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.

ANIKA | “Finger Pies”

While Anika has stayed busy with three Exploded View records in the past five years, it’s been over a decade since the Berlin based artist has released a full length from her solo project. Her self-titled release is rightfully considered a classic in certain circles, setting a new blueprint for nervy post-punk, poetic minimalism, and shadowy art-pop. The wait for the next record is nearly over with a new single “Finger Pies” leading toward a future release. “Finger Pies” picks up on the charm Anika has built her sound on, with a vibe clouded in mysterious synth bleeds and thick grooves, as motorik rhythms envelope everything. Anika’s spoken word dialogue and melodic verses converge to create a dynamic quality that some could really take notes on.

AUGURY | “Augury EP”

Augury is the best kind of surprise release, one you had no idea was coming, but now that it’s arrived, it’s all you hoped for. Less a band and more so a pair of songs from Winded’s Thrin Vianale and Steve Hartlett (Ovlov/Stove), the story goes that they were both outside one day, one in Florida, the other in Connecticut, when they watched the sky get enveloped by crows. Pretty spooky if you ask me. They were frightened though, they instead both wrote gorgeous songs about the experience and the eerie coincidence that the both spotted this occurrence so far apart from one another. Both take a literal approach to the songwriting, reflecting with a strange feeling of interconnectedness. Thanks to all them damn crows, we get two great new songs and all the proceeds benefit Trans Lifeline.

CZARFACE & MF DOOM | “Super What?” LP

Originally set for release in 2020 before the devastating passing of MF DOOM, the trio of Czarface (the legendary Inspectah Deck, Esoteric, and 7L on the beats) teamed up once again with the metalface super villain for their second collaborative effort, Super What?, out now via Silver Age. Much like the Czarface Meets Metalface album before it, the three MCs sound like they are having a blast, rhyming circles around comic book culture and boom-bap glory. Songs flow directly into one other with patchwork production that hits hard and loose, allowing DOOM to do his thing in great company. While it feels like a posthumous release due to timing, this one isn’t a cut and paste effort, and while DOOM might not feature on every track, he does deliver some gems that sit with his finest work.

MELKBELLY | “Prehistoric Worm”

Bandcamp Friday really delivered with surprise releases this past week, among them a new single from Chicago’s dependably incredible Melkbelly. Just over a year on from the release of PITH (which feels like a lifetime ago due to… circumstances), the band have been able to reconvene with the result being “Prehistoric Worm”. While the song’s brief and detached intro would suggest something combustible in the way we all know Melkbelly are more than capable of, the song actually takes a mellower approach, but still brings their signature noise vs melody magic in full force. The riffs rip, the rhythms are wild, and Miranda Winters’ vocals strewn with abstract lyrics and a tangled delivery. It’s understandable to have high expectations for new Melkbelly music, this songs meets them all.

MUI ZYU | “Pour A Brain”

As a huge fan of both Dama Scout releases, we’re thrilled about the introduction of Mui Zyu, a new project from London’s Eva Liu. “Pour A Brain,” the first single, instantly pulls you into its world, one that’s slowly building, intrinsically disorienting, and most of all, gorgeously dreamy. The stubbed bass notes rattles and contorts, the dark and doomy atmosphere a juxtaposition for Mui Zyu’s comforting vocals. As cracks in the walls begin to appear, swelling strings and artistic guitar distortion color in the spaces, each pull of the composition perfectly manicured to the slow dripped melodicism of the vocals. The song’s lyrics are heartbreaking but resilient, taking downtrodden emotion and bending it to new shapes.

PET FOX | “More Than Anything” EP

After two great albums in two years time, Boston’s Pet Fox return with More Than Anything, a short but sweet EP featuring three songs that prove the band get better with every release. The trio of Theo Hartlett (Ovlov), Morgan Luzzi (Ovlov), and Jesse Weiss (formerly of Grass Is Green, Palehound), have created songs that really toe the line between modern rock accessibility (these would be “radio hits” in a just world) and artistic complexity. The songs on More Than Anything approach the soaring fuzz and feedback of shoegaze but in a way that remains resoundingly clean. Everything can be heard, each note and beat delivered for maximum impact, with the songs themselves and their well-crafted structures the radiant force emitting from these rippers.

PHILARY “Uh-Oh It’s Me” LP

Surprise! There’s a new Philary album out in the world, and if you liked 2019’s I Complain, you’re sure to find a lot to love on Alex Molini’s (Pile/Stove) second full length. Uh-Oh It’s Me is another set of monstrous sludge and sugary hooks, blending together into something that’s as crushingly heavy as it is sticky sweet. There’s a great deal of animosity running through the record, questioning the validity of feelings, and the urge toward indifference. With riffs that blast and (at times) kind of boogie, there’s a sense of aggression that maneuvers between dense and caustic noise rock and post-hardcore, with synths and filtered vocals that keep it swirling into alien lo-fi. It’s a fun one to dig into, with all the abrasion our hearts desire.

SQUID | “Bright Green Field” LP

If you only have room to embrace one buzz band, let it be Squid (but make some more room, as sometimes it’s well deserved). After a string of exceptionally great singles and then an EP that didn’t quite live up that promise, Bright Green Field is the bold and chaotic masterpiece full length we were always here for. The bands mix of wonky motorik rhythms, art-rock influences, and punk abandon come together brilliantly throughout an unapologetic record of songs that are both hypnotic and ruthless. It’s “psych rock” for a generation of shattered mental states, a never ending parade of delusion with a cosmic persistance. With one of the best agitated yelps there is, Oliver Judge’s croons and shouts blend together seamlessly, a rollercoaster of sonic and mental disparity. The manic outpours coupled together with the band’s locked in grooves make for one of the year’s best records.

TEKE::TEKE | “Shirushi” LP

Shirushi, the debut full length from Montreal’s TEKE::TEKE is a wild amalgamation of sounds, a perfect vision brought to life by a seven piece band where every element plays an essential part in the cinematic wonder. While we’re late to the part, the band released their album this past Friday via Kill Rock Stars, a boiling mix of traditional Japanese instrumentation, surf-rock, retro psych, no-wave, punk, and maybe a touch of free jazz and noise rock. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and it’s incredible. It could come across as gimmick, but TEKE::TEKE’s music is the embodiment of sincerity, and yet again, it’s pretty incredible. With vocals performed entirely in Japanese and inspiration from Takeshi ‘Terry’ Terauchi’s guitar playing, the band slink between unglued chaos and horn assisted soul, sultry one moment and boisterous the next. It’s a must listen.

UPPER WILDS | “Love Song #2”

There are a lot of people that can get their guitars to sound really cool. Then there is Dan Friel, who has been operating at another level for damn near two decades between solo records, the enigmatic Parts & Labor, and most recently with the cosmic rippers Upper Wilds. Set to release their third album, Venus, this July via Thrill Jockey, the lead single “Love Song #2” is a blistering surge into another realm that starts near full blast and then seemingly obliterates the riff of the introduction in a way that Upper Wilds always do, yet always feels colossal. Friel’s vocals always add a unique element to his raw and ragged, his voice almost verging on folk anthems if it wasn’t resonating over a violent collision of enormous hyper-space riffs and stampeding rhythms.

Further Listening:

APRIL 26 - MAY 02:

MAY 03 - MAY 09:

Fuzzy Meadows: The Week's Best New Music (April 26th - May 9th)