Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Experimental trio I4A specializes in winding vamps that traverse peaks and valleys. "Fence of Pearls," the longest track from the group's new release, I4A 2--which is saying something when the shortest one clocks in at 7:26--is a radiant musical monolith. It takes its time to build up from a base of gentle strums, cycling through … Continue reading Daily Yinz – I4A – Fence of Pearls
New collaboration between producer Ozilate and singer/songwriter Indigo Rae traverses a post-breakup wasteland. Last time we checked in on Indigo Rae, they were singing melancholic ballads over spare ukulele. On "Hazy," the melancholy lingers ("When I breathe in/My bed still smells like you/Baby, now I'm faded/Self medicated"), but its soundtrack takes a different tack. Producer … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Ozilate – Hazy (feat. Indigo Rae)
Benji. returns with a languid dance track called "Jorja." Rather than coast off the success of 2021's Smile, You're Alive!, Benji. pulls a switch-up on his latest single, forgoing his previous album's soulful rave-ups and meditative ballads in favor of a "Passionfruit"-style toe-tapper (produced by Nice Rec, Gianni Carter, and Damon Steele) built around flickering … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Benji. – Jorja
Metal quintet follow up their 2020 debut with the blistering Siege of Cruelty EP. If the guitar guy from Mad Max: Fury Road had been joined by an entire band's worth of chemical-scarred miscreants, their music may have resembled the scorching thrash contained on Siege of Cruelty. It's like punks worked themselves into napalm-fueled overdrive, … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Vicious Blade – Scavengers
Every so often, you come across an album that truly confuses you. Stabscotch's PRISON JAR is one of those albums. Prison Jar sounds like the narrator from Naked Lunch holding court on Instagram Live, ranting into the mic and noodling on a keyboard while a grindcore band plays behind him. On the album, the four … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Stabscotch – XALLELUJAH DÆMON
Short Fictions recently released their Lauren Records debut, Every Moment of Every Day. Where the group's last album wended its way toward climate catastrophe, this one takes a direct route to depressed pop euphoria. When I first moved to Pittsburgh, I lived in an overpriced one-bedroom in South Oakland, a few blocks off Forbes Ave. … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Short Fictions – To Leave Forever or Die Alone in South Oakland
A quartet formed in 2020 as an outlet for COVID stress, Bitter Coast released their debut EP in May. The band dropped the EP's second track, "Carry On," as a video last November, but I only got around to checking it out today; better late than never, I suppose. The track bears the hallmarks of … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Bitter Coast – Carry On
KELS, fresh off a relocation from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, recently released the carefree "Be Fine." The track contains KELS's signature blend of breezy pop production and force-of-nature singing, deployed this time around in the service of soothing, both for herself and for her listeners. Muted percussion ticks, guitar chords eddy like ripples in a swimming … Continue reading Daily Yinz – KELS – Be Fine
Water armor, a side project of FLOOR BABA, sets aside the former's hyper-expressive video game sounds for something a bit more meditative. Where FLOOR BABA's chiptune synths and frenetic beats bring to mind images of sleepover-happy middle schoolers crushing energy drinks, button-mashing XBOX, and hurting themselves on a friend's trampoline, water armor's most recent release, … Continue reading Daily Yinz – water armor – My Reflection
Two former Wild Blue Yonderers join forces for an EP of smeary, stripped-down pop music. Fittingly, the EP's first track is called "Two Chord Song," and it's a twee-as-can-be proclamation of devotion that sees Schmeler pledge, "Just know I don't want no one else," to a person with whom she shares moments both carefree ("The … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Betsy Schmeler and Benito Countouris – Two Chord Song
Bored In Pittsburgh 