"Fuzzy Meadows: The Week in Review" is a weekly round-up of the best new music premiered this week across the internet. It's a weekly embarrassment of riches, let Post-Trash be your guide. It's the weekend, here's what happened...
LEAPLING | "Alabaster Snow"
[Stereogum]
"the record’s first single, serves as an introduction to a more pointed Leapling. Arnes finds himself feeling defective and worn down, trying to pick up the pieces and figure out where to go: “Alabaster snow/ I don’t know what to do,” he intones in the chorus. “Tie me in a bow, or fix me up with glue/ I’m broken just like you.”" - James Rettig, Stereogum
BIG UPS | "Before A Million Universes" LP
[SPIN]
"Leading up to yowling choruses with misleadingly deadpan verses, vocalist Joe Galarraga, guitarist Amar Lal, bassist Carlos Salguero Jr., and drummer Brendan Finn channel recent tour mates METZ with a healthy sprinkling of half-irony in the spirit of their northern neighbors Ought; a delicate yet wild dance between hope and bitterness in greyscale tones." - Harley Brown, SPIN
HORSE JUMPER OF LOVE | "Bagel Breath"
[FLOOD Magazine]
"The track struggles and chugs against its own inertia, moving with all of the strength and tension of a freight train heading up hill. Singer Dimitri Giannopoulos sketches a surprisingly tender scene—his subject crawls into someone’s bed, he gets crumbs everywhere, the other person treats him kindly—and while the band as it rages never quite makes it up that hill, getting there hardly seems like the point." - FLOOD Magazine
PALEHOUND | "Molly"
[Stereogum]
"The video for Palehound’s “Molly” — off Ellen Kempner’s excellent Dry Food debut LP from last year — takes that age-old scare tactic and infamous PSA quite literally. It stars a cute little dude named EggGuy that gets fried up and served on a sandwich. After being eaten, he has some weird hallucinogenic effects on the consumer, which mostly involve deep thoughts about the circle of life and a lot of freaky moving images." - James Rettig, Stereogum
MAL DEVISA | "Kiid" LP
[Stereogum]
"It’s a marvel at every turn. Carr switches off regularly from soulful croons to callous raps — she excels at both, bringing her inimitable voice and perspective. She talks of displacement and isolation, exerting control and trying to establish independence. Her songs are tender and remorseful, confident and cool." - James Rettig, Stereogum
FUTURE OF THE LEFT | "If AT&T Drank Tea What Would BP Do?"
[Stereogum]
"The rumbling bass that drives this track is just so damn groovy. Andy Falkous’ controlled wails punctuate the bassline for an oddly calming effect incongruous to the punishment delivered by the drums and guitar. The disparity lulls you into a fall sense of ease before the energy skyrockets for the last 30 seconds or so with rapid drum rolls and killer distortion leading into an abrupt ending." - Collin Robinson, Stereogum
EUGENE QUELL | "Heart of Glass"
[Bandcamp]
Eugene Quell have launched a series of cover singles as a pay-what-you-want launch for his new label, Tipp City Records, kicking it off with a cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass," performed, recorded, mixed and mastered by Eugene Quell with guest vocals by Hannah Lou Clark and piano by Y Maudy 2K. All proceeds from the download go to Refugee Action.
