Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Laika, The Astro-Hound, a synth project out of Pittsburgh, recently released a concept album that plays like a Black Mirror episode. The liner notes on Curing Death introduce the concept of "death insurance robots," artificial beings primed to discreetly step in once your loved one dies, with you, the happy customer, none the wiser. These … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Laika, The Astro-Hound – Man on the Moon 2.0
Robin Grayson is a Pittsburgh R&B artist who recently released her debut EP, Hold You Down. The EP's title track is a warm, yearning ballad that showcases Grayson's melismatic singing style, full of multi-syllabic runs, notes that slide easily up and down the musical scale, and a few sublime falsettos for good measure. Grayson promises … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Robin Grayson – Hold You Down
Pittsburgh's Odell Lancaster and California's Flxtch! join forces as Notorious Bastards; their debut tape, Trifecta, dropped last week. Like many albums that draw inspiration from MF Doom's brand of crate-digging, tongue-twisting hip-hop, Trifecta is heavy on dusty strings, flickering bells, and muted drums (when drums are even involved; a few tracks get by on nothing … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Notorious Bastards – Criminals of Alcatraz III
Bonnie and the Mere Mortals synthesize the disparate sounds of honky-tonk country, industrial, and goth into a witchy brew, the latest spoonful of which is their single, "Curses." The track, a menacing hoedown carried by snarled acoustic guitar and cannon shot drums, sees frontwoman Bonnie Ramone pile hex after hex onto some varmint who done … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Bonnie and the Mere Mortals – Curses
80's-throwback quartet Take Me With You have beefed up their sound since last year's a building, a dreaming, that album's skeletal, synth-coated tundra blooming into a rich landscape on the band's new single, Stranger/Aluminum. As soon as "Stranger" begins with pizzicato plucks and swirling, digital strings, you know it's a whole new ballgame for TMWY. … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Take Me With You – Stranger
Pittsburgh rapper Juss Jala has the blues (like a certain Mississippi legend), but you wouldn't know it from her fiery, razor-sharp bars. Jala's October single, "Muddy Waters," follows a snaking trap beat through a minefield of boisterous proclamations, striking imagery, and tuneful ad-libs. One minute she's posted in the studio, passing up earthly pleasures in … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Juss Jala – Muddy Waters
TV's NORM are a Pittsburgh rock outfit that combine crunchy pop hooks with sardonic lyrics. A few notable Norms have graced our television sets over the years, from The Norm Show's Norm to Cheers's Norm (these are the only two I can think of, actually). "TV's NORM" could be referring to either or none of … Continue reading Daily Yinz – TV’s NORM – Your Own Goddamn Planet
Producer and rapper Yorel Tifsim follows last year's excellent Theresonlynow with They Call Them Nownlaters, a collection of woozy instrumentals. The music found on Nownlaters, like the backing tracks that anchored the lush, blunted raps of Theresonlynow, is incredibly tactile, like a giant bean bag chair for your senses. The mellifluous "Sweetngood" allows you to … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Yorel Tifsim – Sweetngood
Incentive is an industrial/electronic artist who trades in gritty, noisy rave-ups that also contain a strong melodic edge. Their new album, Presence, is out now on circle with a dot and Submarine Broadcasting Co. The ten-minute epic "new mountain" closes out Presence on a gloriously apocalyptic note. The song opens with subdued tones, before a … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Incentive – New mountain
Portrait People, an emo act affiliated with the Pittsburgh-area Earthwalk Collective (which also includes String Machine and Lem), follows 2017's Hollow EP with a full-length called Hallow. The album is chock full of the type of ambling guitar arpeggios and winding rhythms that you might hear in a midwest emo ballad, but Portrait People separate … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Portrait People – Hallow
