by Benji Heywood, Charlie Pecorella, Dan Goldin, Kris Handel, Matt Watton, Patrick Pilch, and Zak Mercado
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.
ALLEGRA KRIEGER
“Never Arriving”
Over the past couple of years and a handful of albums, Allegra Krieger has loudly announced herself as an artist incredibly worthy of all attention and praise that comes her way. She’s shown herself to be a songwriter capable of expressing an unimpeachable level of intimacy and inspiration, plumbing the depth of the inner psyche with a deft hand. With "Never Arriving," the lead single off her forthcoming album, Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine (her second for Double Double Whammy), Krieger provides her audience with a strong and spiky blast of power-pop that is immediately striking. Her songwriting retains it's internally connected strength with jagged and gripping guitar riffs and whirling keys that hammer home a forceful sense of incisiveness, striving for meaning and purpose in a way that has become a hallmark of Krieger's music. - Kris Handel
BEING DEAD
“Firefighters”
Being Dead embrace an unpredictable eclecticism – from song to song, you don’t know if you’re getting twee jangle pop, heavy grunge breakdowns, or reverby surf grooves. The only constant is the arty weirdness of inconstancy (well, that and their charming boy-girl harmonies). After their long-gestated debut When Horses Would Run came out last year, the Austin duo is back with a new record, EELS, leaning even further into their devil-may-care attitude. The first single “Firefighters” keeps you off kilter. It opens with unexpectedly upbeat, nasally fuzz, bursting forward with a driving drum beat. The chorus breaks stride with sweet, rousing harmony. Then there’s a jaunty middle-8 with reverb-soaked vocals about angels and fireflies, before cutting the pace into a languid lo-fi fade out. As I said, it’s weird – but somehow not at all disjointed. Their charisma and musical chops fit the square peg into the round hole. It’s infectious. - Matt Watton
THE BREEDERS
“Live In Big Sur”
The Breeders continue to celebrate thirty years of their decade-defining LP Last Splash in style, with a stripped back set of their most popular songs recorded in Big Sur, CA. Following the deluxe reissue of their sophomore LP last year, The Breeders rework fan favorites with acoustic flair in this live session, directed by James Brylowski. Ancient foliage delicately drapes over the band’s warm energy and draws players close amidst the shadow. Guitar necks are kin with towering redwoods immersing the camp side set. Kim Deal inhales deeply before rushing into, “Do You Love Me Now?” Other featured tracks include “Divine Hammer,” “Invisible Man,” and “Drivin’ On 9”. Adorable, animated critters imagined by illustrator Pedro Eboli skitter about as if the band has explicitly summoned them for the show, with one-eyed oblong creatures, crows, and Big Foot himself peering into the clear. Laughter, gratitude, and pure magic flood the forest on this special release from The Breeders. - Charlie Pecorella
CHRIS COHEN
“Night Or Day”
Chris Cohen has a musical fingerprint so clearly identifiable from the first chord or note of his songs. That has always been the case and continues to be the case in recent releases. The batch of singles out from his forthcoming solo record, Paint a Room, all bear that fingerprint. While in the past, the identifying characteristic was a somewhat jittery, but masterfully controlled, lead guitar, these days, the pretty, melodic and harmonious aspects of his earlier “solo” work with The Curtains and Cryptacize has become the focus of the music released under his name. On “Night or Day,” the guitar tracks burn slowly and pleasantly like a multi-colored wax candle on your bedroom shelf. The result is what seems like a foreign lounge music infused ever-so-perfectly with the feel of modernist/avant-garde classical compositions. Surely, this master guitarist and melody-maker has more subtle tricks up his sleeve on the remaining songs on Paint a Room. - Zak Mercado
FEELING FIGURES
“Swimming”
Montreal’s Feeling Figures are wasting no time: after releasing their debut LP Migration Magic late last year on Perennial Death / K Records, they’ve announced their sophomore effort, Everything Around You. Their catchy, arty brand of rock thrives on the interplay of co-lead guitarists and vocalists Zakary Slax and Kay Moon, and the first single “Swimming” carries this on. The two trade vox duties verse-for-verse, meeting with double-falsetto harmonies in the middle, while their guitars meld into weird chord voicings and a wicked pairing of distortion and crunchy jangle. The irrepressible coolness of the music is matched only by the lyrics, evocatively intoning about sense perception, listlessness, and Plato’s cave. This album promises to be a bit more intentional and hi-fi in its recording than their debut; but we’d listen regardless since the songwriting core is as good as ever. - Matt Watton
MABE FRATTI
“Quieras O No”
At the turn of the century, musical genres like classical, ambient and world seemed destined for the musical dustbins of pop culture history. No longer. Mabe Fratti is part of an explosive rise in artists who are reinvigorating genres assumed lost to black-tie fundraisers and clubs with two-drink minimums. What makes "Quíeras o No" a highlight of the Mexico-City based composer's revelatory new album, Sentir Que No Sabes, is Fratti's voice, which adds connective sinews to the esoteric anatomy of the native Guatemalan's work. Warmly plucked double-bass and bending synths provides a stark canvas for Fratti's yearning, lilting voice. It's the siren call of an artist whose work is as beguiling as it is intoxicating. - Benji Heywood
