by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_) and Matt Watton (@brotinus)
Welcome to FUZZY MEADOWS, our 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. 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.
2ND GRADE
“I Wanna Be On Your Mind”
Philadelphia’s 2nd Grade have made a habit of buoyant, jocular power-pop tunes that create their own little world, infused with pop culture references, jangling jangle, and boyish grins. In anticipation of their third full-length, Scheduled Explosions (out Oct. 25th on Double Double Whammy), they’ve dumped an oxymoronic three song single. “Uncontrollably Cool” is a bouncy, twee romp dripping with innuendo and sarcasm, while the lo-fi and Beatles-esque “Like A Wild Thing” could be a salvaged Guided By Voices demo. Lead single “I Wanna Be On Your Mind” rings out with lush 12-string chords and a softly yearning vocal melody (sung by Remember Sports’ Catherine Dwyer). Less indebted to the 60’s originals than their Paisley Underground scions (think Rain Parade, The Green Pajamas), it’s a delightfully earnest track from an eclectic, jubilant, and talented songwriter. - Matt Watton
KIM DEAL
“A Good Time Pushed”
Kim Deal shares another song from her debut solo album, Nobody Loves You More (out Nov. 22). “A Good Time Pushed,” the album’s closer, is an alluring invitation into the world Deal builds for us. Shapely rock guitar tones swirl in and out in the now-classic loud/soft dynamics Deal has pioneered, while her unmistakably dulcet voice floats above the mix with a reserved power that is full of emotion. A mature breakup song, it’s at once forlorn and hopeful, accepting and optimistic. One hears some of Berlin-era Bowie in how the track unfolds, in the way it stays firmly within the rock idiom while venturing to explore its limits and pacing. Deal has surrounded herself with 90s rock legends, and this song features Teenage Fanclub’s Raymond McGinley on guitar along with Steve Albini’s engineering (RIP). It’s a beautiful song, and Deal is, as usual, effortlessly cool and incomparably talented. - Matt Watton
MAMMOTH GRINDER
“Corpse of Divinant”
There is but one Mammoth Grinder and we’re still celebrating the Austin band’s triumphant return. With Undying Spectral Resonance due out next month via Relapse Records (Ripped To Shreds, Living Gate, Pig Destroyer), they’ve unleashed the record’s opening track, “Corpse of Divinant,” proving once again that there’s magic in the putridity of their death metal meets d-beat punk sound. With the rhythm section very much indebted to hardcore, Mammoth Grinder still feel miles away from “metalcore,” they’re deep into the filth of their cavernous groove, the death metal dexterity finding the weedian pocket of the d-beat stampede. “Corpse of Divinant” opens in the mist before the tomb is shattered and the rot seeps in, pouring out in a scourge of detuned evil. - DG
MOTHERHOOD
"Bok Globule"
Hailing from the far reaches of the Canadian Maritimes, Motherhood have announced that their fifth full length will be out early next year and have treated us to the delightfully bizarre “Bok Globule”. If you’re a fan of fuzzed out carnival music, art-punk tongue twisters, or disorienting psyched-out left turns, this music is for you. The song whips from perky to plodding, from scraggly to sonorous, from tinny, shimmering fuzz to darker, grungier fuzz. Through reverb-swamped vocals, copious tempo changes, and a barrage of slant rhymes, the song evokes the trippy depths of space, not as allegory but as an entrée into a veritable space opera. Motherhood is truly a singular band, with the ability to transverse time and space and genre, adding their own heady spices to the cosmic stew. - Matt Watton
NIGHT IDEA
“Rocky Coast”
It’s safe to say that Night Idea sound like a band of time. Out this time, out of any time. The Richmond based band have carved their own path in the cosmic dust, creating a sound that could be described as timeless, the comfort of the past, the promise of the future. New textures abound on the band’s upcoming album, Rocky Coast. Their fourth full length hasn’t strayed from their unique sonic landscape, a mix of visionary prog rock, blustery psych, and folk warmth, but it’s expanded their capabilities, the kaleidoscopic effect of their sound grows ever more surrealist. The album’s title track and lead single is full of enchanting disorientation, feeling both fantastically and delightfully grounded. With nearly every member of the band woven into the spacial harmonies, Night Idea slink between progressive dirges and wistful expanses. - DG
THIRDFACE
“Midian”
The long awaited return of Thirdface is nearly over. Ministerial Cafeteria, the band’s second full length, is out November 1st, a vicious hardcore album that pushes the genre to its experimental edges. The Nashville quartet bring a specific artistic element to their sound, brutal and clamorous, but rarely straight forward or predictable, setting themselves apart from the pack as they claw and dismantle structures with their own combustible design. “Midian,” the record’s second single is swirling and piercing, the feedback and the freefall of the riffs erupt with a sheer sonic brilliance, tearing through harmonic grit as they weave through impossibly heavy sludge. As the drums and bass collide in fits and starts around the kinetic energy of the ever shifting riffs, the band change tempos like a tornado rampaging through the town, the destruction only matched by the undeniable inventiveness. For anyone that’s felt hardcore needs a kick in the teeth, Thirdface are here for you - DG
Further Listening:
7XVETHEGENIUS "Dirty Nikes" | BENNY THE BUTCHER & 38 SPESH "High Stakes" | BLUE SMILEY "Pond" | CARE HOME "Lead The Weak" | CARNAL TOMB "Extremely Rotten Flesh" (Grave cover) | THE CURE "A Fragile Thing" | DEAR FRANCIS "Godheads" | EKKO ASTRAL "Pomegranate Tree" | ELIAS RØNNENFELT "Soldier Song" | THE EUROSUITE “Bellyache” | FAZE "Big Upsetter" EP | FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS "I-Candy" | HANNAH FRANCES "Audiotree Live" | KIM GORDON "Bangin' on the Freeway" | LAS NUBES "Live on KEXP" | LILY SEABIRD "Fuckhead" | LUST ONLINE “Go Outside” EP | MAN-EATERS "Double Trouble" | MF DOOM "One Beer (Madlib Remix)" | OUTER WORLD "Coming Down / Superior Washing Results" (The United States of America covers) | PICTURE THAT "Strum" EP | QLOWSKI "Desire" | ROSE CITY BAND "Lights On The Way" | S.H.I.T. "Captive (...in the Mutilated Vista)" | THE SERFS "Paid In Full" / "Regen" | SHOWER CURTAIN "You're Like Me" | SPIRAL XP "Window Room" | STIFF RICHARDS "Empty Barrels" | STYLIANOS OU & THE CORTISOL COWS "Shoplifting Apocalypse" | TRUST BLINKS & SHUGGIE SHOOTER "Trust Shuggie" | TWINE "Sleeping Dogs" | VUNDABAR "Life Is A Movie"