by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan), Niccolo Porcello (@hont_dog), and Pat Pilch (@apg_gomets)
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 late hours of the night and semi-unedited... but full of love and heart. The list is in alphabetical order and we sincerely recommend checking it all out. There's a lot of great new music being released. Support the bands you love. Spread the word and buy some new music.
CRUCIFLYS
“They Became What They Beheld” LP
If you look at Bo Orr’s music projects on a spectrum that ranges between the cosmic post-punk visionaries Arbor Labor Union on one end and the grindcore legends Dead In The Dirt on the other, then his latest project, Cruciflys, would seem to reside somewhere in the middle. They Became What They Beheld is the debut album from the new Atlanta based trio - comprised of Blind Ouroboros (aka Orr) and the enigmatic rhythm section of Ocular Vitality and R.S (perhaps Arbor Labor Union’s Rob Sarabia), a punk rock ripper that dips into hardcore and anarcho-punk at times. Heavy and unpolished, there’s a sense of immediacy to every song, pouring with disdain that feels much like a cathartic exorcism from the crusty occult. Built on reckless riffs and a combustible sense of tongue-in-cheek aggression, Cruciflys’ find a way to balance skull crushing savagery and brainy art punk in perfect harmony. - DG
EXEK
“You Have Been Blessed”
Just before EXEK released their incredible seventh album, Prove The Mountains Move, into the world, the Melbourne sextet shared “You Have Been Blessed,” a post-punk song at its absolute dreamiest. Skipping across the air with skittering dub influenced drums and blissed out synths that blanket the otherwise nimble composition, the song is a reminder that EXEK remain in a class of one. There’s something so feral about it and yet the song is essentially a soft focus ballad, manipulated and serene, but seething with a surrealist sort of non-urgency. From the rubbery bass to the jazzy structures, “You Have Been Blessed” is a calm exploration of art punk dexterity delivered with all the peacefulness of a gently rushing stream. With the stress of the world threatening to bury us on a daily basis, EXEK find a way to capture that anxiety and subvert it, presenting a vision that’s both kaleidoscopic and psychedelic with an unusual subtlety. - DG
FIF
“The lower forty eight” LP
The lower forty eight is the debut album from New York City’s Fif, an absolutely jaw dropping record that feels designed to floor the listener, continuously pouring fresh concrete over you as it steadily evolves. Written over the course of fourteen years by Fiona Gurney, the end result is an odyssey of minimalist post-hardcore, stampeding math rock, and gorgeous progressive textures that seem to contract and detonate in equal measure, often with little warning. Gurney’s songs feel as though they could be influenced by the likes of Don Caballero, Slint, Axes-era Electrelane, and King Crimson, and yet Fif’s music doesn’t really sound like any of those bands at heart. The core of the record revolves around a dueling sense of repetition and unpredictability, the song’s themselves luring you into a hypnotic state while fracturing in unexpected directions. Released this past week via Sad Cactus Records, this could be one of the year’s best kept secrets (but go ahead and yell about it to anyone who will listen). - DG
FRANK HURRICANE
“Roadside Traveler Blues”
We can all learn something from Frank Hurricane, the nomadic spiritual traveler whose own folk legend feels on par with say Johnny Appleseed but with more “shrymp”. With new album Southern Shrymp (In the Big City) due out on March 27th via Nudie Records, Hurricane invites us to ponder the sage wisdom of his world on his latest single “Roadside Traveler Blues”. Built on rolling acoustic guitars and lonesome whistling, the sentiment of the song can be rooted to the opening line’s back half, as Hurricane sings “trying to have some fun in a world that’s finna blow”. With a breeziness that feels like tumbleweed drifting across the arid plains, we’re brought along “to travel the spiritual pathways of the world” in a warm drink assisted stumble, moving toward love, peace, and light in due time, if we can just keep it together on the great trek to get there. - DG
