Writing about things that do and don't exit
Emily Rodgers's latest release, I Will Be Gone (Shimmy-Disc), is a haunting document of loss. I Will Be Gone is a tribute to Rodgers's brother, who died by schizophrenia-related suicide fifteen years ago; the music contained within is spectral and feathery, but elemental and emotionally direct at the same time. Produced by Kramer (a man … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Emily Rodgers – I Will Be Gone
Unread is a Pittsburgh label that's been "making tapes from empty aluminum cans since 1994"; they specialize in bizarre outsider stuff, never conventional and always entertaining. Adam void's unread #271 is one of the label's more recent releases. Adam void approaches the record with a gonzo sensibility, using rudimentary home recording tools to create a … Continue reading Daily Yinz – adam void – unread #271
KELS's, latest single, "No Lie.," is a love song that would sound at home in any decade. KELS has one of those timeless voices, the kind of pipes you associate with a Winehouse or a Duffy. "No Lie." has the vibe to match; it's a gentle ballad that mixes touches of R&B, jazz, and traditional … Continue reading Daily Yinz – KELS – No Lie.
Rappers Fam Ross and Arsinel team up for Pen Lordz, a masterclass in lyrical underground hip-hop. "Emaculate" gets by on atmosphere and wordplay alone. No snares, no kicks; there isn't a bit of percussion to be accounted for outside of a few steady taps on the world's gentlest cymbal. Weeping strings, glistening harp flourishes, and … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Fam Ross x Arsinel – Emaculate
Aaron Myers-Brooks's Monochromatic Residua project uses death metal as a vehicle to explore the power of microtones (AKA the notes you can't find on a piano). Monochromatic Residua's latest EP, Eternal Mountain, contains brutal blastbeats, apocalyptic imagery, and, of course, furious shredding that refuses to adhere to the chromatic scale. On the EP's title track, … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Monochromatic Residua – Eternal Mountain
Glo Phase and Jocelyn Rent, whose 2019 collaboration, Fall Deep, was a supremely chill study in vocal house, reunite for an EP called Escape, originally meant for release right around the time COVID struck. The EP's four tracks center on themes of transition and change, and closer "Come with Me" sees Rent perched at the … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Glo Phase – Come with Me (ft. Jocelyn Rent)
The psych-rockers of slugss released the wonderfully dreamy APPEAL a few years back; now, they let us under the hood with a collection of outtakes and demos from that era. Some of the tracks included on APPEAL outtakes eventually made the final cut, while others laid dormant until now. "Belladonna" is one of the latter … Continue reading Daily Yinz – slugss – belladonna
Rapper Moemaw Naedon teamed up with producer Billy Hoyle for March's Human Speedball, which was released to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the duo's Travel Through collaboration. The three-track collection positions Moemaw's gruff, hyper-focused delivery overtop Hoyle's sample-heavy boom-bap beats. The album opens with the evocatively named "Dolphin Death Rainbow," a brisk, white-knuckle track led … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Moemaw Naedon X Billy Hoyle – Dolphin Death Rainbow
Simone Joy Jones (aka S!MONE) is a Pittsburgh-based artist whose debut EP, Divine Mistakes, contains seven lush, multilayered R&B tracks. "Jealous," the EP's most propulsive cut, rides a rhythmic backbone that splits the difference between trap and reggaeton, with rapid-fire cymbal hits fluttering over a tresillo base. Glistening, jazz-tinged guitars drip from all directions, creating … Continue reading Daily Yinz – S!MONE – Jealous
Experimental synth composer Christian Kriegeskotte recently released The Magi, a mystical multimedia collaboration with visual artist Joel Heires, under his LYNXX moniker. The duo's creative process was symbiotic; Heires would create a painting in response to a LYNXX composition, and then LYNXX would translate another Heires painting into sound, the two mediums playing off each … Continue reading Daily Yinz – LYNXX – Initiation
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