Writing about things that do and don't exist
The latest release from the McKeesport hip-hop artist. Even though "Raccoon"s instrumental intro--with its tiptoeing piano and muted brass fanfare--sounds like something you might hear soundtracking a Tom and Jerry chase, Meezy sets the record straight with his opening line: "We don't play around / This ain't no cartoon." The percussion kicks in with a … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Meezy Stepalot – Raccoon
The band made a Hayday demo temporarily available to raise funds for LA wildfire relief. A pitched-up squeak, like an infant's playtime hum, introduces "sober arc"s melodic through-line, which continues in the form of a curlicuing clean riff and a distorted power tool rendition. In true feeble little horse form, the production is a newspaper … Continue reading Daily Yinz – feeble little horse – sober arc
A few words about a few more local tracks that hit the spot this week ### trē seguritan abalos - Alone, the River Filling My Ears Free-flowing flute music whose breathy notes flit like blown leaves over the surface of gently running water. More from trē seguritan abalos Artwork by Trē Seguritan Abalos and Habitat … Continue reading Weekly Wrap-Up 01.24.25
A posthumous release from the iconic Pittsburgh artist. 2013's Watching Movies with the Sound Off is my favorite Mac Miller album, so I was thrilled when I heard that Balloonerism was recorded around the same time. The work plunges listeners back into the same brew--jazzily psychedelic instrumentals, dazed melodies, existential musings, oddball asides--that made Watching … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Mac Miller – Do You Have A Destination?
The trio's latest album is As Yesterday // So Tomorrow. Catatoneya deliver tight, deft rock music with a bit of added flair, courtesy of frontman Zachk Cain's expressive voice, which leaps into pleading howls and falsettos at a moment's notice. The excellently-named "Jesus Loves Me, But I Prefer To Be Friends" moves in a spirited … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Catatoneya – Jesus Loves Me, But I Prefer To Be Friends
songs (Asian Man Records) is a new collection of tunes from Pittsburgh-to-San Jose transplant Pacing. On "parking ticket song," Pacing's Katie McTigue illustrates, through music and lyrics alike, a brain that tumbles thoughts the way a washing machine does clothes. McTigue uses a parking ticket ("I can't remember to take it off except for when … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Pacing – parking ticket song
A few words about a few more local tracks that hit the spot this week ### Gloom Mouth - Porcelain Knuckles Atmospheric angst that broods, churns, and writhes like a mind that's spent too much time with itself. More from Gloom Mouth ### Darwin Orchid - Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow A tricky, circling guitar … Continue reading Weekly Wrap-Up 01.17.25
The hip-hop duo returns with its first release since 2019. With their remix of Hanumankind's "Big Dawgs," Lazy JP and Barz Blackman--assisted by the original track's revved-up Kalmi instrumental--kick the door back open in raucous fashion. The one-liners come fast and furious, packaged in deft internal rhyme schemes and delivered with doses of humor both … Continue reading Daily Yinz – BBGuns – Big Dawgs Freestyle
1980 Special Twin is experimental violinist Joey Molinaro's industrial techno side project. When Joey Molinaro isn't performing furious violin metal or crusty outlaw folk, he's composing blackened dance tracks. Sextuple Album--which contains six years' worth of strings, midi signals, and samples--pulses and grates like machinery. Fitting, because many of the sounds are ripped from actual … Continue reading Daily Yinz – 1980 Special Twin – Saint Gervais sur Mere – 2 – Ghost Knife
The folk rocker's Wannabe EP is a two-track collaboration with Essential Machine. "10 A.M.", a rework of a demo from a previous EP, shakes itself awake from a blurry haze and trots off down a dusty, desolate trail; spritely synths flit like the birds that "peck and feed" in the merciless sun, and warped, psychedelic … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Oli Alexander – 10 A.M. (Ft. Essential Machine)
Bored In Pittsburgh 