GUNNER
“M.D.D.” + “Here Come The Warm Jets”
There is a disproportionate amount of incredible hardcore and punk bands in Perth, Australia compared to the rest of the world. With that said, along comes GUNNER, a band that arises from the brain bleeding wake of SEMTEX 87, set to release their debut album Reality Soldier on March 13th via Helta Skelta (Cold Meat, Streets of Separation, Hacker) and Iron Lung Records (Dimension, Mental Slaughter, 80HD). The band’s first two singles - “M.D.D.” and “Here Come The Warm Jets” are impenetrable, a ruthless onslaught of harsh noise and dense riffs that are pushed so far into the red the gauge snapped off long ago. There’s a brutality caked into the distortion that rings like a bulldozer scooping out your brain matter while the vocals are howled with an unhinged ferocity, a character study of those who have been cast aside as worthless in a society that fails to recognize the need for those who stand as individuals within our communities. This is that eat-you-alive brand of hardcore at its filthiest. - DG
HEN OGLEDD
DISCOMBOBULATED
The patchworked oddity that is Hen Ogledd's third record is timeless yet unmistakably modern. On DISCOMBOBULATED, Dawn Bothwell, Rhodri Davies, Richard Dawson, and Sally Pilkington attempt to make sense of the nonsensical present, building a world as foreign as it is familiar through thoughtfully accessible arrangements and careful reflection on our world gone awry. While distinctly British, Hen Ogledd’s latest has a universal feel, incorporating what inherently connects us; our humanity. Contributions from family members, legendary predecessors, animals, and even elements clash and corral on DISCOMBOBULATED, one of the most made-on-Earth records you’ll ever hear. DISCOMBOBULATED is out now via Domino imprint Weird World. - PP
LANDOWNER
“Assumption” LP
Landowner’s monumental fifth LP Assumption finds Dan Shaw and his pugilistic band at their sharpest yet. Throughout Landowner’s discography the band pummel and wail alongside droll lyricism; on Assumption the tension is ratcheted even tighter and thus the band cohere into full sail. “Normal Returns to Normal” is the opus, where an unforgettably catchy progression works its way through the song expanding until it lives inside you as Shaw’s yelps get more and more insistent. Those exhortation’s on Assumption are the miracle of Landowner: on“Endless Rent” the titular subject matter takes on a claustrophobia, all while Landowner’s unparalleled musical core (guitarists Jeff Gilmartin and Elliot Hughes, bassist Joshua Owsley, and drummer Josh Daniel) play freely, manhandling and manipulating. “Parapet Wall” lives on a knife’s edge, and album opener “Assumption” kicks things off with a right hook. There is not a single wasted moment on this album, among the rarest things you can find. Every track finds Landowner at the apotheosis of the form, before they manage to scale yet higher highs. Go enjoy the ride. Assumption is out now via Exploding in Sound. -NP
STATION MODEL VIOLENCE
“Station Model Violence” LP
Everything about Station Model Violence’s debut album feels refreshing. With a line-up that includes members of Total Control, R.M.F.C., Diät, and Den among others, the Sydney based arrived fully formed, the surefooted songwriting of their self-titled album immediately apparent as they careen between monumental post-punk and enormous psychedelic garage wizardry in a way that feels patient, the band building toward something special as the album unwinds. Pairing together mesmerizing motorik rhythms with a graceful melodic dissonance and a penchant for drop-out exploration, the record uses a slight of hand to make serrated edges feel smooth. Stand out tracks like “Heat” and “Leisure” highlight the band’s respective ability for both sprawling atmospheric cosmic krautrock and caustic rusted post-punk. - DG
