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.

BORZOI | “Neither One Nor The Other But A Mockery Of Both” EP

Borzoi are a brilliant band, one of the best in the country. Their live shows are energetic, mesmerizing, and combustible. Their songs encompassing a degree of intelligent grit that’s unique to them, an alien force landed in Austin, Texas. After five long years, the trio return with Neither The One Nor The Other, But A Mockery of Both, a new EP, surprise released via 12XU. The title, seemingly a reference of the fact that the record was re-recorded several times over the past few years, is a gift of their debased sense of humor, a sign that the years haven’t left them embittered. It’s all part of the reckless charm. The EP is certainly raw, the type of raw that had TuneCore hassling the band prior to the DSP release, but it’s only blown out where it wants to be, only fractured when intentional, and somewhere within the impenetrable wall of sound, everything sits in place as intended. From the false start of “Hero’s Theme” to its eventual scuzz-born epic nature, Borzoi continue to devolve melodies with atonal totality. By the time they’ve reached the barn-burning "Can’t Resist,” the band are quite literally buzzing, the ragged joy and off-centered rhythmic stampede threatening to push the needle well beyond mere concerns of clipping.

[excerpt taken from our “Album Of The Week” feature]

FUGITIVE BUBBLE | “Delusion” LP

After a pair of EPs over the past few years and a tireless tour schedule, Olympia’s Fugitive Bubble have released their first full length, the great Delusion, an album that brings the band’s art-punk sound into new “slightly less lo-fi” territory. It’s still rough and rampant (as it should be), running through hardcore structures with a sense of unfiltered fun, there’s just less tape hiss… which is ultimately a good thing. The band’s acrobatic and elastic punk is easily identifiable, furious but shimmering, relentlessly heavy yet any real sense of rage is juxtaposed with a smirk and riffs that shred like the world is about to end so we might as well get down and go wild. The record rips between a range of tempos, generally fast while splitting the difference between indignant and irreverent, but Fugitive Bubble slow down on occasion to let a melody soak through the skeletal production, to allow a gang vocal in that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and to put the exuberance back into hardcore. It’s a great record, full of captivating high energy punk and force brute absurdity. The cassette and digital are out now via Stucco Label with vinyl to come later this year via Sorry State.

MODERN COSMOLOGY | “A Time To Blossom”

Modern Cosmology is the collaborative effort of Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab) and Brazilian bossa-nova psych band Mombojó, the pairing of which has been sporadically intertwined for nearly a decade. Summer Long, the project’s debut was released back in 2017, and it would appear the seeds for a return had been planted nearly as long, but life and busy schedules got in the way. Sadier has been busy, Mombojó have been busy, but neither lost faith in the merits of their connection, eventually emerging once again with What Will You Grow Now?, a new album due out May 5th via Duophonic (Stereolab, Astrel K, Ghost Power). “A Time To Blossom,” the lead single is a blissful and sweltering psych pop odyssey, moseying between intricate acoustic expanses, jazzy bossa-nova rhythms, and Sadier’s always stunning vocals. There’s a natural grace and calming presence, but the band keep it ever interesting, gliding itself forward into the vortex, lost in the haze.

PACKS | “EC”

Toronto’s PACKS are set to release their latest album, Crispy Crunchy Nothing, this coming Friday, March 31st via Fire Talk (Mandy, Indiana, Cola, Wombo), with “EC” serving as the last preview. In case the singles haven’t given it away, it’s a great record, best experienced in full when you can immerse yourself in Madeline Link and PACKS’ world, pulling together fragments to paint the impressionist whole. It’s a world gripped by confusion and the unexplainable qualities of life, dripped and drawn with Link’s laconic vocals and hazy lo-fi psych compositions. Everything is stretched and pulled with a syrupy dissolution, slinking into reluctant hooks, the vocals side by side with the twin guitars, mixed to perfection. “EC” is a somber song, written by Link in response to the loss of a remote co-worker, but it’s not quite as emotionally heavy as it may seem. The lyrics opt for daydream like memories, thoughts of what might have been. Built on gentle acoustics and a twangy backdrop, the song leans into PACKS’ folk nuances.

STUCK | “The Punisher”

The time has come, Stuck have returned, announcing their long awaited sophomore album, Freak Frequency. Due out May 26th via Born Yesterday Records (Glow In The Dark Flowers, Lifeguard, Lawn), the Chicago based quartet continue to embrace the paranoia and anxieties of modern life, capturing the tension that lives inside anyone with even a passing interest in our country’s affairs. Few bands manage to coil their intensity as tightly as Stuck, and lead single “The Punisher” is a great example of their razor sharp approach. Careening with caustic guitars and an unshakeable rhythm, the song bounces between motorik hypnosis and a manic aggression. Stuck play post-punk with a noise rock dexterity, their rigidity broken by warped structural twisting, sparsely melodic vocals, and some great harmonies delivered in the hook. It’s the way that the band become unglued though that feels so special. With a song built on such a tight structure, watching it all unravel is key - first by bleeding saxophone, and ultimately an oncoming avalanche of abrasive guitars that scrape and stab into a swirling wall of sound.

Further Listening:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (March 20th - March 26th)