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.
LA LUZ | “Poppies”
If the rolling toms, mad scientist riffs, and kinetic pulse of “Strange World” hinted toward something alien for La Luz, the band return to the arid Earth with the stunning “Poppies". The second single from News of the Universe (due out May 24th via Sub Pop) was built around Shana Cleveland’s cancer diagnosis, the heaviness that comes with such news, and the surreal experience of returning to a world still in bloom. It feels like a reminder to see the inherent beauty wherever you might find it. “Poppies” it’s share of beauty with a sauntering atmosphere and a breezy melodic drift, slinking and swooning in the hazy sunlight.
MAGIC FIG | “Goodbye Suzy”
Magic Fig, formed by members of The Umbrellas, Whitney’s Playland, Almond Joy, and Healing Potpourri, exists in a sweet spot somewhere between psychedelic prog, dream pop, and the glow of the Canterbury scene. Set to release their self-titled debut on May 17th via Silver Current Records (Fuckwolf, Howlin Rain, Sonic Youth), they’ve eschewed the lo-fi garage pop sound to create something warped and tumbling, spiraling itself toward mysterious portals of pooling bliss on lead single “Goodbye Suzy”. Produced by Joel Robinow (Once and Future Band), the song is damn near perfect, intricate, dazzling, and immersive.
SOOKS | “Library”
SOOKS’ corrosive demo, released back in 2022, landed among our favorite records of that year, an introduction that was part lo-fi hardcore and artistically driven punk. The Perth based band return with Moral Decay, their first full length, due out on May 17th via Permanent Residence, and if lead single “Library” is anything to go by, they’ve reached new levels of boiling fury. With scraping riffs and Ange’s throat-shredding vocal performance, there’s plenty of righteous indignation, but there’s also a noticable sense of personality, raw but undeniably inviting. The single is as aggressive as it is bent and blistering.
SUMAC | “Yellow Dawn”
“Yellow Dawn,” the lead single from SUMAC’s upcoming album, The Healer, doesn’t waste a moment. The experimental metal trio dig into the art and elegance of their sound with an incredible amount of texture before eventually locking in for eruption. It’s a “free metal” masterpiece, continuously weaving a brilliant new path as it expands, devours, and comes knowingly unglued. Nick Yacyshyn continues to be one of the most exciting drummers in the world, always tasteful as he melts our brains. “Yellow Dawn” takes many shapes and shifts, the unpredictable nature it’s strength… that, and an earthquaking impossibly damaged yet massive Aaron Turner guitar solo.
WASHER | “Come Back As A Bug”
A lot of folks are leaning into the country twang these days, but few do it with the same grace and syrupy hook-filled goodness as Washer. Having released Come Back As A Bug’s “a-side” back in March, the duo returned with the title track, a song with a sweltering hook and profoundly wonderful lyrics about the grips of depression and finding a way forward, waiting to burn out but persisting all the same. With twin guitars and a front-porch shimmer, the song feels part Jerk Routine and part swaggering smash-hit country anthem, a big and brash shout-along that never relies on repetition to cement it’s earworm charms.
Further Listening:
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS “I Can Never Be As Great As You” | A. SAVAGE “The Loft Sessions” EP | ANNIE-CLAUDE DESCHÊNES “Les Marnières De Table” | BENCH PRESS “Personal Best” | BLUE RAY “This Gold I Keep” | BOOTLICKER “Mercy Dog” | CAVALIER “50 Bags” (feat. Lord Chilla) | CUT PIECE “Walk The Dog” | DANA GAVANSKI “Singular Coincidence” | THE DARK “Dragged To Hell” | DEAD FINKS “Answer” | DIRTY THREE “Love Changes Everything I” | DRAAG “Orb Weaver” | THE DRACU-LAS “Fall Asleep When I’m Dead” | THE DRIN “Tigers Cage” | EDDIE KAINE & BIG GHOST LTD “Lanier Vs King” (feat. Jae Skeese) | EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FROZE TO DEATH “Elevens” | FINOM “As You Are” | FLOWER FESTIVAL “Behave“ | FUCKED UP “Being” | GLASSING “Circle Down” | GROCER “Golden Sedan” | GUSTAF “Close” | HABIBI “Do You Want Me Now” | HOMELESS CADAVER “Cadaviar” | JALEN NGONDA “Here To Stay” | JOY DIMMERS “Red Will” LP | KATIE VON SCHLEICHER “Pilea” | KLONNS “Heathen” | KULK “Beyond Gone” | LANE “Everybody’s Finding Out” | LES SAVY FAV “Limo Scene” | MAMALEEK “Vileness Slim” | MARCEL WAVE “Barrow Boys” | MEMORIALS “A Guaranty of Sanity” | MURF “5 Iron” | NOLAN POTTER “Dig Me As I Am” + “The Mold That Grows on Harvey” | NXWORRIES “86Sentra” | OBJECTIONS “Hymns” | OH BOLAND “Here Comes The Order of Malta” | PINK SIIFU “GOT FOOD AT THE CRIB'! VOL.1” EP | PYRRHON “2012 Demo” EP | SECT MARK “Traitor” | SONNY FALLS “Audiotree Live” | SPICE 1 “Crumbs With Bums” (feat. Conway The Machine) | SQUID PISSER “Virus Assholes” | STRESS POSITIONS “Ohmstead Session” | TINY WINE “Replace It” | UMBRA VITAE “Belief Is Obsolete” | VINCENT VOCODER VOICE “You Could’ve Flipped A Quid” | WISHY “Audiotree Live”