Writing about things that do and don't exit
Rapper Leek Lone teams up with producer blaqspacecowboy for the introspective "BADARAM!". The track finds Leek wary but hopeful, cognizant of life's threats without letting them stop him from striving; he just keeps "Dropping project after project/Build the catalog," as he puts it. Over a blaqspacecowboy beat that sounds like a blunted version of Boards … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Leek Lone – BADARAM!
The post-punkers of Death Instinct return with the Silhouettes singles, two tracks inspired by the late-winter/Valentine's Day season. Silhouettes's two songs, considered in tandem, feel like the nadir of winter depression followed by the faint bloom of hope that comes along with melting snow and temperatures that venture above freezing. While the opening title track … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Death Instinct – Candy Hearts
Purchase HughShows's Boogie on the Blue Line album to support the Homeless Children's Education Fund, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. Boogie is a compilation that features Pittsburgh artists covering songs by other Pittsburgh artists, so it's a true yinzfest. Check out some of … Continue reading HughShows – Boogie on the Blue Line
A varied cast of musicians come together for a track inspired by a legendary Pittsburgh pitcher. "Dock Ellis" is an old-fashioned hip-hop posse cut, featuring vibrantly rendered verses set against knocking drums and meditative melodic loops. Billy Hoyle provides the instrumental, while Atlanta's Tha God Fahim and Pittsburgh's Beedie and Bill Waves lay down some … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Beedie & Billy Hoyle – Dock Ellis (ft. Tha God Fahim and Bill Waves)
Support the Mr. Roboto Project and The Alignment Chapter by purchasing “Floor Have Mercy,” the funky second single from emo-folkie-turned-DJ Ron Mist, whose primary musical goal is to get people moving without self-consciousness or fear. As it's put on the song, "Dancing is a mercy on human beings bound by necessity," so let Mist and their cast of guest … Continue reading Ron Mist – Floor Have Mercy
Latecomer makes furious punk music full of barked mantras and breakneck tempos. The band released its Bet Your Life EP a few weeks back. The EP's title track gets its strength from simplicity. Sledgehammer guitars alternate between supercharged "Lust For Life"-style riffs and boiling, single-chord passages that ratchet up the sense of clenched-teeth intensity already … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Latecomer – Bet Your Life
Rapper Epic Squeese recently released an aspirational album called Mr. Smith. Before Squeese goes in on album highlight "Past Tense," you hear a rising tone, a bit like the one that accompanies an item box in Mario Kart, as if the rapper were powering up for the coming bars. His delivery and lyrics are authoritative … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Epic Squeese – Past Tense
Futuristic pop producer/songwriter/singer Princess Nostalgia returns with the effervescent "Ugly Lovely." An ode to the duality inherent in all people-- be it the devil/angel, yin/yang, or Shakti/Shiva archetype--"Ugly Lovely" celebrates both the darkness and the light, acknowledging that, in the end, "It's only me/Division makes for chemistry/Endlessly." The song starts off with a few passages … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Princess Nostalgia – Ugly Lovely
Calyx are a trio that specializes in whirling pop-punk paroxysms; they released their full length debut, Stay Gone, this week. Ever since I saw Calyx blow through a set at The Childlike Empress's Take Care Of Yourself release show at Babyland a few years back, I've been hoping for a full album's worth of the … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Calyx – Americana Get A Break
Gaadge, a fuzzy pop project that was founded by guitarist/vocalist Mitch DeLong (and also includes several members of Barlow), released "Twenty-Two" today in advance of their March debut, Yeah?. The single is led by a pulsing guitar riff that bends and curls around itself like a tide onto a faded shoreline, and features plenty of … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Gaadge – Twenty-Two
Bored In Pittsburgh 