Written in the aftermath of a breakup, Twisted Teens’ fourth album is a cynical examination of romance. In it, frontman Caspian Hollywell analyzes and often judges his actions and mistakes, speaking in cryptic yet accessible plainspoken verse.

Deerhoof remains unabashedly progressive, ambitious, exciting, and, most importantly, weird. Divine Schism is the group’s first fully self-released album, and in the wake of last year’s decision to pull all of their music from Spotify, another step in their conscious move away from the Music Industry (whatever that is).

For years, Emma Ruth Rundle has stripped away emotional distance, her work living in a vulnerability that is both beautiful and violent. Her latest studio album, These Killing Times, magnifies that bruising. She continues to claim her ground, but this round, she isn't exhaling alone.

Yoni Wolf is always longing for something that’s out of reach, and he continues that on his latest release, Oh Golly / Yes Lord. The ninth WHY? album heads in a significantly more electronic direction with the Cincinnati native pouring out his familiar brand of neurotic negativity before arriving at gratitude. 

Las Vegas sasscore / dance-punk hybrid band Spring Breeding were touring across the country in late August and early September in support of their ever-dynamic new album Backflip Soundtrack. After their set, the band lingered around to talk about some of the influences that went into the sound. 

After a solid foundation of singles and EPs going back to 2023, Starcleaner Reunion have outdone themselves with their luminous debut LP, Umbrella. Their indie-pop/motorik infusion balances retro-futuristic nostalgia with Euro-chamber pop arrangements, summoning the likes of Stereolab and Broadcast.

When he’s not rocking in the alt-country band Friendship, Peter Gill is the primary songwriting force of power-pop rock unit 2nd Grade. On their latest, the band seemingly takes The Beach Boys’ “California Girls” and stretches it across an entire record, investigating the unending world of Girls and Boys.

On Balance, Pet Fox’s fourth full-length, Theo Hartlett’s songwriting has sharpened into a muscular beast, prodding into emotions that struggle to close metaphorical distances with a tender complexity. 

Across its three songs, Big Life, Big Leaf runs just over fifteen minutes. That isn't a lot of music, but there's plenty happening. Each song has its own personality but they fit together without sounding like unrelated ideas.

Welcome to FUZZY MEADOWS, where we recap the past week (or several weeks) in music. We're sharing our favorite releases in the form of albums, singles, and music videos along with the "extended listening" section of new and notable releases worth your attention.

Can you write playful but not overly precious guitar tunes? How much twee is too much twee? For decades, bands around the globe have attempted to walk this tightrope, with mixed results. Enter ascendant Texas band Paper Jam, who may have solved this riddle with This and That.

DISCOMBOBULATED is both more sophisticated and organic sounding than the previous two records, with more of a jazz, folk and ambient influence than their previous electro-pop stylings. There is still a krautrock feel in places, mainly due to Richard Dawson’s treated electric guitars.

Greg Freeman’s music has always felt original, the synthesis of genre, melding of musical minds. This record has hit a high water mark of his best musical qualities, bridging the gap between folk, punk, and Americana, with “ramshackle” splattered all over like a Pollack.

Complete B Sides is a well-justified act of self-canonization. Call it the Jurassic period of indie rock or what have you, but Complete B Sides recalls a different time when the Pixies briefly ruled like no other band, before the meteorite of corporate alternative rock destroyed that era.

Cor de Lux has never shown to be anything but itself. With Year of the Horse, the North Carolina based four-piece took their post-punk and shoegaze sound and gave it a total makeover. The record shows the band's strengths sonically, a beautiful progression from their earlier projects. 

With no advance single to speak of the record shines as a unit, with every songwriter firing on all cylinders. The group sound more dynamic this time around, with a fuller sound owing to the magic ears of recording engineer and label owner Al MacFarlane.

Believe it or not, with the deluxe edition of 12 Golden Country Hits being thirty-six songs long, there were yet more tracks intended to be included on the reissued record that didn’t make the cut. Now we have Golden Wastes, four more previously unheard tunes. 

Secret to Spare is the debut full length from Jawdropped, a power-pop quartet that relentlessly surges and occasionally bounces their way forward amid emotional songwriting. Many of the tracks highlight coming-of-age moments while looking forward to the future with skewed optimism. 

With a new album seemingly imminent, the duo of Wes Kaplan (guitar, vocals) and Julian Fader (drums) return with “Miranda,” a propulsive song that opens with a brash onslaught of drums, knotted chord progressions, and a general kaleidoscopic chaos to their noise pop sound.

With a cavalcade of instrumentation ranging from saxes to synths to violins, violas, cellos and straight samples, alongside the traditional framework of a modern 'band' - drums, bass, guitar - and amazing vocals, it is utterly unique and alive; boisterous but mindful; concise yet exuberant.

Scour Order is another installment in a long body of work defined by virtuosic instrumentality, shrieks, and growls, but it stands on its own within their vast discography. It’s still a riff-labyrinth cemented on trembling ground but there’s a steadiness that gives the sense that the band wants the edifices they’re building to stand tall.

The dream pop sound that was once pigeonholed as Stereolab worship has blossomed into something much more intentional. Guitar tones have more depth; drum machines hit harder; the overall instrumentation is at once focused and bursting at the seams with ideas.

On In Yun, Barker masterfully plays with the tension of an album that is about love, dedicated in part to lovers, named after a Korean concept about an indelible connection between people, and at the same time is written, recorded, mixed and performed by a lone individual.

Two minutes. That’s all the time Totalitär needs to blow your face smooth off. The Swedish d-beat legends return nearly twenty years later with a self-titled record, picking up right where they left off  with sheer force.

Twenty-five years ago, Unwound left behind Leaves Turn Inside You, a defining record of experimental rock and post-rock, one that still echoes through the genres today, newly remastered and reissued once more by Numero Group.

The Indianapolis five-piece stick to the slow and steady path that's been laid out before them, but the band's third album carries the torch for American death-doom to new emotional peaks.

Lily Seabird spoke about her album being a right place, right time scenario. A perfect, dark, yearning collision of moments aligning spawned a record that really takes root and grows inside you with every listen. It gives voice to the brooding thoughts, the modern angst, and the ever-painful feelings of loss.

Eleven years after their debut, the trio has once again reunited to cultivate the overall spirit of their sophomore album, Linda’s Head. A delightful surprise, their comeback encapsulates a feeling of reconnecting with friends from the past and seeing where they have ended up. 

Punk doesn’t need to sound perfect. There is enough perfect sounding music out there—everything cleaned up, polished, and scrubbed down until there is nothing dangerous left. Give Rat Cage the opposite. Give the world something loud, messy, pissed off, and alive.

Welcome to FUZZY MEADOWS, where we recap the past week (or several weeks) in music. We're sharing our favorite releases in the form of albums, singles, and music videos along with the "extended listening" section of new and notable releases worth your attention.