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.
ANNA ALTMAN | “Balloons”
After a seven year abscence, New York City’s Anna Altman, the duo of Lucia Arias and Christian Billard has returned. “Balloons,” their new single pairs the band together with Anna Wolk (violin), Catherine Wolk (cello), and Raphael Carleton (piano), transforming the band’s dry barebones approach into something lush and sweeping. At it’s core though, this is still everything we’ve come to love about Anna Altman, from the contemplative progression to the stunning ease in Arias’ gentle delivery. “Balloons” evolves from one dreamscape to the next, radiant and full of elated reflections, a song that remembers the past with a light touch, a look back that feels possible because of a better day ahead. Swirling with the occasional harmonies and the breezy use of the added strings, there’s a glow in the indie pop malaise like watching the sun rise on a new era.
BERMUDA SQUARES | “Robbery”
We’re pretty excited about Outsider, the upcoming debut from Minneapolis’ Bermuda Squares. With the album out next week on Feel It Records (Marcel Wave, The Drin, LYSOL), the singles have come ripping and roaring, pumped and buzzing with a greasy punk swagger and in the red pop full of grit and distortion. Featuring members of Retainers, Citric Dummies,Green/Blue, Dummy, Awesome Snakes, and beyond, this ain’t their first rodeo. Following the blown out boogie of garage punk ripper “Car Accident,” Bermuda Squares share new single “Robbery,” another propulsive jolt of surging riffs and shout-along vocals. Dense and raw, this one is a fuzzy belter, howling and snarling in that sweet spot where reckless street punk and back alley rock n roll bruisers come to a head on collision.
BLACKLISTERS | “Pity Party” + “Tech Guy”
Following the release of the raw and delightfully deranged Leisure Centre and Auf Dem Tisch EPs, Blacklisters return with This Is Not An Album By BLKLSTRS, a collection the pairs together the aforementioned EPs with a pair of news songs. Rearranging the running orders, and while it may not be an album, there’s definitely a cohesion to their delightfully deranged noise rock madness. With the vinyl set for release next month via A Tant Rêver Du Roi Records, the entire thing is now streaming on the label’s Bandcamp page, including new singles “Pity Party” and “Tech Guy,” a pair of songs that capture the band’s signature sense of humor amid perfectly abrasive guitars, dense hypnotic rhythms, the band’s perfectly slurred vocals. Clawing and sarcastic, swarming and brilliant, thick as old mud, it’s another gem from BLKLSTRS, the best damn band.
FINOM | “Cyclops”
There’s a brutal awareness to Finom’s new single “Cyclops,” a song that will forever burn into our collective memories for it’s chorus, in which the Chicago duo declare, “nobody cares about your band”. While there’s certainly a good deal of people that care deeply about the music that Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham are making, the song indirectly speaks to the vast difficulties of a band in modern times, pursuing a unique artistic path, and the resolve to keep fighting to do so, even when getting your teeth kicked out (one at a time). The third single from their upcoming album, Not God, out May 24th via Joyful Noise (Marnie Stern, Deerhoof, Folk Implosion) rides a marvelously askew rhythmic pulse, moving from disco-inspired motorik grooves to caterwauling art rock with an undefinable grace.
SOUR WIDOWS | “Staring Into Heaven/Shining”
“Staring Into Heaven/Shining” is the deeply gorgeous finale of Sour Widows’ upcoming full length debut, Revival Of A Friend, a song that encapsulates so much of the record’s mention, written around the loss of Susanna Thomson’s mom and the grief that follows. It’s a profound that attempts to outrun grief only to learn of it’s futility, the sentiment that heartache carries us forward. The song’s progression and slow winding melodies are deeply woven together by the trio’s impeccable performance, soft and gentle but with an emotional heft and muscle that captures the ups and downs that split memories and destitution. Over unique chord progressions, subtle touches of harmony, an expansive structure, and a fantastic drum performance from Max Edelman, Sour Widows make immaculate use of space and depth.
Further Listening:
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS “This Is All For You” | BAD HISTORY MONTH “Cat In A Lounge” | BEEEF “Bedhead Boy” | BIG HIT, HIT-BOY & THE ALCHEMIST “Foreclosure” | BOOTLICKER “Submission Pt. III” | THE BUG CLUB “Quality Pints” | COLA “Albatross” | DRAAG “Microgravity Tank” | DUCKS LTD. “When You’re Outside” | ERIN RAE “Early Blue” (F.J McMahon cover) | FANTASY OF A BROKEN HEART “Ur Heart Stops” | GIANT WASTE OF MAN “Gaeta” | ISOBEL CAMPBELL “Dopamine” | L’RAIN “Green” | MACH-HOMMY “#Richaxxhaitian” (feat. 03 Greedo) | MARCEL WAVE “Stop/Continue” | MEMO PST “Platform Damage” | MENAHAN STREET BAND “Tropical Man” (feat. Rogê) | MOTORISTS “L.O.W.” | NIGHTTIME “Keeper Is The Heart” | NYXY NYX “I Love My Life” | PERENNIAL “Up-tight” | PROGRAM “One on One” | RAZOR BRAIDS “Big Wave” | ROC MARCIANO “BeBe’s Kids” | THOU “Unbidden Guest” | TOTAL SHAM “Keep It Rollin’” | WAND “Smile” | YOUBET “Peel”