Review: Fuzz Meadows ‘Orange Sunshine’
Rarely does a band deliver a debut album brimming over with such imagination, aggression and tenderness but also with an added freshness to their genre, and this is one of those. I don’t say this lightly but after my initial first run through of these five tracks, I am blown away by Fuzz Meadows and have become an instant fan.
Their early King Crimson meets Fu Manchu riffage is something else with its sensitive use of feedback and harmonics plus also how interesting and dynamic this whole album is. There really is nothing I can criticise about this, their debut album Orange Sunshine. Listed as psych rock it is unfair to limit the band to one genre, there is a lot going on here that meets with stoner and post-rock too.
Kicking off with You Are The Void (great title) which is completely instrumental that offers us an intense listening experience from the off, fraught with melody, light and shade, and sheer anger. Taking us to the limit emotionally this is a great introduction to what these Melbournians are all about and where the rest of the record goes. If you are familiar with Brisbane’s Deafcult and their album Auras, a shoegaze delight, this is its 2nd cousin. Fuzz Meadows are a much heavier and intense band but drawing from a similar pool. Generally, it is hard to replicate the volume and strength of a band live on record, but whoever produced this gem has nailed it.
glistens with delay, glassy reverb, and that wall of sound standing proud and strong…
Reach takes us down a notch with a hypnotic riff and again an instrumental, reminding me of Ferment era Catherine Wheel. The title track Orange Sunshine glistens with delay, glassy reverb, and that wall of sound standing proud and strong. Screaming leads, amidst thunderous drums takes you further into the atmosphere. Amazingly for their power, this is a 3-piece band with Dom on guitar, Louis bass and Prince on drums and what a lovely racket they make. Encompassing all human emotion on a record isn’t easy and the boys have conquered that on their debut, no mean feat.
Death Echo and Benji finish off this release, never once letting the side down and maintaining a high standard throughout. So rather than me continuing to gush about this album, I suggest you read the band’s description of their sound which proclaims, ‘monolithic instrumental songs that are both crushingly heavy and transcendently beautiful’. You can’t argue with that.
Label: Copper Feast Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Tim Keppie
