by Dan Goldin, Matt Watton, Patrick Pilch, Selina Yang, 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.
ANNA MCCLELLAN
”Like A Painting”
Anna McClellan is without a doubt one of my favorite songwriters. Her music blends the beauty of singer/songwriter intimacy with an untethered freedom, giving the sour notes equal emphasis as the sweeping elegance of her thoughts. Four years after the release of the stellar I Saw First Light (one of three McClellan albums we’d argue are generational masterpieces) and a move from Omaha to Los Angeles, she’s back with new single “Like A Painting”. The song captures the brilliance of her lyrics, at once introspective and surrealist, singing “a puddle jumped into me, into my clothes,” as she visualizes herself in confident transformation, “like a painting dries and then it sets”. The structure moves between sparse piano, vibraphone, and auxiliary percussion, accenting the shifts with a detached tenderness. - Dan Goldin
THE BUG CLUB
"Lonsdale Slipons"
Freshly signed to Sub Pop, the unrelenting The Bug Club, hailing from Wales, have announced a new record and dropped a couple of singles. The second of these singles from On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System, continues demonstrating their ability to mix imagery with humor and style. “Lonsdale Slipons,” whether norm-core or your British Grandad’s cheap acquisition at Sports Direct are gloriously plain sneakers. The narrating in the single, a call to dance in those shoes, either to oneself or in the imperative second person, suggests supplementing sneaker grooving with substances. The professional simplicity of the mini-riffs/hooks of the guitar and rhythm section all meld together to do what The Bug Club does best—get you moving. - Zak Mercado
ERIK NERVOUS
"R'G'M" (Bob Seger cover)
Erik Nervous, the prolific midwestern rocker, is embarking on a European tour with less-prolific but no-less rocking Citric Dummies. Never one to miss an opportunity to release new tunes, Nervous has dropped “R’G’M” as a kind of tour announcement song. He plays the part of his own hype man with aplomb. The song channels less tongue-in-cheek, egg punk vibes than you might associate with Nervous’ earlier work, and instead leans into the classic cock rock vibes on a Bob Seger cover: chunky distorted chords, pummeling drums, and a couple of wailing guitar solos. I’m getting hints of Jay Reatard and Thin Lizzy. The vibes here are immaculate: cheery, rousing vocals and uplifting, melodic guitar rock. Best of luck on the upcoming tour! - Matt Watton
PANDAGOLFF
”LEGO DE GO”
pandagolff is a Tokyo-based band that rips in technicolor flashes of static. Their latest single “LEGO DE GO” proves the young band’s mastery of suspense. As one of their most stripped down tracks, “LEGO DE GO” starts with a dark solo bass groove. Machiko Takagi’s (vocals, bass) irreverent 90s punk chants then slide into the head-nodding rhythm, melting ordered precision into synthesized distortion. At their earliest, the band located themselves within “industrial techno-punk”. On their last album, IT’S NOT FOOD!! (2023), they douse electricity with a grunge stain. Recently, pandagolff evolves the biting sarcasm of Le Tigre with the eclectic hip-hop collage of ESG and Kraftwerk. “LEGO DE GO” soundtracks a paranoid summer night, and is hypnotic in its restlessness. - Selina Yang
TENSION PETS
”Magnolia (She’s Back)”
Tension Pets’ debut tape Cubey is due out July 11th, and the EP’s third and final single is a total peach. “Magnolia (She’s Back)” is Cubey’s arguable centerpiece and inarguable anthem. The song is a thrilling, chorus-teasing burn that makes it easy to relish in its highs. Bassist Brian Weza (Richard Album and the Singles) occupies the verse space while drummer Wendy Zeldin (Mandy, Pussy Foot) colors it all in on the chorus. Tension Pets’ motley absurdity operates at peak camaraderie on “Magnolia,” a track where gang vocals are as vital as its deliberate arrangements. Davey Hart’s (The Christmas Bride, Wishgift) hyper-drive guitar commands melody, and by the time Jeff Graupner (The Hecks) hits the high “she’s,” we got a winner. The Chicago mega-group’s upcoming EP is a doozy, and “Magnolia” is an especially impressive standalone single. - Patrick Pilch
WHITE COLLAR
“Equal Wrongs”
White Collar are locked in, channeling the essence of punk musically, aesthetically, politically. Emerging from the far reaches of Western Canada, the band embodies a self-assured, no-nonsense energy with short, poignant rippers that are lacerating and agro and stark. “Equal Wrongs” is a stuttery hardcore attack. It doesn’t overwhelm with noise but instead marches along with plodding exactitude. Furious beats stream in and out, while guitars pelt you with measured precision. Vocalist Loosey C. monopolizes your sound-space with a throaty growl laden with vitriol and righteousness. The song is a feminist screed that would make Valerie Solanas smirk. Part anthem part manifesto, all punk. Their self-titled 12”, to be released on July 26 by Static Shock, promises to be a real treat. - Matt Watton
Further Listening:
ARMOR "Afraid of What's To Come" EP | ASSISTERT SJØLMORD "Toxicity" | BILLIAM "My Metronome / Segaworld” | CAPPADONNA "Fire & Brimstone" LP | CHUBBY AND THE GANG "To Be Young" | KENDRICK LAMAR “Not Like Us” | KILLER MIKE "Humble Me" | KOSMETIKA "Fish" | LACERATION "Strangled By Hatred" | MAGIK MARKERS "A New Kind of World" LP | NATE TEREPKA "The Woods" | NIGHTSHIFT "Sure Look" | ONEIDA "La Plage" | SCREENSAVER "Permanence" | SPODEE BOY "Moonshine Canyon" | SUMAC "The Stone's Turn (Ravon Chacon Remix)" | TOTAL HELL "Satanic Fist" | TWICE EYES "Miracle Drug"