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.
BABE REPORT | “Turtle of Reaper”
There’s no two ways about it, Babe Report’s new single “Turtle of Reaper” is a certified ripper. The Chicago based quartet (which includes former members of FCKR JR, Geronimo!, and Yeesh among others) are set to release Did You Get Better in May, the band’s full length debut. The record is propulsive and fuzzy, filled with crushing post-punk and sludge pop abandon. Led by Ben Grigg (guitar/vocals), the album’s first single comes stampeding out the get with a primitive pummeling from the rhythm section and guitars that careen between blown out and recklessly melodic. A song dedicated to localized fear mongering never sounded so catchy.
BERMUDA SQUARES | “Car Accident”
Minneapolis’ Bermuda Squares come out swinging with “Car Accident,” the first single from the band’s upcoming album, Outsider. Due out May 17th via Feel It Records (Marcel Wave, The Drin, Lysol), we’re enamored with the band’s brute bar room brawl punk sound, parts rock ‘n’ roll filth and parts garage punk boogie. Featuring members of Green/Blue, Citric Dummies, The Soviettes, there’s a veteran heft found throughout “Car Accident,” scraping and splattering with shout along immediacy, occupying a similar barn burning territory as bands like Split System, C.O.F.F.I.N., and a howling Midwestern punk choogle.
BROADCAST | “The Games You Play”
Following three archival releases in 2022, Broadcast are back at it this year, sharing two more releases from the vault before the putting the project to rest. The first of those is Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009, and well, the title tells you most of what you need to know. Compiling all of Trish Keenan’s 4-track and MiniDisc recordings before her tragic passing, this is the genesis of what could have been their next album, some ideas more drawn out than others. “The Games You Play” is a fully realized effort, a song that grooves with a fractured electronic pulse and the majestic nature of Keenan’s gentle voice.
GATECREEPER | “Masterpiece of Chaos”
Arizona’s Gatecreeper have been reshaping their sound, manipulating their seismic death metal in new directions, first experimenting with different aspects of hardcore and now they’ve introduced increasing melodic ideas throughout their new album, Dark Superstition. If the hard rock riffs of “The Black Curtain” caught you off guard, you’re not alone, but in the context of the album, every piece serves the greater puzzle. For every genre bending amalgamation, Gatecreeper balance it with nail in the skull death metal, case in point, the barbaric brilliance of “Masterpiece of Chaos”. Pure decimation, it’s a blast of bellowing disgust and monolithic riffs.
MISTER GOBLIN | “Run, Hide, Fight”
Frog Poems, the latest album from Mister Goblin, is due out at the end of the week via Spartan Records (Traindodge, The Van Pelt, Allen Epley). Forever one of the more compelling songwriters, the project continues to expand upon the unpredictable nature of Sam Goblin’s dynamic songwriting, veering from sincere to absurdist character study without all too much distinction of which is which (in the most intelligent of ways). “Run, Hide, Fight,” the album’s third single is delightfully askew, a post-hardcore song as only Mister Goblin can construct, combustible, gorgeous, and steeped in discordant structures.
NICOLA LEEL | “Capable”
Following the dissolution of London’s Doe (Topshelf / Big Scary Monsters), Nicola Leel made her way from the UK to New York, quickly immersing herself in the Brooklyn scene as a member of the short lived but much beloved band Customer as well as The Glow and a stint in Maneka’s revolving live band. We’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Nicola’s solo music and “Capable” is a perfect introduction, a song spiked in sinewy guitars and a serrated melody that’s been stuck in our head all week. A blend of overdriven grunge with a sweetened noise pop charm, it’s loud and hooky in all the best ways.
POM POKO | “Champion”
Norway’s Pom Poko are one of the most exuberant bands in the world. Watch them live and a sense of joy seems to pour out of them (at least it did at the show I was lucky enough to attend). Set to release their third album in August via Bella Union (Philip Selway, Modern Nature, The Fall), their effervescent post-punk and art pop sounds as blissful as ever on the enigmatic title track, “Champion”. While there’s certainly a degree of melancholy present, it’s hard not to crack a smile listening to their vibrant and subtly tangled brand of pop brilliance, the song teetering on a galloping rhythm and an expansive open structure.
SOFIA BOLT | “Martini”
Los Angeles’ Sofia Bolt feels positively dialed in and radiant on her latest single, a jazzy lounge pop song named “Martini”. It’s just too appropriate, and it’s a fantastic escape of a song. With her new album, Vendredi Minuit, due out on May 10th via Born Losers Records (Bleary Eyed, Life In Vacuum, Fonteyn), the French born songwriter blends art pop and alternative rock to create songs that feel lush and fluid. “Martini” pulls swirling synths, skittering flutes, and gorgeous vocal melodies in hypnotic patterns, with Sofia Bolt’s voice stealing the show around each smooth turn.
VARIETY | “Valentine” (Exercise cover)
It’s not often you hear a cover version of a song not yet released in its original form, but then again, it’s not often you get a band quite like Variety. The Austin based solo project of Rhys Woodruff (Borzoi) turned full band have been sprinkling out singles this year, each one offering something decidedly different from what came before it. “Valentine” is a cover of a work in progress Exercise song, and it’s easy to hear why Woodruff admired it, a syrupy lo-fi song that slinks in the pocket with a stinging guitar melody and fantastically laconic vocals that really hang in the undulating grooves. Variety, not just a clever name.
Further Listening:
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS “Don’t Turn The Radio” | AUTOMATIC “New Sensations” (Lou Reed cover) | BEN SERETAN “New Air” | BLOOD INCANTATION “Luminescent Bridge" | BOLDY JAMES & RICHGAINS “Yokohama Slim” (feat. MadeinTYO) | CAN "Aston 77 Vier" | CASSANDRA JENKINS “Only One” | COLOR GREEN “Four Leaf Clover” | COUCH SLUT “Wilkinson’s Sword” | DIODE “What’s In It For Me?” | FELLER “Sand Sandwich” | THE FOLK IMPLOSION “Moonlit Kind” | FROZEN SOUL “Creature of the Wheel” (White Zombie cover) | FULL OF HELL “Coagulated Bliss” | GUIDED BY VOICES “Serene King” | HANNAH MOHAN “Peace Be The Day” | HOMELESS CADAVER “Emergency Circumcision” | JULIE CHRISTMAS “Supernatural” | KING HANNAH “Davey Says” | KLONNS “Beherit” | LANDOWNER “Dopesmoker” (Sleep cover) | LAS NUBES “Would Be” | MONO “Oath (Triptych)” | MOTORISTS “Call Control” | MOUNTAIN MOVERS “My Holy Shrine” | NAS & DJ PREMIER “Define My Name” | THE NOISY “Ballerino” | PERENNIAL “Action Painting” | POPULATION II “Comme Tu Le Souhaites (Ding Dong)” | PROGRAM “Sparks” | RED DWARF STAR “Lady Aurora Borealis" | SECT MARK “Fracture” | THIS IS LORELEI “I’m All Fucked Up” | VOW “Demo“ EP | WEYES BLOOD “Andromeda” | WINTER “Sallow”