betrayed by someone you’ve come to count on, and the weight of that feels crushing as the sound warps between beauty and dissonance, from spacial piano to tense and combustible. There’s a masterful level of composition at hand, the song loaded with shifting nuances that maneuver from one space to the next.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (November 13th - November 19th)