by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_) and Louis Pelingen (@Ruke256)
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.
BURSTING
“Just Ghosts”
Considering the fact that Chicago’s Bursting features members of Yautja, Stress Positions, Thou, and Ands (among many others), it’s fair to have expectations in terms of quality. The good news is that beyond having pedigree for days, any expectations are blown away as the band eschew the sound of their better known projects to dig into the dexterous world of raw and serrated 90’s post-hardcore… and they’ve absolutely nailed it. With influences that include Jawbox, Shiner, and Drive Like Jehu, the quartet are impossibly locked in, their ever shifting rhythms and tangled guitars sound utterly colossal throughout the Bursting EP, their upcoming debut. “Just Ghosts” is an immersive song that feels tightly knotted, drifting one moment but forever progressing into the next. Bursting have an impressive sense of control, rarely sitting still while still retaining a sense of melodic accessibility. - DG
CHÉ NOIR
“Black Girl (Alternate Version)” (feat. 7xvethegenius)
Last month Buffalo’s Ché Noir released her latest album, The Lotus Child (her third record of the year), a mostly self-produced effort that highlights Noir’s raw lyricism above all else. She’s always matched her grit with unflinching reality, accepting both the collective and personal struggle, outlined in her lyrics with honesty. “Black Girl,” the record’s lead single found Ché Noir joined by Rapsody, but today we get the song’s alternate version, replacing Rapsody’s verse with a guest appearance from 7xvethegenius, proving once again that Noir and 7xve are one the best duos in rap. There’s a noticeable camaraderie between the two, the two self made MCs rise without chips on their shoulder, bringing the art of rapping into ever well-crafted bar. - DG
FACS
“Wish Defense”
Everything FACS release sounds like solid gold, their steely minimalism and attention to detail is given radiant clarity, every hit of the floor toms felt in the same way as the stabs of guitar or the churn of the bass. The overall sound of their records is as important as the songwriting itself. Luckily FACS are veterans (Brian Case have been subverting post-punk’s expectations since the early 90s) and they understand what they’re after. With nearly every one of their albums recording at the renowned Electrical Audio, their latest, Wish Defense, finally finds the trio working together with Steve Albini, on what was sadly the legendary engineer’s final recording. Grief aside, the record sounds brilliant, the album’s title track lets you feel as though you’re in the room with the band. The hypnotic and detached rhythm is jagged and pounding, enveloped in contorted dynamics that shake and corrode (in the best of ways). - DG
GUCK
“IDGAG”
We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Los Angeles’ noise rock weirdos Guck has finally released their debut single, “IDGAG”. It’s every bit as deranged as we hoped it would be, blending oozing synth depravity with mesmerizing vocals and riffs that are simultaneously abrasive and grooving. With a heavy thud and a maximalist approach that sounds truly swarming and mentally disarmed, “IDGAG” retains a degree of accessibility, there’s a pop core buried deep beneath the surface, but Guck are playing our senses, overloaded and digging into the carnage with each twisted shift and piercing layer adding to the manic introduction. Sordid and psychedelic like a bad trip turned recurring nightmare, Guck seem to play without a care in the world, the song slithering and combusting in unpredictable ways. - DG
K-THE-I??? & KENNY SEGAL
"Immediate Imminent Immunity" (feat. Jesse The Tree)
“Immediate Imminent Immunity” acts as the longtime return from K-The-I??? whose lyrical pen game still brings more to say after all these years. The lead single for his upcoming album, Genuine Dexterity - coming out soon on December 8th under Backwoodz Studioz - piles its two minute runtime full of K-The-I??? and Jesse The Tree’s pensive wit, floating along the fizzy drums and liquid chimes of Kenny Segal’s beat. The song is a meditation to their existential musings amidst an anger-stricken environment, realizing that they can do more to provide optimistic change for everybody else. - Louis Pelingen
MINOR CONFLICT
"Glue"
