by Dan Goldin and Patrick Pilch
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.
KAL MARKS
“Wasteland Baby”
There are songs in Kal Marks’ catalog that could be described as crooners. While pessimism lies heavily at the core of their writing, the band have never shied away from the impact of a reserved ballad here and there. Hell, some of their finest material falls into this category (“Coffee, “Today I Walked…” etc). “Wasteland Baby,” the title track from their upcoming album (due out this Friday) isn’t exactly a tranquil song, but Carl Shane is most definitely wearing his heart on his sleeve. The album’s thematic conclusion, the song is a love letter to Shane’s wife and Kal Marks bandmate, Christina Puerto, rippling through the apocalyptic landscape driven by profound and unconditional love. As Shane howls “every day’s a good day by your side” it comes piercing through the noise, a glimmer of hope in a rotten world. - DG
MAMMOTH GRINDER
“Undying Spectral Resonance”
It was a triumphant week for metal with new music from Enforced, Ripped To Shreds, Undeath, Living Gate, Maul, Pyrrhon, and the long awaited return to putridity courtesy of Austin’s one and only Mammoth Grinder. Set to release Undying Spectral Resonance, the band’s first new EP in five years, on November 15th via Relapse Records, the Chris Ulsh (Power Trip, Impalers, Quarantine) led band’s sound remains a cosmic swamp of disarmingly aggressive death metal. The record’s lead single and title track oozes with primal decimation, from the bludgeoning riffs to the hardcore influences that creep into the rhythmic density. With an impenetrable momentum thats equal parts sludge and cavernous brutalism, the band’s blend of crusty punk and knuckle dragging death metal is in a brilliantly corrosive shape. - DG
NAIMA BOCK
“Feed My Release”
Sometimes we all need an escape from the ugliness of the world, a reminder that beauty is there if you choose to seek it out. Naima Bock’s music is as beautiful as it gets, her voice the perfect warmth, gentle but impactful, weary yet strong. With Below a Massive Dark Land due out September 27th via Sub Pop, “Feed My Release,” the record’s latest single is a stunning reminder that we all make mistakes but to let it go, learn and move forward. Slinking with gorgeous acoustics, jazzy horns, and immaculate harmonies, Bock’s melodic construction is second only to her phenomenal voice, wrought with reflective emotion and a wistful resolve. Folk music at its most lush and serene, Naima Bock’s latest is steady footing for the all too often shaky times. - DG
ROME STREETZ & DARINGER
”Starbvxkz”
Rome Streetz is one of underground hip-hop’s coldest MC’s, his lyrics eloquently grimy, dexterous in delivery but always hard. Likewise, Daringer is one of underground hip-hop’s rawest producers, his beats built on no frills ultra-tough loops and neck snapping drums. The duo come together on Hatton Garden Holdup, their upcoming collaborative album, a solid gold pairing that pays tribute to the glory days of “coke rap” while paving their own path in the dirt (much like Daringer’s 2022 record with Mayhem Lauren). “Starbvxkz” is consumed in softly out of focus keys, reverberating like a plume of smoke under Rome Streetz’s flagrant and braggadocious bars, separating the bums from the abundance. - DG
S.H.I.T.
“Rotten Column”
I’d never heard S.H.I.T. until “Rotten Column” stopped me in my tracks. So I went to the Toronto hardcore band’s Bandcamp and scrolled to find a collection of one offs, EPs, live performances, and demos stretching back to 2012. Jackpot. That’s what Fuzzy Meadow is all about. This is just as much a plug for “Rotten Column” as it is an endorsement for S.H.I.T.’s entire discography, but the band’s new single is inexorably ruthless. They should have called themselves diarrhea, because once they get going, S.H.I.T. don't stop. - Patrick Pilch
STIFF RICHARDS
“GFC”
Four years after the release of the exceptional State of Mind LP, Melbourne’s Stiff Richards have returned, their blistering garage punk remaining triumphantly reckless. “GFC,” the band’s new single is a earth shaking anti-capitalism ripper, built on both righteous indignation and a stampede of chaotic hooks. The a-side to their upcoming single (out October 10th via Legless Records / Drunken Sailor), torpedoes out the gate, throwing beer soaked haymakers toward societal greed and the global financial crisis (GFC) that fucked the economy worldwide, leaving a wake of endless inflation. Sheer momentum, raw rock ‘n’ roll excess, and amp rattling riffs keep Stiff Richards in a perpetual groove as they shred with an unhinged charm. It’s music intended to be played at full volume, preferably in a residential area. - Dan Goldin
THANK
“Do It Badly”
While we were still chuckling at “listen up ‘cause this is important, we’re the headliners, Sheer Mag is supporting,” a hilarious jab at Sleaford Mods’ rampant insecurities and inflated egos, Thank went ahead and announced their second album, I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed. Due out on November 8th via Big Scary Monsters, the Leeds noise rock experimentalists share “Do It Badly,” a song about half-assed achievements (and something or other about Kyle MacLachlan). Yelped with a deranged immediacy, even if the lyrics aren’t inherently forthright, Thank pulsate over a cracking drum beat and psychedelic organ swells, teetering between brilliance and insanity, the whole thing a dirge of anxiety and a reckless sense of sordid humor. - Dan Goldin
Further Listening:
BLACK BUTTON "Living Velvet" | BLACK ENDS "Black's Lullaby" | BODEGA "N.A.S.S." | BOLDY JAMES "Super Mario" | BUÑUEL "Fixer" (feat. Megan Osztrosits) | THE CARP "Toxic Peace" | CHAIN CULT "Harm Reduction" | CLOSETALKERS "Inferno" | DUMMY "Minus World" | ENFORCED "A Leap Into The Dark" | THE EUROSUITE "Twelve Dipthongs" | FACING "Water" | FORTY FEET TALL "Good For You" | THE GREEN CHILD "Wow Factor" | HUMAN IMPACT "Corrupted" | HYPER GAL "OOParts" | JANE WEAVER "Univers (French Version)" | THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN "Pop Seeds" | JOHN DAVIS "Indifferent Stars" | KURIOUS "Untainted" | LAWN "Sweet (Live! at Ukie Club)" | LEAFING "Circling" | THE LENTILS "That Living Edge" | LERRYN "You Are My Love" | LIVING GATE "Hunting Maggots" | LUNAR VACATION "Fantasy" | MAUL “Spontaneous Stigmata” | MEMORIALS "Book Stall" | MJ LENDERMAN "Wristwatch" | MO DOTTI "Whirling Sad" | MOUNT EERIE "Broom of Wind" / "I Walk" | NAKED ROOMMATE "Fight Flight" | OCS "Dreadful Heart (Live)" | PARTY DOZEN "Coup De Gronk" | PRISON AFFAIR "Demo IV" EP | PYRRHON "Exhaust" LP | RANSOM, CONWAY THE MACHINE, & V DON "Chaos Is My Ladder 2" LP | RIPPED TO SHREDS "孽鏡臺 Visions Of Sin, Mirror Of Darkness” | RITCHOT TEXTILES “Heaven" | SHE KEEPS BEES "Eight Houses Live / Demos" LP | SLEATER-KINNEY "Here Today" | SPIRAL XP "Sinner" | SUCCESS "Second Edition" EP | THA GOD FAHIM & CORMEGA "Prolific Pen" | UNDEATH "Disputatious Malignancy" | WEEZER "Undone - The Sweater Song (Third Practice)" | THE WICKIES "Baby Maria"