STUCK
“Deadlift”
“Deadlift”, the second single off of the Chicago trio’s upcoming Optimizer is an absolute howitzer of a track. Rollicking and unrelenting in the verse, nimble and shreddy in the bridge and chorus, “Deadlift” is an instant classic in an already deep catalogue. Tim Green’s propulsive drumming takes center stage here, but on a song ostensibly about hitting the gym, Stuck have a surprising amount to say and cover a ton of territory. Taken alongside first single “Instakill.” Stuck are venturing further afield sonically than ever before and the results are immensely compelling and, frankly, sick as hell. Perhaps too soon to make the call, but “Deadlift” really should be at the top of the playlist for the first windows open day. Optimizer will be out March 27th via Exploding in Sound. -NP
TELEHEALTH
“Cool Job”
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a band as thematically dedicated as Seattle’s Telehealth, a band that rises from the cubicles and corporate structure to bring the world the “post-information pop” we all need. It’s been three years since the band released their debut album, but the Telehealth organization has officially launched a merger with Sub Pop (The Bug Club, Weird Nightmare, Lala Lala) industries to usher in their next high earnings report, Green World Image, on May 15th. Campiness aside (though it does play a pivotal role), Telehealth make great new wave inspired art punk that’s as catchy as it is clever. Case in point, new single “Cool Job,” a synth pop song that bubbles on a low simmer with carnival melodies and futuristic squiggles that color around the edges. In the same way that Devo predicted the devolution of our society, Telehealth are here to usher in our sad modern state of affairs. - DG
Further Listening:
February 16 - February 22:
1000 RABBITS “Virgin Soil” | A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS “Everyone’s The Same” | ALAN SPARHAWK “JCMF / No More Darkness” | ANKHLEJOHN & WHOA1.0 “State Property” | BILLY FULLER “Rummer” | THE BUG CLUB “Watching The Omnibus” | CANDARIAN “Skull Drilling Exorcism” | COLA “Hedgesitting” | COMMITMENT “STD” | D. SABLU “Righteous Light” | DIMENSION “Society’s Poison” | FAILURE “The Air’s On Fire” | GOON “Audiotree Live” | HEATHER THE JERK “Scroll If You Love Devil” LP | HYPER GAL “Null” | THE ICHIBAN DON “Ice Cube (Budamunk Remix)“ (feat. 7xvethegenius) | JAY WORTHY “Visions” (feat. Method Man) | KILLER MIKE “Spying Eyes (Smiling Faces)” | LA SÉCURITÉ “Bingo” | MAL DEVISA “Enough Apologies” | MENTAL SLAUGHTER “Mental Slaughter / Annihilated” | MY WIFE’S AN ANGEL “American Dream” | NADSAT “A Nice Relaxing Bath” (feat. Eugene Robinson) | PEARL “Act Like Sisters” | RINGING “want2want2” | SONNY FALLS “Healthy, Maybe” | STEPMOTHER “Slice of Life” | THURSTON MOORE & BONNER KRAMER “Urn Burial” | WENDY EISENBERG “Old Myth Dying”
February 23 - March 01:
BLACK BEACH “Secret World” | BOLDY JAMES & ROME STREETZ “Manhunt” EP | CHEEKFACE “Hostile Street” | THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM “The Golden Egg of Empathy” (feat. Willow) | COURTNEY BARNETT “Mantis” | CRYPTWORM “Infectious Pathological Waste” | DOG CHOCOLATE “Fun Is Always Brilliant” | GUIDED BY VOICES “We Outlast Them All” | INOCULATION “Earthbound” | JUST PENELOPE “Feel So” | JUVENILE “B.B.B.” (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) | KING TUFF “Invisible Ink” | LIQUIDS “I’m A Chemical Threat” | LUPO CITTÀ “Can’t See” | NOVA ONE “I Can’t Remember Your Face” | POPULATION II “Margouilleux” | QUELLE CHRIS “Happy Place” EP | SEASON 2 “Becomes A Dream” | THE SPATULAS “Flowers” | TOADIES “The Charmer” | TV STAR “Out Of My Bag” | UPCHUCK “Last Breath” | THE WOMACK SISTERS “You Went Away Too Long” | WRETCHED BLESSING “How Deep Is Your Love” (Calvin Harris & Disciples cover)