by Dan Goldin and Louis Pelingen
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.
ADRIANNE LENKER
“Happiness (Live)”
With the first single leading up to the release of Live at Revolution Hall on April 24th, Adrianne Lenker treats restraint with a warm hug. “Happiness (Live)” is simple yet touching, with soft guitar strums rubbing against Lenker’s eye for detail, taking all sorts of small ephemera with a gentle smile. It’s happiness in its purest form, always present, even if things decay over time. - Louis Pelingen
ARTIFICIAL GO
“Circles”
Less than a year after their debut album (a favorite of ours from 2024), Cincinnati’s Artificial Go are back, and their sound has evolved. While Hopscotch Fever was primarily rooted in bouncy post-punk and minimalist no wave indebted pop, the band’s second album, Musical Chairs, continues to expand their vision, keeping the tightly coiled charm of their debut, but opting for something much brighter. Lead single “Circles” weaves together the band’s sprightly strengths and charismatic appeal with a perfectly resonant dream-pop core. From the blissful nature and massive hooks of the opening verse to the canine friendly chorus, Artificial Go sound utterly phenomenal as they blur genre lines with energetic joy. - DG
BLOOD MONOLITH
“Apparatus”
What can be said about Blood Monolith’s new single that can’t be instantly felt upon first listen? The band -comprised of members of Ulthar, Undeath, Genocide Pact, Nails, and beyond - have risen from the depths of evil’s destruction to demolish everything in sight… or so it would seem on “Apparatus,” our second taste of their upcoming album, The Calling of Fire. From the false serenity of the introduction to the blistering buzzsaw riff and neck snapping rhythms, the band shake the listener around like a ragdoll in the mouth of Cujo. The sheer force is an assault on the senses, but pick this one apart and every element is as triumphantly putrid as the next, a sonic bloodletting of thick demonic dexterity. - DG
ERICA ESO
“With a Candle Light Another Candle"
Stuttering drums and glossy synth melodies careen over “With A Candle Light Another Candle,” the second single from Erica Eso’s upcoming album, Songs In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand. Their experimentation swirls throughout the song, turning Weston Minissali’s breathy vocals into an echo chamber as cascading synths and beats bounce off in a stimulating fashion. It’s a freakishly exciting track, with its eccentric details colliding into a mesmerizing sound collage. - Louis Pelingen
FINOM + PORRIDGE RADIO
”Audiotree Live” + “Live on KEXP”
One week, two exceptional live sessions, courtesy of Finom at Audiotree and Porridge Radio at KEXP. One has nothing to do with the other aside from both being essential documents of two exceptionally great bands.
Finom have spent much of their time touring since the release of last year’s Not God, the duo of Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham joined by Vivian McConnell and Spencer Tweedy to create a complex and commanding vision of art pop that feels as much about collective friendship as it does intricate compositions. Seeing the band live is mesmerizing, the quartet lock into swelling harmonies, motorik rhythms, and a flurry of the band’s boisterous charm throughout a catalog digging set book ended by selections from Not God.
Porridge Radio may be coming to an end (following their welcomingly expanding tour dates) and it would seem undeniable that they’re going out on top, the band proving to be at the height of their powers on Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me and its companion The Machine Starts To Sing, a pair of indie rock gems that are equal parts nervy and gorgeous. The group’s KEXP session is a must watch, highlighting the band’s occasionally stream-of-conscious structures and the gripping sentiment found in Dana Margolin’s raw emotions. - DG
SALT
“Sour Strain”
Sure, SAULT may have released a new album this past week, but let us not forget that Salt also announced their latest album, The Books Are Blue. Set to be released next month to coincide with the band’s upcoming tour together with Noble Beast, there’s a beautiful sense of depth found in Jonathan Nankof’s songwriting. “Sour Strain” is sparse and dejected, yet loaded with subtle hooks that have kept it on repeat over here. There’s a gorgeous thread that runs through the song, a sunken melody that moves between the guitar’s radiant minimalism and the gentle but resonant vocals. While the shifts in dynamics come with an understated brilliance, there’s plenty of nuance to be found in the way the song unfolds. - DG
STRESS POSITIONS
“Human Zoo”
It’s rare to hear Chicago’s Stress Positions play at a tempo that doesn’t threaten to scramble your brain, but on “Human Zoo,” the title track to their upcoming album, they’ve peeled things back (ever so slightly) and it’s a real delight. Still every bit as heavy and violently unhinged, the riffs sting instead of thrash, the drums (dare I say) groove, and Stephanie Brooks’ vocals find space to curdle before our ears, frantic but not to the point of obliteration. It’s a vicious ripper of a song played at half speed (at least relative to Stress Positions) and the political dismay hits even harder. - DG
WRETCHED BLESSING
"Decalcified"
Wretched Blessing, the experimental metal duo of Kayhan Vaziri (Yautja, Bursting) and Rae Amitay (Immortal Bird) return with Psychic Barrier To Entry, their second EP in as many years, a ruthless fusion of shapeshifting technicality and monstrous brutality. While their debut was a great introduction to their carnage, this one feels like a step up, their creative partnership blooming with an eruption of grinding filth and impenetrable density (just wait until you’ve heard the record in full). “Decalcified” is a winding beast of metal’s extremes, rarely staying in place as Wretched Blessing dig through sludge and primal death metal touchstones to create something unique and inherently unholy. - DG
Further Listening:
3 WOMEN "Significance of Place" EP | BLACK BUTTON "Your Past Ends" | BOLDY JAMES & REAL BAD MAN “Come Back Around” (feat. dreamcastmoe) | BOLDY JAMES & REAL BAD MAN “It Factor” (feat. El-P) | THE BUG CLUB “How to Be a Confidante” | COFFEE STAIN "Good Bad Taste" EP | COUCH SLUT "Live at Roadburn 2024: The Couch Slut Brunch Hour" LP | CRYPTOPSY "Until There's Nothing Left" | DAZY & MILITARIE GUN "Tall People Don't Live Long" | DERADOORIAN "No No Yes Yes" | FAN CLUB "Ain't No Saint" EP | FIB "You Ruined Everything" | GOLD DUST "Whatever's Left" | GOON "Closer To" | GRAILS "Strange Paradise" | GRUESOME "A Darkened Window" | HEAVEN'S GATE "Tales From A Blistering Paradise" LP | JEANINES "On And On" | KILYNN LUNSFORD "Nice Quiet Horror Show" | KNUB "Bogus Remedy" | LIGHTHEADED "Same Drop" | LITTLE MAZARN "The Gate" | M(H)AOL "I Miss My Dog" | MIKE & TONY SELTZER "Prezzy" | PERSONALITY CULT "Anger" | SAULT "10" LP | STATIK SELEKTAH "The Louvre" (feat. Rome Streetz, Joey Bada$$, Westside Gunn & Stove God Cooks) | SUPED UP “No Ghost No Problem” | TAN COLOGNE "Cloud of Mirrors" | THA GOD FAHIM & NICHOLAS CRAVEN "Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 10" EP | THA GOD FAHIM & NICHOLAS CRAVEN "Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 11" EP | TLOOTH "Too Calm" | THE VACANT LOT "Creatures of the Night" | VUNDABAR "Life Is A Movie (Water From Your Eyes Version)" | WAXED "Big Blind" | WESTSIDE GUNN "Heels Have Eyes" EP