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.

FACS | “When You Say”

Two years isn’t a long time to wait for a band to release a new album. Some may call it standard, but FACS are pretty far from “standard”. After releasing an album every year for the first four years of their existence, the band skipped over 2022, but patience is a virtue, and judging by the trio’s new single, “When You Say,” Still Life In Decay is worth the (very slight) wait. With the album due out April 7th via Trouble In Mind (Connections, En Attendant Ana, The Tubs), the Chicago based veterans launch into a well of claustrophobic deep space murk, colliding artistic minimalism with an unnerving sense of tension and dread. The song’s laser focused rhythm is reminiscent of Beak> at their finest, slinking and pushing forever forward, a lock-step backdrop for Brian Case’s guitar to wander in and out. Careening with short dissonant patterns, warning shot blast radiuses, and occasionally cutting out altogether to come warping back in like an astral projection, FACS sound increasingly alive, continuing to up the ante with each release.

MCKINLEY DIXON | “Tyler, Forever (Kitchen Table Sessions)”

A few weeks ago McKinley Dixon released “Tyler, Forever,” another exceptional new single following “Sun, I Rise”. It would seem an album is imminent, and we couldn’t be more excited for it. In the meantime, Dixon has paired his recent singles with the Kitchen Table Sessions, capturing intimate live performances of him and his band, paying tribute to Carrie Mae Weems’ highly praised photo collection, The Kitchen Tables Series. The stripped back performance (and the singles themselves) highlight Dixon as one of the true great emerging hip-hop artists, with a real emphasis on the artistry of it all. “Tyler, Forever" is a song about the passing of one of Dixon’s lifelong friends, and ultimately it’s about grief, lessons learned, and keeping loved ones close in your thoughts. With a live band that builds upon his lyrics and fluid delivery with perfection, they set up deep in the pocket, with synth organs and guitars swirling. McKinley Dixon delivers pointed verses that veer between differing mentalities of life, and reconciling somewhere in between, reminding us “…all that, glitters ain’t gold, but you can still hobble pieces to make something that holds.”

PILE | “Lowered Rainbow”

“Lowered Rainbow,” the final pre-release single from Pile’s upcoming album All Fiction (due out February 17th), continues the metamorphosis suggested with “Nude With A Suitcase,” moving away from a visceral attack into something more amorphous. It’s not quite that they’ve gone soft, there’s an undeniable heaviness lurking beneath the surface, but the aggression has transferred itself into layers of motion, the sound of synths and samples work in harmony with the low hum of ominous bass and the ever magnificent shuffle of Kris Kuss’ cascading drums. The entire construction is with intention, designed in a way that will feel at its core, but alien on surface level. As melodies waver and tension mounts, the lingering unease is met with lush keys, Rick Maguire’s warm vocals, and a release that presents itself almost in non-linear fashion. In just under three minutes we’re submerged into a world anew, with the familiar hallmarks of a classic Pile song, dripped and syphoned into experimental territory, stretching possibilities with a sense of progression and creative freedom.

POISON RUÏN | “Härvest”

Philadelphia’s Poison Ruïn are a truly great band. They make great records and their live shows are even better. Hell, they even have a great aesthetic (if such things interest you). So the fact that they’ve joined Relapse Records (Yautja, Gatecreeper, Ripped To Shreds) for their upcoming album, Härvest, while possibly unexpected, seems like great news. Let the world domination begin. Heralded by many as our generations answer to the Wipers (and we wouldn’t disagree), the band blend together riffs that are as crusty as they are catchy with frantic rhythms and raw recordings. While the hooks are subtle in composition, they remain unavoidable, nestled in the destructive scuzz and the band’s themes of modernized medieval revolt. The record’s lead single is the title-track, a cut that opens with the band’s signature dungeon synths (acting as interludes throughout their records). It sets a dystopian tone, an eerie calm before the storm. Before long though, Poison Ruïn come barreling in, upping their melodic sensibility ever so slightly over the dirge and din, as they slam headfirst into the darkened groove. This song feels downright anthemic and shows the band are still much exploring the outer ranges of their music. Greg Sage should be proud.

YO LA TENGO | “This Stupid World” LP

With several records considered to be generational classics, it would appear that 38 years into Yo La Tengo’s existence, they just might have released another one with their latest, This Stupid World. There’s an adventurous sense of freedom to the record that comes hurtling out from the start on the dissonant and motorik glisten of “Sinatra Drive Breakdown,” a song that feels like a peek into the trio’s jam sessions. Building in no particular rush to actually get anywhere, Yo La Tengo are scrapping the paint from the walls in the process. They do have destinations in sight though, and as masters of their craft, even their expansive reaches waste no time. Repetition becomes key, setting the atmosphere only to bring us elsewhere is an important part of the journey, highlighted on songs like the harmonically rich “Fallout” and the hypnotic pulse of “Tonight’s Episode” (an effortless live classic in the making). There’s a whole world out there to explore though (a stupid world at that), and Yo La Tengo dip into beautiful folk (“Aselestine”), silky lounge charm (“Until It Happens”), sonic discordance (“Brain Capers,” “This Stupid World”), and well… they’ve never sounded better in the process.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (February 6th - February 12th)