MELT-BANANA
“Flipside”
Eleven years after the release of the great Fetch, Tokyo’s Melt-Banana are set to return with their upcoming album, 3+5, out August 23rd via their own A-Zap Records. “Flipside,” the record’s lead single proves that time has not mellowed the band at all, even three decades into their career. While often imitated but never duplicated, Melt-Banana’s brand of sordid noise punk and electronically manipulated fury knows no bounds, their carnage and chaos play key rolls in their maximalist wizardry. It’s been over a decade without a new record from the band, but they’ve been far from stagnant, the duo touring year after year, honing their destruction in front of eager live audiences. “Flipside” feels like a song written with their live intensity in mind, a song that collides and contorts with the subtlety of an incoming explosion. - Dan Goldin
MJ LENDERMAN
“She’s Leaving You”
MJ Lenderman's new single "Leaving You" is a hook filled tale of a broken relationship and the emotional impact of growing up amidst difficult life lessons and their unending impact on what the future holds. He hones the territory of drawling southern rock guitar excursions amongst a rocksteady rhythm section and harmonizing backing vocals from fellow Wednedsday foil, Karly Hartzman. Lenderman's vocals find a newfound forthright strength as the story of unfolding relationships leaves quite the mark upon listener, the song urging acknowledgment of fault and failed responsibilities that haunt the past. He gives a hint of the beauty and development of his sound that Boat Songs so encouragingly leant a preview of a few years ago. Lenderman's ability to craft songs that make such a powerful connection with the listener is a true pleasure to behold and "Leaving You" leaves the audience with a tantalizing teaser for his upcoming album, Manning Fireworks, due out in September. - Kris Handel
NAIMA BOCK
“Kaley”
Giant Palm, Naima Bock’s debut solo album was among the absolute best new music of 2022, a triumphant record that paired traditional English folk together with hints of the Brazilian psych music of her childhood. At the core of her music is her immaculate voice, her words set afloat amid harmonies and a swooning grip of stunning melodies. Set to release her second album, Below A Massive Dark Land, on September 27th via Sub Pop and Memorials of Distinction, the record is every bit as beautiful while expanding on the her sonic framework. “Kaley” is a great example of that forward-thinking expansion, a song that is undoubtedly rooted in gentle folk while coming to life in vivid colors with horn arrangements and a structure that’s in a constant state of motion. There’s a detached quality to the progression as Bock seems fixated on movement, everything tied together by the utterly gorgeous vocals. - Dan Goldin
PARTY DOZEN
“The Big Man Upstairs”
My favorite part of writing for Post-Trash is being introduced to new music. I’d learned of Party Dozen last week and my life has been better since. Not only is Party Dozen two for two on singles for their upcoming record Crime In Australia, but the Australian band’s back catalog is sizeable and great. The loosely improvisational Sydney-based duo features saxophonist Kirsty Tickle and percussionist Jonathan Boule, and their new single “The Big Man Upstairs” rips. The song’s slow burn build contrast’s the chaotic groove of “Wake In Might,” a track that could very well sound like a different band altogether. “Big Man” buzzes in its opening, finds its height in Tickle’s saxophone, and settles in the wake of Boule’s steady beat. It’s an excellent part in a pair of stellar singles that give us a reason to look forward to more Party Dozen. - Patrick Pilch
PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE
“Lie In The Gutter”
There’s something so admirable about Peel Dream Magazine’s refusal to settle. The project, led by LA-by-NY multi-instrumentalist Joe Stevens, heavily leaned into a kraut-gaze aesthetic for 2019’s Agitprop Alterna, pivoting to a more sunny strain of chamber pop on 2022’s Pad. “Lie in the Gutter,” the first single from PDM’s upcoming full length Rose Main Reading Room, synthesizes everything so far. Motorik grooves frame pastel synth progressions as vocalist Olivia Babuka Black takes center with buttery Saderien intonations, a calling card to the band’s Agitprop era. The new track takes its name from an Oscar Wilde quote: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” The new Peel Dream Magazine is certainly something to celebrate, and just another good reason to keep looking at those stars. - Patrick Pilch
Further Listening:
200 STAB WOUNDS "Gross Abuse" | CASSIE RAMONE “Sweetheart” LP | DOM SENSITIVE "R&D" | THE DRIN "Tomorrow's Just Laughin'" | DUMMY “Nullspace” | EASY BRUISER "500 Days of Bummer" | FUCKED UP “Another Day” | GEL "Persona" | GUT HEALTH “Separate States” | HEEMS "Manto" (feat. Vijay Iyer) | HOUKAGO GRIND TIME “Cruel Grinder’s Thesis” | HUMAN IMPACT "Destroy To Rebuild" | ISMATIC GURU "Heroes"| KIM GORDON "ECRP" | LAND OF TALK "Magnetic Hill (Acoustic)" | MAITA "Breakup Song x3" | MEERNAA “Make It Rain” | MEGAN THEE STALLION "Paper Together" (feat. UGK) | MINT FIELD "Una flor sin interior" | MOPE GROOVES "Forever Is A Long Time" | NEGATIVE GEARS "Connect" | ØKSE "Three Headed Axe" | OPTIONS "Had My Share" | PACK RAT "Sleepless" | PACKS "Audiotree Live" | PEARL & THE OYSTERS “Side Quest” | PORCHES “Itch” | RAZ FRESCO & DJ MUGGS "Blow The Spot Up" | THA GOD FAHIM & NICOJP "Snakes" LP | TRUE OPTIMIST "Mental Health" | UNIFORM "This Is Not A Prayer"