Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
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
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)
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
Grîmmöld, a solo artist who uses medieval synth tones and blasts of screeching black metal to portray tales of creatures, magic, and adventure, recently released their Noldorin Halls EP. Noldorin Halls, whose title references an Elvish race dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien, mostly features winding instrumental passages that evoke mountain peaks and perilous encounters, the … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Grîmmöld – Sirannon
Feralcat returns to his signature combo of windblown sax runs and power metal acrobatics with "Anselm the Wise." Just a few weeks ago, Feralcat brought us some jazz-tinged, lo-fi instrumentals to relax/study to in the form of the wavy waiting for waifu. "Anselm the Wise" (featuring the full Wild) plants its flag at the opposite … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Feralcat and the Wild – Anselm the Wise