Minor Conflict is one of the recent UK bands that must be observed closely in the future, especially as they bridge the aesthetics of post-punk with folk tendencies, providing expanded creative expression with their sound. “Glue” essentially acts as the stepping stone towards Parallels, their upcoming EP due on January 2025 under PRAH Recordings. Phasing through the motions of moody spoken poetry, eerie harp progressions, and somber vocal harmonies eventually get snapped by frenetic post-punk rhythms. “Glue” has an overall shambling melody, shaking everyone awake to do something within the gradual collapse of the natural environment. - Louis Pelingen
SQUID
“Crispy Skin”
There hasn’t been a band pulling off oddly enticing curveballs like the UK’s own Squid, disintegrating their post-punk roots into perplexing territory over the years. Serving as the first taste of Coward - the band’s upcoming third album out February 2025 via Warp Records - “Crispy Skin” continues digging down that wormhole, with fidgety synth work and pristine piano touches dancing around the whirling post-punk melodies. Creating a tune that’s both graceful and heavy, tousling Ollie Judge’s wandering voice around the theme of self-help, Squid are reflecting upon just how difficult it is to seek out change within horrific times. - Louis Pelingen
TWO INCH ASTRONAUT
“Check Please / Humorist”
It’s the glorious (and temporary) return of Two Inch Astronaut and to be honest, we’re beside ourselves about it. While the trio originally called it a day back in 2018, the band wanted to celebrate the ten year anniversary of their second album, Foulbrood, but looking forward instead of backward, opting to record a pair of songs they’d written and performed live just before calling it quits. Listening to “Check Please” and “Humorist” you’d never know these songs signified the end as the newly recorded studio versions (engineered by J. Robbins) sound like a band at the height of their powers, winding between explosive post-hardcore and razor sharp hooks, that marriage of raw intensity and vibrant melodies that Two Inch built their sound on. Few can do it quite as well, as they tangle and weave between pummeling rhythms, charming lyrics, and darting angularity. - DG
WINDED
“Double Single”
Winded are back, and they’ve come to rip. While Thrin Vianale recorded each of the previous releases solo, the project has expanded into a quartet for Double Single, an enormous reintroduction to the band, recorded together with Jon Nuñez (Torche). The band bring a dense fuzz and muscular resolve to the enormous melodic hooks of both “Wish on the Mezzanine” and “Mercy 27,” sounding positively revved up, as sugary and sweet as they are crushing and distorted. “Wish on the Mezzanine” is a massive beast of power-pop and shoegaze influences, twisted into something undeniably catchy and buzzing. With harmonies that burst through the low end sludge and the steady hum of the guitars, it’s the type of song that gives off sunspots as it glues itself deep into your memory. - DG
Further Listening:
NOVEMBER 04 - NOVEMBER 10:
7XVETHEGENIUS “Graymatter” | A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS "Don't Be Sorry" | BODY WORLD “Body World Demo ‘24” EP | CAVALIER & CHILD ACTOR "Knight of the East" | MOREISH IDOLS "Slouch" | RJ PAYNE "The Ugliness" (feat. Tha God Fahim & Knowledge The Pirate) | THA GOD FAHIM & NICHOLAS CRAVEN “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap” LP | WOOLEN MEN "Change Life"
NOVEMBER 11 - NOVEMBER 17:
ANGEL OLSEN "The Takeover" (Poppy Jean Crawford cover) | BEING DEAD "Dragons II" | BERNER "The Source" (feat. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, & Killer Mike) | BOLDY JAMES & HARRY FRAUD "Shrink Wrap” (feat. Babyface Ray) | CASPER SKULLS "Spindletop" | CULTS “Live on KEXP” | DES DEMONAS "The Duke Ellington Bridge" | FANTASTIC PURPLE SPOTS "Flowerland" | FATBOI SHARIF & STEEL TIPPED DOVE "The Corpse of Van Helsing" | FEELING FIGURES "Everything Around You" | FLY ANAKIN "YOUGOTME!!" | FRECKLE "Taraval" | GAG "Want War" EP | HAUNTED HORSES "Grey Eminence" | HOUR "Saturday After Payday / Absence is a Heady Spice" | THE JESUS LIZARD "Cost Of Living" | KESTRELS "Sleepless" | LILY SEABIRD "Pretty Flowers" | LOTS OF HANDS "Backseat 30" | MORPHO "Blue Light" | NAVY BLUE “Red Roses” | PEAER "Just Because" | POPPY JEAN CRAWFORD "Glamorous" | ROPER WILLIAMS "Too Beautiful To Die" LP | ROSE CITY BAND "Seeds of Light" | SPEED PLANS "D.U.I." EP | SUN JUNE "41 Dollars" | THA GOD FAHIM & NICHOLAS CRAVEN “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 2” LP