by Dan Goldin
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.
GRACE ROGERS
“Mad Dogs” LP
Kentucky based songwriter Grace Rogers released her debut album, Mad Dogs, last week and we can’t stop listening. I already wrote a bit about it in last week’s “Out This Week” column, but it’s such a phenomenal record, that one little blurb simply won’t do the trick. Listening to the record in full (as one should) proves that Rogers is an incredibly dynamic songwriter, each song adding to the whole, a tremendous blend of Americana, folk, and indie-tinted country music. From the captivating tangle of the up-beat “Tranquility” to the brisk and pulsating title-track, Rogers moves from one highlight to the next. Then there’s “Smoke ‘Em,” a monstrously catchy and twangy country pop gem that feels ripped from the John Prine songbook in its timeless quality and it’s campfire sing-a-long hook.
MOONTYPE
“Starry Eyed”
I Let The Wind Push Down On Me, the second album from Chicago’s Moontype, is due out at the end of this week and it’s fantastic, an indie rock record with art pop dexterity and more than anything else, a true sense of vision. “Starry Eyed” is the last pre-release single, a song that gives the quartet a chance to sprawl out, embrace open structures, and dig into their fuzzier inclinations with warbling bliss. Margaret McCarthy (vocals, bass) has one of the most mesmerizing voices in recent memory, reflecting and refracting, her words dreamy but her delivery is captivating. As the band dip in and out of textural dirges, they find a surrealist sweet-spot, the song’s structure simultaneously pushing and pulling.
PILE
“Born At Night”
The incomparable Pile remain masters of their craft on Sunshine and Balance Beams, a new full length, due out August 15th via Sooper Records (Luke Titus, NNAMDÎ, Sen Morimoto), a record that’s both bruising and beautiful. That balance has always played a pivotal role in the shape of Pile’s music, taut and explosive one moment, calm and sweeping the next, knotted yet human. With gorgeous production from Miranda Serra, the band release the record’s lead single “Born at Night,” a rollercoaster of disorienting shuffles and gentle melodies that come head to head with a brick wall of abrasion and tension. Kris Kuss’ drums are dazzling as they come unglued, stampeding with a sense of subtlety in his own signature way. The song takes an amorphous shape with a gnashing sense of control.
ROME STREETZ & CONDUCTOR WILLIAMS
"Rule #4080"
A year after collaborating with Daringer on Hatton Garden Holdup, Rome Streetz is back at it, this time teaming up with the great Conductor Williams (Boldy James, billy woods, Stik Figa) for a new full length, Trainspotting. Due out on May 30th via Mass Appeal (Nas, Ghostface Killah, Statik Selektah), the pair preview the highly anticipated collaboration with “Rule #4080,” a song that equates the pitfalls of record contracts with slavery, as “whips and chains” takes duel meanings. The song truly finds both MC and producer at the height of their respective games - Conductor flipping an old spiritual into a fluid haze of sharp drums and bubbling keys while Rome Streetz runs rampant, spelling out self-preservation as someone who grinds for fortune over fame.
WHITNEY’S PLAYLAND
“Long Rehearsal”
San Francisco indie-pop band Whitney’s Playland are back with Long Rehearsal, a new EP due out June 20th via Meritorio (The High Water Marks, Exploding Flowers, Oh Boland) and Dandy Boy Records (Autos, Ryli, Kelley Stoltz). While their fantastic debut album was recorded as a duo, the band has since expanded to a quartet, resulting in a fuller sound and expanded range. Led by Inna Showalter (Magic Fig) and George Tarlson, the band retain their blissful charm on the record’s title track, a sugary sweet yet delicately arranged jangle pop song about reconnecting with an old friend. Avoiding repetition in favor of brevity, the hooks are strong but sparse, a phrase here, a melody there, but an unshakeable glow throughout.
Further Listening:
ALAN SPARHAWK & TRAMPLED BY TURTLES "Not Broken" | AUNT KATRINA "Peace of Mind" | BETH GIBBONS "Tiny Desk Concert" | BLEARY EYED "Susan" | BLONDE REDHEAD "Before (Choir Version)" | BOLDY JAMES & YOUR BOY POSCA "Nancy Botwin" | THE BUG CLUB “Appropriate Emotions” | CHE NOIR "Who's The Greatest" (feat. Elzhi) | CRYPTOPSY "Malicious Needs" | DOCENTS “Shadowboxing” EP | FUGITIVE "Spheres of Virulence" | HEDONIST "Execution Wheel" | HELMET "Live on KEXP" | JEANINES "What's Lost" | LIGHTHEADED "The View From Your Room" | LITTLE MAZARN "Dark Pleasure of Endless Doing" | MASTA KILLA "Eagle Claw" (feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna) | MCLUSKY "Autofocus on the Prime Directive” | NEPTUNE'S CORE "Audiotree Live" | NO JOY "Bugland" | PEARL & THE OYSTERS "Sous la lune mandarine" | PINK SIIFU "Alive & Direct’!" | PYGMY LUSH "February Song" | SCIENCE MAN "Animals" | SELF IMPROVEMENT "Scam" | STEVE QUERALT "Messengers" (feat. Verity Susman) | SUBSONIC EYE "My iPhone Screen" | THANKS FOR COMING "The IRS No Longer Has My Address, And Neither Do I" EP | TONER "Raja Ali" | WPTR “Taylor & Burton”