Writing about things that do and don't exist
Friday, May 16th My prelude to the first day of the 2025 Millvale Music Festival was an Uber ride set to the testosterone-soaked strains of 2000’s chud rock. Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Trapt, Five Finger Death Punch; I heard them all, and quite loudly at that. The driver was so excited to show off his selections … Continue reading Millvale Music Festival 2025 – Day 1
The shoegaze band's debut EP is Shrine. Weird Era pack a great deal of stylistic diversity into the EP's five tracks; shoutalong rockers bump up against stained glass instrumentals, and there are more guitar and synth textures than there are paint swatches at Home Depot. The title track sounds like something that ancient aliens would … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Weird Era – Shrine
The band's debut EP is Love Is a Dog From Hell (Crafted Sounds). Opening track "liadfh," which I wager will be one of 2029's most popular baby names, sounds like a melancholy torch ballad that mutated spontaneously after exposure to some strange catalyst; frustration, perhaps. Bassist Cilia Catello's voice is hushed, intimate, and resigned ("Every … Continue reading Daily Yinz – forty winks – liadfh
The quartet's new EP is Salvation Sound. The EP's title track is a sublime slice of yearning powered by heat mirage guitars and drums that cascade infinitely, like the mechanism of a perpetual motion machine. Vocalist/guitarist Emily Hardenberger, treating the mic like a trusted ear, fashions desire into religion ("For the curl of her hair … Continue reading Daily Yinz – King Blue Heron – Salvation Sound
A few words about a few more local tracks that hit the spot this week ### Normal Creatures - Drown Electroshocked rap-metal that aims its head-clenching aggression externally and internally in equal measure. More from Normal Creatures Follow on Instagram and Facebook Artwork by Paul Haggerty ### Mailbox Office - Caught In a Spool Bright, … Continue reading Multi-Weekly Wrap-Up 05.23.25
Zabumba is the composer and multi-instrumentalist's debut EP. The EP's opening title track--and the EP itself--is named after the type of Brazilian bass drum that Powers used to generate the piece's underlying rhythmic thump, which the Bandcamp notes describe as a tribute to "the driving rhythms of forró and baião," two spirited genres native to … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Bo Powers – Zabumba
The beloved Pittsburgh band returns with Masterclass (12XU), its first album in six years. Masterclass is noisy, scuzzy, a bit unhinged, and tons of fun. "Fante," a powder keg of a track named after and inspired by the esteemed chronicler of LA seediness, pogoes frantically atop tension-wire riffs, snarling lead licks, and combative drums. Eli … Continue reading Daily Yinz – The Gotobeds – Fante
The hip-hop artist recently released a 30-track jamboree called Before Death, We Blossom. The album, which was inspired by Farade's experiences with bipolar disorder, features a rotating cast of producers and guests, and contains a dizzying amount of variety. Its broad embrace incorporates raucous aggression, jazzy contemplation, smooth melodicism, and wavy psychedelia alike. The musical … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Farade – How Should I Start?
The electronic artist's new EP is filthy/funny. FLOOR BABA makes music that balloon animals would listen to: it's colorful, zany, and full of rounded edges. On filthy/funny's title track, FLOOR BABA takes the piping call of a chiptune bird, bends it into all kinds of loopy shapes, and then sends it wiggling over a jelly-legged … Continue reading Daily Yinz – FLOOR BABA – filthy/funny
The band's full-length debut is Rot, Dead Car (YEAH! TAPES). Rot, Dead Car (a phrase that I may very well have muttered to my old Honda before tearfully apologizing and patting its rusted roof) contains ten tracks' worth of gorgeous melancholy, wrung from plinking guitars, hushed vocals, and the occasional burst of distortion to drive … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Dizzier – dig for worms
Bored In Pittsburgh 