CHERUBS | "Fist In The Air" EP
[New Noise Magazine]
"Cherubs’ strength has always been the rhythm section, pushing hard under the waves of distorted riffs. Anchored in pulsating thunder, Cherubs’ corrosive music pounds away through a fog of distortion. Fist In The Air continues this tradition with fury. The title track comes in with a surprising lighter melody, but it’s hanging in a sardonic veil. While the vocals dangle in a catchy gloss, the guitars still rock with a thick groove." - Tony Shrum, New Noise Magazine
ESKIMEAUX | "WTF"
[Billboard]
"Smith’s lyrics come from small moments in her life -- “tiny melodramas” she calls them -- but she can be a big picture thinker, too." - Chris Payne, Billboard
DAL NIENTE & DEERHOOF | "Cherubim"
[Pitchfork]
"The album features works by composer Marcos Balter with arrangements from Deerhoof's Greg Saunier. It features two longer works—one by Balter and one by Saunier (with a shorter piece by Balter between the two). There are more than 30 musicians involved. The album was self-produced, mixed and edited." - Evan Minsker, Pitchfork
POSSE | "Voices"
[Noisey]
"Seattle trio Posse asked their buddies if they wanted to be in their new video. No biggie. But the video for “Voices” involved the friends going about their ordinary lives in living rooms and workspaces while the band’s Paul Wittman Todd sits in the corner singing. It’s a simple idea and one that is strangely compelling. " - Tim Scott, Noisey
BANNED BOOKS | "Armor"
[Stereogum]
"Are cows sexy animals? I never used to think so, but the Philly-based noise band Banned Books released a new video that has me feeling some type of way about our calcium-producing friends. Just kidding. This video is terrifying. “Armor” is a song off of the band’s self-titled debut album, which was released last month." - Gabriela Tully Claymore, Stereogum
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS | “Oh No,” “Cool Sensations,” + “Gong Home"
[Stereogum]
"New York noise rockers A Place To Bury Strangers are following up last year’s Transfixation full-length with an 7″ of fucked-up and spontaneous pop songs. It’s called Kicking Out Jams. “I always wanted to have a band that would just come up with real pop songs on the spot,” Oliver Ackerman explained in a press release. “This is that minus the pop and plus the fucked up rock and roll.”" - James Rettig, Stereogum
SUUNS | "Paralyzer"
[Stereogum]
"In the video directed by Charles-André Coderre, we are haunted by the emptiness of what looks like a futuristic toxic waste plant, alluding to the song’s conceptual lyrical content. As “Paralyzer” builds in intensity through intricate, experimental synth sounds, dizzying animations and a lustful scene take us on a trip that seductively explores the song’s dark, yet passionate theme." - Sadie Bell, Stereogum
JERKAGRAM | "Cloud Builder"
[Noisey]
"Jerkagram hooked up with recorder extraordinaire Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business) and got weirder, gnarlier, dreamier, and knottier with help from Hannibal Montana’s Lucas Brode on bass. That vision is crystallized on the recently-dropped Outer Limbs, a razor sharp eight-song beast that melds the influence of the Melvins’ classic Stoner Witch with Don Caballero-like math-jazz and Tweak Bird-esque stoner metal, dousing it all in wads of guitar looping'n’noodling fuckery." - Brad Cohan, Noisey
BLACK MOUNTAIN | "Florian Saucer Attack"
[Stereogum]
"a Siouxsie Sioux-indepted, gothic take on psych rock. It’s nice when a song’s bizarre title aptly describes its content; the synths on this thing sounds like ricocheting laser beams, and the Chad Van Gaalen-animated video chronicles a day in the life of an alien." - Gabriela Tully Claymore, Stereogum
LITTLER | "Phantom Limb"
[MTV]
"Littler’s haunting “Phantom Limb” isn’t what you think. Sentimental yet driving, the buzzy track by the Philadelphia four-piece — whose latest release, Of Wandering, is out March 25 — oozes the sad spirit of lost love. Sort of." - Loren DiBlasi, MTV
GREYS | "No Star"
[Noisey]
"the band is premiering their new track, "No Star" which completely sets the tone for what's at stake sonically and emotionally in the record. "No Star" was written in response to the recent Bataclan shootings and its later affect on people's perceptions of minorities. The song bathes in anticipation and build up. You can hear in vocalist Shehzaad Jiwani's singing a kind of pure emotion. His voice matches the song in intensity, rising and growing more forceful as the track continues, before eliciting a loud-as-hell charge, blending melody with an awesome sense of noise." - John Hill, Noisey
