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.
DEERHOOF | “Damaged Eyes Squinting into the Beautiful Overhot Sun”
It seems almost impossible to say after all these years, but Deerhoof’s upcoming album, Future Teenage Cave Artists might be their best. Due out at the end of the month, the record is full of noisy brilliance, avant-garde pop, and all the mutant funk, soul, and punk that trickles its way into a Deerhoof record and comes out as something entirely their own. There’s a vibrancy to it that radiants from songs both overblown and those that feel more subtle. The record’s latest single “Damaged Eyes Squinting…” is on the surreal end of the spectrum, but still glistening with signature Deerhoof unpredictability. The tranquility is rather gorgeous, the hook rhythmically making an impression before unraveling from there with spectacular warmth and an undeniable glow.
DEHD | “Loner”
Chicago’s Dehd are a certifiable buzz band and their hot streak looks to continue with sophomore album, Flower of Devotion. Due out in July via Fire Talk Records (Pure X, Monteagle, Mamalarky), the lead single from Dehd is inescapable, a song that’s been stuck in my head since the very first time I heard it. “Loner” and the band’s new record, takes a slightly different approach than their debut, opting for a pouty sort of twang reminiscent of Mary Jane Dunphe’s work in The County Liners and Pinocchio. There’s a strange and alluring quality to it, mesmerizing and infectious with short, hook-filled, lines that are accented by a distressed howl. Everything feeling warped and dusty, but structured in a cloud of dreamy pop, that resonates long after the sun has set.
OHMME | “Selling Candy”
“Selling Candy,” the third single from Ohmme’s upcoming album, Fantasize Your Ghost, opens with a raw, rough and tumble, guitar line. It’s the kind of minor toned build up that pits against the duo’s soaring harmonies so well, providing tension that’s pushed further by the polyrhythmic drums. Everything cracks and beams out of time, just as intended, and structure gives way to chaos, but not without its own sense of beauty. There’s an expectation that the song will resolve, work itself back into the sliding and knotty riff, coming together once more with the well-stretched vocals, but it never does. Ohmme push “Selling Candy” to the breaking point, and let it crumble under the weight. It’s incredibly satisfying and part of what makes their new album an early favorite.
PARSNIP | “Treacle Toffee World”
Melbourne’s Parsnip have released a new EP, the fantastic Adding Up, this past Friday via Anti Fade Records (R.M.F.C., Primo!, Alien Nosejob). For anyone that’s been struggling with the our global pandemic situation, let this record be a brief respite. It’s hard to feel anything but joy with Parsnip’s four new songs, a mix of ultra sweet power-pop, lo-fi punk, twee, and garage psych. In celebration of the release the band shared a quarantine made video for “Treacle Toffee World,” their cover of the long lost The Fire nugget. It’s as sweet and sugary as the title suggests, and it’s refreshing to see the band having as much fun as they are, even in isolation.
STUCK | “Scared” (Demo)
Stuck’s full length debut, Change Is Bad, is one of the best records released so far this year. The Chicago quartet’s masterful blend of intelligent noise rock and post-punk oozes together in a way that feels primal and immediate but also carefully crafted and shaped to perfection. Just a month after that release we get a peak behind the curtain of a new song, the “Scared” demo, courtesy of Attic Salt Records’ charity compilation, Compilation 1. The demo finds Stuck doing what they do best, building harrowing dissonance over a dense and layered landscape, barren and cold, abrasive and utterly compelling. While “Scared” is only in its demo stage, the song feels developed and full of corrosive bliss.
Further Listening:
ADVERTISEMENT “Pretty Money” | APOLLO BROWN & CHE’ NOIR “Hustle Don’t Give” (feat. Black Thought) | BLUE RAY “Piss Truck“ | BUILT TO SPILL “Tell Me Now” (Daniel Johnston cover) | CAVE IN “Shake My Blood” (Acoustic) | CONWAY THE MACHINE “No One Mourns The Wicked” LP | THE DUKE OF SURL “Breakin’” (feat. Matt Gibbs) | ELLIS “Pringle Creek” | GROCER “Little Splash” LP | KATIE VON SCHLEICHER “Brutality” | KIDBUG “Theme From Kidbug” | THE MIAMI DOLPHINS “Canada My Home Manitoba” | MISTER GOBLIN “And Feeding” (feat. Maggie Schoolbus) | MISTER GOBLIN “Calendar Dogs” | MRS. PISS “Downer Surrounded By Uppers” + “Knelt” | NEIL YOUNG “Try” | OMNI “The Stranger” + “Art For Art’s Sake“ | PLEASER “Are You Listening To Me?“ | POTTERY “Hot Heater“ | THE RENTALS “Information (And The Island In The Sky)“ | SILVERBACKS “Muted Gold“ | SKELETON “Catacombs” | THANKS FOR COMING “POV: You Are My Phone And I Am Having The Time of my Life With The Garageband Beat Sequencer“ EP | UNDERER “1:19”