Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Motormouthed rapper Ramon Yancey returns with something even more DIY than a mixtape: a SoundCloud playlist called Okaywein. Ever since I heard Yancey annihilating beats on "Haunting" (a 2019 collaboration with Shamar), he's reminded me of André 3000. It's not an exact one-to-one (I don't even know if Yancey has been to Atlanta before), but … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Ramon Yancey – Empathy
Newly signed to SoCal's Lauren Records, Short Fictions return with a tale about the perils of being Short Fictions. "Don't Start A Band" forgoes the twinkling complexity and climate doomsaying of 2019's Fates Worse Than Death in favor of chunky power chords, self-deprecation, and hooks, glorious hooks. Not content to simply lasso the ears with … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Short Fictions – Don’t Start A Band
Sunday Saari is a Carnegie Mellon student who takes a theatrical approach to pop music. After dropping a series of singles over the past few years, Saari recently released an EP called Signal, which contains four sweeping ballads of love and loss. String and pedal steel flourishes elevate the standard guitar and piano combination to … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Sunday Saari – Signal
HUBBS's latest project, Winston Zeddemoore, contains his usual array of intricate wordplay, with bars interlocking like pieces in an astral puzzle. While Zeddemoore may be named after an everyman who famously signed on to bust ghosts in 1984, the album sees HUBBS bust rhymes instead. There aren't a ton of features on here, but when … Continue reading Daily Yinz – HUBBS – Solar Rishi (feat. Shad Ali)
Water Trash return with another dose of funhouse garage rock, released in advance of their upcoming album, The Trash is Always Greener. "The Mission," a which came out in December, sounds like theme music for a TV show that centers on a seemingly average college student super spy whose job it is to infiltrate frats … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Water Trash – The Mission
Six O'Matic, an experimental artist whose compositions range in style "from ambient to Appalachian," released his latest album, The Mayor of Yesterday (Wild Kindness), in December. Where Six O'Matic's last release, 2019's Aging, comprised a series of glacial drones, Mayor plays out like a funhouse ride, with bagpipes, digitized drums, and electronic wobbles all competing … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Six O’Matic – The Mayor of Yesterday
Rappers Dewey Markie and BrothaMans run it back for the second installment of their Kin Folk EP series. The two emcees are natural teammates, working in tandem to create a spirited, aspirational tone that pervades Kin Folk II's eight tracks. There's a lot of striving happening here; Brotha and Dewey display a single-minded focus on … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Dewey Markie & BrothaMans – Life Is Good
KELS, the brassy-voiced singer/songwriter, will be performing her debut EP, Slow Ryde, this Friday at Millvale's Mr. Smalls. The EP's title track is a mellow, R&B-tinged bounce that sees KELS address a significant other who, even when feelings run cold in the midst of turmoil, is able to "pull me in, make me feel again." … Continue reading Daily Yinz – KELS – Slow Ryde
SUREFIRE are a trio fronted by the powerful pipes of Natalie Flango. They recently released "Vagabond" in advance of their upcoming album, On Borrowed Time. "Vagabond" is a no-frills rocker that alternately seethes and soars as it waves goodbye to a "lover, leaver, heartbreaker, vagabond," a person who professes devotion, but "won't be here in … Continue reading Daily Yinz – SUREFIRE – Vagabond
Although she may currently reside in New York, multimedia artist Corrine Jasmin has strong Pittsburgh ties, having been a fixture in the city's creative community before relocating. Jasmin's debut EP, Fever Dream Insomniac (released in November), explores themes of reckoning--with self, with grief, with love--through an immersive blend of spoken word, hip-hop, and electronic styles. … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Corrine Jasmin – Missed Connections
Bored In Pittsburgh 