by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan)
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.
AGE OF PEACE
“Ode To Life” LP
We’re a week late to featuring Ode To Life, the debut album from Cincinnati’s Age of Peace, but time isn’t real and this album is well worth your attention. The duo of Angie Willcutt and Micah Wu (who both play in the fantastic Artificial Go) trade in the jangle pop and post-punk sound of their main band for something more meditative this go round, but the personality of the band still radiates with a warm glow. Minimalist and direct, Age of Peace make art folk with rolling melodies, lulling vocals, and lo-fi charm. Willcutt’s vocals do much of the heavy lifting, curling and elongating notes as she swoon’s in time with the tape warped melodies to create the most beautiful of acidic fever dreams. With a romantic sense of wonder and a soft elegance to it, Age of Peace pair kaleidoscopic visions with a tender heart.
HANNAH COHEN
“Golden Chain”
A year after the release of Hannah Cohen’s utterly gorgeous Earthstar Mountain, the New York based songwriter returns with “Golden Chain,” a gentle acoustic song with subtle hooks that sparkle like sunshine on a calm ocean. With an intimate recording and a close harmony that feels full of life, the song captures both the playful side of Cohen’s music and the sincerity, providing tranquility in its lush yet skeletal arrangement. With a vocal progression that recalls “Across The Universe” at times, Cohen weaves between celestial slow-drip folk and a breezy croon as she sings about the importance of “doing the work” and wanting to mean more to you than “those internet girls do”. It’s a beautiful song with a simple desire and worth a download as all proceeds benefit Trans Lifeline.
HEATHEN AXE
“Heathen Axe” LP
Sort of like a garage punk version of Godzilla, John Dwyer cannot be stopped. The Osees mastermind spits out bands and collaborative projects as he pleases, crushing villages and smoldering cities in the process… or you know, banging heads and melting brains, however you want to look at it. Heathen Axe, his latest band, is everything the world needs right now, blown out, unfiltered, deep-friend psych punk with the volume knobs pushed beyond the red. Together with Tom Dolas (Osees, Mr Elevator) and John Hodge, the band play In the style of Comets on Fire or Ethan Miller’s equally rambunctious Feral Ohms, this is boogie down skull full of acid psych, expansive but primal, caveman punk that bleeds with distortion and reckless grooves. It’s fun, it’s wild, and it’s likely to decimate eardrums live (please let there be live shows).
MAXSHH & CRIMSON BLUE
“Neither-Handed” LP
I had intended to include Neither-Handed, the new split release from Western Mass’ Maxshh and Crimson Blue, but seeing as Ben Parra wrote a full review of the record, published today, you’re better off reading that. Give this record a listen, it’s off the wall dexterous, bugged out and engaging, and most of all, it’s a damn good time spent with two friends capable of bending reality as they see fit.
MIA JUNE
“Pet”
Following an EP and a stand-alone single last year that were as brilliant as they were understated, Melbourne’s Mia June returns with new single “Pet” and there’s nothing subdued about it. Released via Father/Daughter Records (TV Star, Mui Zyu, Anna McClellan), the latest from Mia Deriu and her band is a visceral ripper, built on low end and haunting guitar progressions that would feel at home on PJ Harvey’s Dry. While the strength of Deriu’s vocals and the ominous thud of the guitars offer an impenetrable weight to “Pet,” the song is able to swarm while retaining the sense of minimalism that was abundant on Brain Like Computer. If this is the direction that Mia June’s next release is headed in, consider us eager to hear what comes next.
MOCK EXECUTION
“Democracy Shoved Up Your Ass” EP
Sometimes an album’s title is capable of painting all the picture you need. Chicago’s Mock Execution have returned with Democracy Shoved Up Your Ass, out via Unlawful Assembly (Brainwash Victims, Wiccans, Necron 9) and it’s every bit as furious and depraved as the name suggests. This is hardcore played with violence and crust embedded in its DNA, a righteous scourge on the political system played at maximum volume and velocity. What’s immediately noticeable about Democracy Shoved Up Your Ass beyond it’s reckless nature is the upgrade in fidelity from the band’s previous releases. The band’s music is still raw and caked in filth, but the recording captures that disgust in resonant detail. There’s a dangerous contents-under-pressure sensibility to the songs, bludgeoning like a maniac with sledgehammer caught in a tornado.
NINA WINDER-LIND
“This Is Our Life”
Last year saw the release of The New Eves’ tremendous breakthrough album, The New Eve Is Rising, a record that found the UK based quartet seamlessly blending twangy post-punk, avant-folk, and cello accented art rock with astounding results. While all four members contribute to the vocals, cellist/guitarist Nina Winder-Lind’s brilliant vibrato is often at the center. After a busy year, Winder-Lind returns with a new solo single, the first since her 2023 EP, The Spirit Is Carnal. “This Is Our Life” feels cut from a similar cloth as The New Eves, a folk song that seems built to shake you to your core. That is until the first verse gives way and Winder-Lind erupts into a seismic refrain, a sweltering warble of sunshine pop. crashing drums, and genuine hook splattered splendor.
Further Listening:
THE ALCHEMIST & BUDGIE “Prosperity Gospel” (feat. Knucks) | ALEX G “Good Green Friend” | ANKHLEJOHN & V DON “King, Pawn & Rook” (feat. Crimeapple) | ASTRAL SWANS “No Home Left in the Heart” | ASTRIFEROUS “Arcane Demonomania” | BAD HISTORY MONTH “Lizard People” (Dust From 1000 Yrs cover) | BIG K.R.I.T. “Sunset Vet” | THE BUG CLUB “A Good Day For Dying” | CHANGE LIFE “Smile” | CHEEKFACE “MFT” | THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM “Melody of Entropy” | COPROLITH “Possessed by Incoherent Violent Suggestions” | CRAVEN IDOL “Nadir of Mountains and Seas” | DOWNTOWN BOYS “You’re a Ghost” | DUCKS LTD “Easy Come, Easy Go” (feat. Martin Courtney) (Grant McLennan cover) | EDITRIX “The Big E - Demos (sped-up)” | FAKE DUST "Neural Frame Network" | FRANCES CHANG “No Avatar” | GUN OUTFIT “Whiplash” | THE HOBKNOBS “Easier Listening” | HOLIDAY MUSIC “I Didn’t Say A Word” | HOLY MOTORS “Heaven’s Night” | HORSE LORDS “First Galactic Utopia” | INOCULATION “Live In Cleveland” EP | J. ZUNZ “Osiris” | LIE IN RUINS “Paralyzing Visions of Horror” | LOOSE FIT “Cracked Whip” | MARBLED EYE “Fade Away” | MOPAR STARS “Feast For The Smile” | OUTER WORLD “La Dimora” | PEARL & THE OYSTERS “Doom Mood” | PINKY TEX “Palmreader” | PRISONNIER DU TEMPS “Dernier Regard” | RUNO PLUM “Audiotree Live” | SCREENSAVER “Division” | SEA MOSS & MISCOMINGS “Seacomings” | SUUNS & KELMAN DURAN “SUUNS & Kelman Duran” LP } USELESS EATERS “Contrast” | VARIOUS ARTISTS “Dot Dash MixTape Volume 4” | VARIOUS ARTISTS “teeter/totter: a see/saw benefit” | WIDEMOUTH “Hotel Pool”