by Dan Goldin and Patrick Pilch
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.
IRK
“Toothache in Prison”
It’s been six very long years since Irk released their full length debut Recipes From The Bible, a sordid dose of blistering noise rock that leans more metallic than most of their peers. The Leeds based band have returned with “Toothache In Prison,” a new single and the promise of a new album to come via Nefarious Industries next year. The band still sound utterly venomous more often than not, ripping and pillaging from one harsh and abrasive idea to the next. As corrosive as it may be, there’s a groove embedded within the rhythmic thud, scraping and throbbing with a reckless glee, deep in a mesmerizing dirge, the pocket ever shifting at the song steadily convulses. - DG
ISMATIC GURU
“Manic Vision”
Buffalo freak punk duo Ismatic Guru introduced themselves with four frantic EPs released over the past four years, oozing with a rattled resolve where art punk and psychedelic terror collide in a colorful bursts of boisterous energy. An Incredible Amount of Overwhelming Information pairs the first four EPs together with five more new songs, 26 tracks in all to scramble what’s left of our bugged out minds. “Manic Vision,” our first glimpse into the new set, finds the band at a place somewhere between chaotic and anthemic - still fully tweaked out and raw, but wrapped in unlikely hooks that dazzle between contortions. - DG
NAIMA BOCK
"Live on KEXP"
Naima Bock’s voice is as stunning live as it is in the studio, and it’s a joy to watch her perform her songs. Celebrating the release of her second album, Below A Massive Dark Land, she returns to the KEXP studio for a gorgeous full band performance, playing four of the album’s many highlights, the songs retaining a warm lived-in quality. Joined by Jack Ogborne (Bingo Fury) and Oakland based quartet Mildred, the performance weaves between brilliant folk and radiant indie rock, lush with close harmonies and the delicate strength of Naima Bock’s immaculate voice. From the sustained omnichord and woodwinds of “Gentle” to the shuffle of “Kaley,” one of the year’s best albums transforms into one of the year’s best live sessions. - DG
PAPER MICE
“S.O.S.” (feat. Miranda Winters) (ABBA cover)
In case you needed a reminder as to how cracked ABBA were, Paper Mice and Miranda Winters (aka Mandy) are here to provide an even cracked-er cover of the Eurovision winners’ 1975 classic “S.O.S.” The Chicago mainstays do the Swedes well with their own sputtering punk rendition that fuses the original’s delirious pop hooks with the band’s own heavy, stark take. Winters and the Mice cut a couple 4/4 corners on a dime; speeding it up, slowing it down, bringing it on home. This cover is the first cut off Paper Mice’s forthcoming Neurotic City - a triage of covers with features from Nnamdi and Calvin Fredrickson. - Patrick Pilch
RICHARD DAWSON
“Boxing Day Sales”
There’s something about Richard Dawson’s songs that is both incredibly open and somehow entirely enigmatic. His music is raw and intimate, folk tunes from the North of England, a deranged sense of pop that’s both profound and humorous. Set to release End of the Middle in February, “Boxing Day Sales,” the record’s second single is what Dawson described as his attempt at a “pure pop song,” a track without substance, and while structurally it’s most definitely among his most immediate compositions (aside from a skronky detour), lyrically it’s as vibrant and narratively abundant as we’ve come to expect from Richard Dawson, one of this generation’s most gifted songwriters. - DG
Further Listening:
BAMBARA "Pray To Me" | COHORT B "Snafu" | DELIVERY "The New Alphabet" | EEL MEN "Exeter Exit" | EX-VÖID "Pinhead" | HAUNTED HORSES "Dweller on the Threshold” | ICE CUBE “Ego Maniacs” (feat. Killer Mike & Busta Rhymes) | K-THE-I??? & KENNY SEGAL "Local Anastasia" (feat. Open Mike Eagle) | KENDRICK LAMAR "Squabble Up" | THE MEN "Pony" | MIKE "You’re the Only One Watching" | MINOR CONFLICT "Parallels II" | PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE "Dry The Rain" (Beta Band cover) | RATTLE "Your Move" | RAZ FRESCO "4am In Amsterdam" (feat. Daniel Son) | RAZ FRESCO “ZZZ’s” (feat. The 6th Letter) | REDMAN "Don't Wanna C Me Rich" | SHRAPKNEL "Below Freezing" (feat. Illogic & Doseone)