JOURNALISM | "Faces" LP
[IMPOSE]
"For all its conceptual depth, the record’s not lacking in immediacy, either—its reverb-soaked hooks and energetic basslines press forth with a rare fervor. The band plays off the anxiety in Zema’s cool, gritty vocal melodies with fierce instrumental interludes highlighting bright twinned guitars, which on some tracks recall Let’s Active as much as they do Wild Nothing. In spite of the existential frustrations tied to being surrounded by so many contending faces, Journalism are clearly onto something, with a record that has the potential to resonate deeply." - Amelia Pitcherella, Impose
FURNSSS | "Slow Dark Water"
[IMPOSE]
"The video is a vexing slow-motion ordeal—among kids in bright garb with grotesque, overblown expressions, someone passes out and bleeds, leaving his pals wound up in hysterical laughter. Watching all of this unfold can be confounding: should we laugh with them? Is this even tongue-in-cheek at all? It’s this kind of ambiguity that energizes Furnsss’ music, so much of which deals with the woes of just trying to parse a tough world." - Amelia Pitcherella, Impose
HOVVDY | "Problem"
[GoldFlakePaint]
"Withdrawn and sullen though it is, ‘Problem‘, the lead track from their forthcoming full-length, feels remarkably familiar and ingrained, like a submerged sadness that can’t be placed, like that half-buried tug of wanting, for something, anything, else." - Tom Johnson, GoldFlakePaint
WRONG | "Turn In"
[Noisey]
"integrates a type of grit and heat born from their love of bands like Unsane and Handsome. But this isn't a band reliant on nostalgia; instead taking a foundation and building a track way heavier and charged up with their own leanings and taste. The track is quick, eager to move back and forth between breakneck speeds and slowed down refrains before charging into a sick solo. The band puts in everything you would hope for in a rock band bent on tone and grit, and it all pays out in spades." - John Hill, Noisey
BABY BIRDS DON'T DRINK MILK | "Burritos" LP
[Stereogum]
"Burritos is due out this Friday, and we premiered its first single “Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” back in January. That first single set the tone for what follows — a lush, carefully orchestrated collection of tracks that wrap themselves around you and linger there." - Gabriela Tully Claymore, Stereogum
HOLY WAVE + SHANNON & THE CLAMS | "That's Not Me" + "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"
[SPIN]
"This year marks 50 years since the Beach Boys released their iconic Pet Sounds in 1966 ... To help celebrate, Levitation founder The Reverberation Appreciation Society is releasing the compilation, A Tribute to Pet Sounds, available May 27. The collection features 15 artists, some of which will be playing Levitation, and consists of the original 13 Pet Sounds songs along with two bonus tracks: “Good Vibrations” and “Hang On To Your Ego.” The tribute album is expected in May, but you can listen now to Holy Wave’s and Shannon & The Clams’ covers of “That’s Not Me” and “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times,” respectively" - Natalie Caamano, SPIN
HOLY WAVE | "Freaks of Nurture" LP
[Consequence of Sound]
"Austin five-piece Holy Wave is certainly dreamy in a sense, but theirs is the kind of dream that’s more vivid than blurry, more present than passing. On their third studio album, Freaks Of Nurture, the band combines elements of psych, Nuggets-era garage pop, and surf rock before slathering the whole package in the requisite coat of reverb. It’s the kind of dream that would be easy to get lost in, but there’s always a warm guitar riff to guide you out of your reverie, like a ray of sunlight shining on closed eyelids." - Collin Brennan, Consequence of Sound
WHAT MOON THINGS | "Party Down The Street"
[Austin Town Hall]
"On their latest single, the band are taking a blend of darkwave electronic elements and putting on some dream pop touches. There’s a guitar sound that should definitely be familiar to those who follow a great deal of my posts (all 8 of you). This song celebrates the band working on the follow up to their heralded 2014 debut that won them some rave reviews from the likes of P4K and others." - Nathan Lankford, Austin Town Hall
