by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Welcome to FUZZY MEADOWS, our weekly 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 from around the web. 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.
*Disclaimer: We are making a conscious effort not to include any artist in our countdown on back-to-back weeks in order to diversify the feature, so be sure to check the "further listening" as well because it's often of top-notch quality too.
BIG | BRAVE | “Of This Ilk”
The world may be cold and unforgiving but at least we have Big | Brave in it to create beauty from the heaviest of dissonance. “Of This Ilk” is the second colossal single from the trio’s upcoming album, Vital, due out later this week via Southern Lord. The song opens with a crushing riff, short and resonant, pausing and repeating like a reflection of impending doom. There’s so much intensity in the pairing of Big | Brave’s minimalist carnage and Robin Wattie’s gorgeously primal vocal wails, and “Of This Ilk” drags it through the sludge.
MCKINLEY DIXON | “Chain Sooo Heavy”
Richmond, VA’s McKinley Dixon is ready to release his latest album, For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her via Spacebomb in a few weeks and the record’s third single “Chain Sooo Heavy” highlights the raw capabilities of both his flow and lyrics. The album’s opening track is set to jazzy live piano and drum production and Dixon absolutely sprints and swerves over it with a great dexterity that examines perceived expectations, familial relations, and the idea that one has to live up to what others expect you to be. From massive tongue twisting flows to warped moments of psychedelic soul, Dixon crushes this track, changing shapes with every passing verse.
PACKS | “New TV”
There’s a certain kind of stoned joy that comes with every PACKS single, and one that’s ever radiant throughout their upcoming album, Take The Cake. Due out next month via Fire Talk, the record’s third single “New TV” is built on that same woozy mystique that makes Madeline Link’s song so infectious. Chilled out yet never boring, the drums stutter around, the guitars come in and out of focus, the warble of the recording accenting the syrupy downer vibes that sit somewhere between bands like Helvetia and early Cat Power.
REDMAN | “80 Barz”
Redman is a true hip-hop legend and he often doesn’t get the credit he deserves. His early albums laid much of the blueprint for punchline rap. While it’s been some time since he’s released a classic, he is set to release a sequel to 1996’s Muddy Waters LP later this year. The announcement came with the debut of “80 Barz,” a track that is very much eighty bars, no hook. The sparse beat gets progressively harder, allowing Redman to run wild with non-stop punchlines, rattling them off with his gold sense of humor in the way only he can.
SOUR WIDOWS | “Bathroom Stall”
Leave it to Sour Widows to create what could be the year’s most beautiful song out of the turmoil of addiction loss. “Bathroom Stall” is profoundly stunning, a song that feels heavenly despite its dark subject matter, like an act of transcendence in place of grief. I’ve gone on about it before, but the Bay Area trio write singular songwriting masterpieces, building a world through soft and thoughtful progressions and jaw dropping harmonies. “Bathroom Stall” does this better than any, from the contemplative introduction and the brushwork percussion to the perfect combination of Maia Sinaiko and Susanna Thomson’s voices. They work their way toward the song’s incredible crescendo, with every moment building triumphantly to the next.
SUPREME JOY | “Body Contact”
Cool Ghouls’ latest album At George’s Zoo is easily one of my favorite albums released so far this year and the band’s own Ryan Wong is already preparing his next record, this time under the name Supreme Joy. Together with a collective of Denver based musicians, Wong created Joy to deal with identity crisis amid isolation, capturing it all to tape. Lead single “Body Contact” is a big lo-fi power-pop song, one built on the classics with feedback and fuzz soaked in at every turn. It’s a fun way to remember wasted days amid distorted shredding.
Further Listening:
April 5 - April 11:
ANNIE BLACKMAN “Why We Met” | CALIFONE “Family Swan” (Mecca Normal cover) | COLONIAL WOUND “I” | CONWAY THE MACHINE “Blood Roses” (feat. Jae Skeese) | THE CRADLE & FRANK/IE CONSENT “No Memory Foam“ LP | CRIMSON BLUE “Crimmy The Latest” LP | CRUMB “Balloon” | CRUMB “BNR” | HEALTH PLAN “Post Traumatic Growth” | HUSHPUPPY “I’m At Home With You (Remastered)“ JAPANESE BREAKFAST “Posing in Bondage” | L’ORANGE & NAMIR BLADE “Point to Point” (feat. Quelle Chris) | LOU BARLOW “Over You” | MICHAEL BEACH “Metaphysical Dice” | MOGWAI “Ceiling Granny” | NAVY BLUE “Durag Anthem” | OSEES “It Killed Mom” (Levitation Session) | PARDONER “Bunny’s Taxi” | PERFECT ANGELS “Orchids Are Not Sold” | PORTUGAL. THE MAN “Lay Me Back Down (Oregon City Sessions) | RED FANG “Arrows” | RED RIBBON “Way” | ROSALI “Pour Over Ice” | SEPUTUS “Phantom Indigo” | SINEAD O’BRIEN “Kid Stuff” | SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE “Somewhere in the Hexagon of Saturn” | SORRY “Twixtustwain“ EP | TAPE DECK MOUNTAIN “Hush” | V.V. LIGHTBODY “Really Do Care“ | WESTSIDE GUNN “Stain”
April 12 - April 18:
ALGAE DUST “Grasp” | ANJIMILE “In Your Eyes” (feat. Jay Som) | BEHAVIOR & MAYAKO XO “Horseshoe” | BIRDS OF MAYA “BFIOU“ | BLACK SABBATH “Am I Going Insane (Remaster)” | CHUBBY AND THE GANG “Lightning Don’t Strike Twice” | COLONIAL WOUND “Degradation” EP | CONWAY THE MACHINE “Scatter Brain“ (feat. J.I.D. & Ludacris) | CULT OF DOM KELLER “Lyssa” | DUCKS LTD “As Big As All Outside“ | FIONA APPLE “Love More” (Sharon Van Etten cover) | FLYING FISH COVE “Xuxa” | FULL OF HELL “Auditory Trauma: Full of Hell Isolation Sessions“ LP | GREAT DECEIVERS “Orbit” | HENNEN “Auto-Pilot“ | JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD “Garbage Man“ | JENNY LEWIS & SERENGETI “GLTR” | JEREMY RAY “For Katie“ EP | KING AZAZ “Let Yourself Out“ | LA LUZ “Tale Of My Lost Love” (Female Species cover) | LIZ PHAIR “Spanish Doors” | LOW “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door“ (Bob Dylan cover) | M.A.Z.E. “Spread The Germicide” | NATURE’S NEIGHBOR “Shades of Yesteryear” | NO JOY “Kidder - From Heaven” | PERFECT ANGELS “Exit From The Extra-World” | PORRIDGE RADIO “Wet Road“ (Scout Niblett cover) | QUICKSAND “Inversion“ | SNOOPER “Pod“ | SOFT BLUE SHIMMER “Emerald Bells” | T. HARDY MORRIS “The Digital Age of Rome” | T-TOPS “Palomino” | THIS NEW BASEMENT “Zebra Speak“ | ULNA “Too Loud“ | YOUR OLD DROOG “The Glitch“