Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Darkwave duo Some Faith recently released "Prey To My Grief" in advance of their upcoming album, IN A DREAM. The single sees vocalist Indigo Baloch connect the dots between previous trauma and current suffering, illustrating the ways in which our pasts can act as whirlpools, sucking us back into our worst memories as we struggle … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Some Faith – Prey To My Grief
Swampwalk releases two versions of a tender little track, one stripped down and the other 8-bitted. Swampwalk's first take of "Clouds" combines gentle acoustic guitar, lonely strings, and a ticking electronic beat to create a meditative groove that's just a bit cattywampus, giving it a rough, homespun charm. The second take, recorded live from The … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Swampwalk – Cloud
Where 1970's Italy had Goblin, 21st century Pittsburgh has Zombi. The prog duo's latest EP, Liquid Crystal, was released last week on Relapse Records. Liquid Crystal displays Zombi's skill at creating sweeping, epic instrumental pieces using the classic prog toolkit (see: badass guitars, bombastic drums, cinematic synths). Like the stratospheric manta rays gliding across its … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Zombi – Black Forest
Experimental synth composer Christian Kriegeskotte recently released The Magi, a mystical multimedia collaboration with visual artist Joel Heires, under his LYNXX moniker. The duo's creative process was symbiotic; Heires would create a painting in response to a LYNXX composition, and then LYNXX would translate another Heires painting into sound, the two mediums playing off each … Continue reading Daily Yinz – LYNXX – Initiation
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
Multi-instrumentalist Lenni Green's genre-defying December album, Where Did You Go?, was inspired by a friend's battle with schizophrenia. The album's sounds encompass pensive guitar meditation, windswept synth grandeur, piano-led power balladry, and more, the sonic array revolving around a poignant emotional center. Closer "Awakening," which, in Green's words, represents "the catharsis of heavy emotions and … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Lenni Green – Awakening
Experimental synth project Morse Code Band dealt with this year's lockdown by performing live sets to audiences of zero and capturing the results on tape. Pandemic Residency, out now on Inside/Outpost, is the result. MCB uses an array of synths, devices, pedals, and field recordings to conjure chilly, unsettling atmospheres on the album's nine tracks. … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Morse Code Band – Galaxy Falling
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
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
Slowhaunt (a pseudonym for Pittsburgh artist Nathan King) recently released Funeral Hits, Pts 01 and 02, two albums stuffed full of Halloweeny synth tracks. Blessed with names like "BLOOD IN THE POTPOURRI," "THE FLORIST IS A PIECE OF SHIT," and "PUSS COVERED HEALING CRYSTAL," the songs evoke a Rob Zombie semi-funhouse, a place in which … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Slowhaunt – SCARY LITTLE CHURCHYARD
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