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.

ES | “Swallowed Whole”

London synth punk band Es make sinister post-punk with a relentless immediacy. Their debut album, Less of Everything, was a blast of icy disdain and radiant synths, plodding and pounding with a dark embrace of melody. It’s a great record, built on nuanced rippers, kicking down doors and establishing Es as a band to watch. The band return with Fantasy, a new EP due out April 7th via Upset The Rhythm (Terry, Historically Fucked, Shake Chain), a record split between claustrophobic and danceable punk carnage. If lead single “Swallowed Whole” is anything to go by, we’re all in for another treat. Like much of Es’ music, “Swallowed Whole” opts for an instant approach, swarming right into the taut rhythm and skeletal grit. The band lock right in with dense bass and abrasive synth repetition, minimalist but utterly thick, with the walls closing in around the chaos. The commanding vocals remind us that when it feels like your thoughts are going to bury you alive, it’s time to let go.

JANA HORN | “The Dream”

The Window Is The Dream, the second album from Charlottesville via Austin based singer/songwriter Jana Horn, offers a drift into the unconscious mind, exploring the spaces between waking hours, working a portrait of radiant light from deep inside. Built on gentle folk, softly strummed Americana, and the occasional tropicalia influences, Horn was inspired by unusual and off-kilter rhythms and while the music remains serene and esoteric, there’s a sense that things may not be as they appear. “The Dream,” the record’s second single weaves around a snaking guitar, tangling knots beneath Horn’s gorgeous vocals and words that float like expressions of mindfulness, an examination of surreality, and poetic resolve. The song comes together with stunning clarity and an unshakable attention to detail, gliding on the sinewy guitar progression as it attaches to the words, questioning what is real and what is merely perceived reality.

PARTY DOZEN | “Earthly Times“ (feat. billy woods)

As far as collaborations we didn’t see coming but now we realize we always needed, Party Dozen teaming up with billy woods takes the cake. The Sydney based duo who make experimental sax-and-drums punk (with an array of sampled sounds) have been on a tear since last year’s The Real Work, a record that brought the band’s dynamic outer fringe sound to American audiences via Temporary Residence Ltd. With songs that dart between stoney sludge, cataclysmic jazz, artful noise, hypnotic post-punk, and ethereal sonic bliss, the album proves that Party Dozen can shift style and assault on a dime, creating without limits. They embrace that unknown quality and continue to adapt with the “Earthly Times” rework, contorting the song ever so slightly to welcome the legendary billy woods. The MC laces the breaking drums and careening sax with his own cerebral energy, riding the crests of the music and matching the tone with his own form of abrasive verbal poetry, brilliantly fragmented but always with pointed purpose. Here’s hoping for more Party Dozen hip-hop records in the future. If you’re headed to SXSW, come catch them at our showcase on March 16th at Latchkey.

PEARL & THE OYSTERS | “Paraiso”

Last year Los Angeles’ brightest experimental pop duo Pearl & The Oysters followed the cosmic joy of 2021’s Flowerland by announcing they’d joined the ranks of Stones Throw Records (Automatic, Quakers, NxWorries), a home that fits the band’s penchant for deep artistic grooves and glistening sonic warmth. After sharing early singles “Pacific Ave” and "Konami,” the band have announced Coast 2 Coast, their next full length will be released April 21st, another transmission of the band’s otherworldly space-age pop. With the announcement came new single “Paraiso,” a silky smooth dream pop song that slips on a stream of slow drawn ease. It’s as fluid as they come, an acid drop of blissful psych perfection and astral projection two-step hooks, dripped in nuanced relaxation funk and celestial layers of synths, flute, and drums played way in the pocket. The end result is one that feels like a million bucks, an atmosphere of grace and delight.

WASHER | “King Insignificant”

It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we’ve heard new music from Washer, but the wait was definitely worth it. The duo make their triumphant return with Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends, their third full length album, a record that deals with mental health, grief, and finding an understanding of purpose in very real ways. The songs are immaculate, built on simplicity but shinning with unexpected twists. The duo of Kieran McShane and Mike Quigley make hits with heart, offering loose, willingly “sloppy” riffs, and melodies that feel utterly timeless. Their songs stick in your memory like crazy glue, ringing with infectious hooks while touching upon relatable feelings. Lead single “King Insignificant” is the record’s introduction, a song radiant with charm but lyrically composed with a looming heaviness that comes from a struggle of self-worth, an unwanted constant. As the song works from woozy twang into powerful refrains, Washer do what they do best, offering monster hooks at every turn. The video, directed by the band, offers a hilarious take on kids stacked up in a trenchcoat, tin-can phones, and plenty of Washer’s aura of general goodness.

WATER FROM YOUR EYES | “Barley”

Whether or not the world is ready for Water From Your Eyes is irrelevant because Water From Your Eyes is ready for the world. The duo of Nate Amos and Rachel Brown have been cementing themselves as one of the most exciting bands on the planet over the years, creating idiosyncratic music that continues to dazzle in unexpected ways with every new release. Everyone’s Crushed, their first since signing to Matador Records, sprawls out in many directions, their ideas getting delightfully weirder as the execution gets tighter and tighter. They’ve constantly one upped themselves since their very first EP, remaining true to themselves as they dissolve genre boundaries in the pursuit of restless creativity. “Barley” is a perfect example, a song that feels pulled apart and hastily taped back together. It is noisy, spellbinding, and freeform, slinking between mutant disco grooves, kaleidoscopic psych, and hypnotic electronic patchwork, everything blending together to a freaky exuberance. The video, directed by Brown, captures the band’s effortless cool and inescapable magnetism.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (February 27th - March 5th)