MICK BARR | "Blespac (Spathages)"
[Metal Sucks]
"On March 25, Wharf Cat Records will released Blespec (Spathages) b/w Worthhnt (Rust Mine) 7”, the latest offering from always-brilliant Mick Barr (Krallice, Ocrilim, Octis, Orthrelm, etc.). Featuring two tracks that Barr created with his guitar, his voice, and nothing else, Blespec (Spathages) b/w Worthhnt (Rust Mine) 7” finds the perpetually-forward-thinking Barr continuing to push the aural envelope." - Metal Sucks
RICK RUDE | "Stromboli"
[Clicky Clicky Music]
"The clear highlight of the set is the alternately slamming and noodly ripper "Stromboli," which sits in the center of Mind Cook. The tune thrashes and bops through almost two minutes before unhinged vocals ever-so-briefly plead their case via several strands of elongated syllables. At its most cacaphonous "Stromboli" sonically hints at Pretty Girls Make Graves circa "Speakers Push The Air," but the song's genteel passages are just as important in conveying Rick Rude's playful character." - Jay Breitling, Clicky Clicky Music
CHELSEA WOLFE | "Hypnos"
[SPIN]
"a hazy, disconcerting number lifted only by spare acoustic guitar and Wolfe’s whisper-thin singing — will appear on an upcoming 7″ out on April 1 via Sargent House (alongside “Flame”)" - Brennan Carley, SPIN
CELEBRATION GUNS | "The Volunteer"
[New Noise Magazine]
"Since coming together as a quartet, Celebration Guns’ have relied upon a penchant for shifting time signatures and styles, borrowing elements of dream pop, indie rock, and noise pop. The band’s tireless effort to blend these sounds together has resulted in deceptively complex music that’s catchy and filled with earworm hooks." - Tony Shrum, New Noise Magazine
BAKLAVAA | "Dane On" LP
[Noisey]
"Dane On is comprised of material Baklavaa has been developing since 2012, and contains a raw, live-sounding energy that makes you want to run to the nearest basement show. The record kicks off with the stellar opening track, “Candy Cane,” which builds from a static hum into a pulsating post-hardcore frenzy. In Baklavaa terms, though, that frenzy is code for “calm before the storm,” as everything just get more unhinged from there." - Jamie Ludwig, Noisey
PARAKEET | "Sugar Rush"
[Stereogum]
"Parakeet are back with a new single off their official debut LP, KASA, and it’s more of the same shoegazing controlled chaos that put them on the map four years ago. “Sugar Rush” is a dense, thrashing piece of energy which only scales back for Doi’s delicate vocals to find their way to the forefront. Layers of heavily distorted guitars and bashing drums crash into each other at rapid speed, resulting in four and half minutes of unrelenting energy." - Collin Robinson, Stereogum
PITY SEX | "Bonhomie"
[Interview Magazine]
"Through lo-fi bass and muted, electronically modified vocals that suddenly burst into an upbeat, unconventional pop song, the track "Bonhomie," reflects the overall sonic explorations of the album." - Emily McDermott, Interview Magazine
SHEER MAG | "Nobody's Baby"
[AdHoc]
"The track blazes by, propelled by fuzzy, uptempo guitar riffs while Christina Halladay's brassy voice expounds on themes of independence juxtaposed with the entitlement of men. "Nobody's Baby" brings to mind the strong-willed pop anthems of Donna Summer or Gloria Gaynor filtered through the lens of a Philadelphia punk band. Its video flaunts this nostalgia, disco-ball and all." - Michael Kolb, AdHoc
SHEER MAG | "III" EP
[Noisey]
"It’s full of the classic riffs and wailing vocals you’ve come to expect to hear from Tina Halladay and her crew. It’s so fucking good, it will make you want to quit your day job and start a band." - Annalise Domenighini, Noisey
MOGWAI | "Ether"
[Pitchfork]
"The record is based on their soundtrack to Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise, a documentary aired last year on the BBC. Today, they've shared the video for "Ether" from the record, featuring footage from the documentary. The clip begins in monochrome with clips of microscopic cellular activity, segues into footage of the natural world, and concludes with images of human activity, kitchen appliances, and melting ice caps." - Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork