Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Impulses is an emoji-happy Pittsburgh artist who wrings a sense of sweeping grandeur from tinny, 8-bit synths. "🏵️," a track from Impulses's latest release, Rain To Remain, is a big-hearted, open-armed chiptune power ballad, featuring layers of major-key bleeps and bloops that sweep by in a rush of digital wonder. Like Porter Robinson's Worlds, albeit … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Impulses – 🏵️
Saani Mac is a Pittsburgh artist who unleashes fractured barrages of punk-influenced rap music. Saani's new EP, Eye Don't Know Why, includes the title track, some remixes, and, as a bonus, the song's acapella and instrumental tracks, in case any aspiring DJs want to take a crack at a re-edit. The song itself portrays a … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Saani Mac – Eye Don’t Know Why
PcaSoul - Mattress Out on NYC's Mobile Kitchen Sound label is BATCHA MAMA, a series of freestyles from Washington Heights singer/songwriter PcaSoul. "Mattress" sees the artist channeling TLC, Frankie Valli (by way of Lauryn Hill), and Bon Iver as she alternately raps and sings over a subtle DJ Prince strut. It's a nice stream-of-consciousness bedroom … Continue reading Daily Discovery 05.19.20
Ryan Hizer's Good Sport specializes in maximalist synth anthems that elicit bouts of bittersweet dance floor rapture. Good Sport is set to release a new album, Boring Magic (Misra Records), in July. "Overrated," one of the album's first singles, places melancholy, Gorillaz-esque vocals and celestial keyboards atop a base of booming, Funky Bunch drums and … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Good Sport – Overrated
Nicole Atkins - Domino Nicole Atkins's upcoming album, Italian Ice, was inspired by the magic of the Jersey Shore (the place, not the show). The cooly apocalyptic disco-funk track, "Domino," one of the album's first singles, sees Atkins warn, "Time is up/This message will self-destruct," like a secret agent zipping down the boardwalk on roller … Continue reading Daily Discovery 05.18.20
Moemaw Naedon is a Pittsburgh rapper and producer whose new instrumental project, Dismal Spring, is heavy on the analog grit. Whenever I walk around Pittsburgh, I feel like I see Moemaw Naedon stickers everywhere I look, plastered on overpasses, lamp posts, unspecified piles of rubble, what have you. The dude is ubiquitous. Something else that's … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Moemaw Naedon -Sun Beam War Ship
Same are a Pittsburgh indie rock act that dreamified a guitar-heavy sound for their latest release. Plastic Western (Lauren Records) sparkles in places where previous Same entries may have brooded or churned. The rambling, start-stop sway of "Bluish" reminds me of something you'd hear from the exurban emo-folkers of Pittsburgh's own String Machine, whose Death … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Same – Bluish
Isis is a Pittsburgh-based hip-hop artist whose gritty, aspirational debut single, "Rack$ on Me," dropped in April. The song is a melancholy, piano-led ballad featuring autobiographical verses packed with stark, specific details, and a refrain that re-imagines your standard money boast as a mantra for future success. Isis talks about growing up scrappy, remembering "nights … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Isis – Rack$ On Me
ShrapKnel - Ghostface Targaryen (Willie Green Remix) NYC's ShrapKnel, a collaboration between wordsmiths Curly Castro and PremRock, saw its March debut remixed to create Flechette, which dropped this week. For two rappers already acquainted with going in over unusual beats, an album of remixes feels like a natural extension of their sound. Especially effective is … Continue reading Daily Discovery 05.13.20
Heirloom makes emo-tinged rock music that is both jagged and elegant; the group's debut, Figures in Dust, dropped last month. On "Roses," the album's closer, clean guitar spreads outward like ripples in an otherwise still pond, before the band explodes into a soaring passage that features powerful harmonies between frontwoman Candice McDermott and guitarist Stephen … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Heirloom – Roses
Bored In Pittsburgh 