Words by Brendan

So, I posted a similar version of this article over on my personal blog last week, but I found myself with more things to say, some shows already happened, some popped up on my radar, etc. Also, the readership over here is much larger, to say the least. And hey, I JUST LIKE WRITING, OKAY? The bottom line is that it just seems like every Pittsburgh band got together and said, “Hey, let’s release some stuff in September and bombard everyone with local indie rock goodness, mmmkay?” Here’s a list of the stuff I think is noteworthy, along with some album release events and videos/album streams. Comment with any other stuff going on around town in the near future; we’d love to know about it!

New Shouts / Sing New Shouts / Release Show on 09.24
Pittsburgh’s best retro soul rock band finally have an official release! They put out a couple of singles on their Bandcamp page many months ago and have hit the town with lots of live shows since then, including an acoustic session for Draw Us Lines’ Echo Chamber series. Now they have a batch of seven new songs that really capture their live energy, with catchy guitar melodies and upbeat percussion and soulful vocals (that almost sound British to me …?) that make you wanna sing along. It’s part Kinks, part Beatles, part Motown, and all fun and danceable. You’ll be able to buy the album digitally on 09.13, and they’re having a release show at the Thundebird on Saturday 09.24 with Mariage Blanc and DJ Jordan K. In the meantime, you can still download those digital singles for free, and the teaser video below features a clip from my favorite song on the new EP, “Dollybird”:
 

 
New Shouts on the web: Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp / Tumblr

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Host Skull / Totally Fatalist / Release Show on 09.22
I’m always amazed by what David Bernabo accomplishes. (When do you sleep, Dave?) His latest project is Host Skull, a collaboration with Will Dyar and a host of other Pittsburgh musicians: saxophonists, singers, bassists, drummers, dancers, flautists, etc. They have an LP coming out very soon on Chicago’s Contraphonic label, and it is an amazingly broad yet cohesive album. The songs themselves span a wide array of influences—from Wilco-esque country folk to Grizzly Bear-ish baroque pop to some kind of soulful funk rock, and lead single “Totally Fatalist” (see video below) is the kind of jazzy avant-rock you might find with Dave’s Assembly project—yet it all feels … right. It’s born from some talented musicians and their powerful, united vision, and it shows. They’ll play these songs, and more, at the Brillobox on Friday 09.22 with Raw Blow. You definitely want to see this show; I promise it will be good. In the meantime, check out the fascinating and humorous stop-motion video that Dave and pals put together for the title track, with direction by the one and only Hugh Twyman.
 

 
Host Skull: Website / Facebook / Insound
David Bernabo: Website / Twitter

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Donora / Boyfriends, Girlfriends / Release Show on 09.16
Donora, Pittsburgh’s indie rock darlings, are amazingly popular for having one album to their name, but I’ll be damned if that album isn’t chock full of catchy and pretty pop songs. They’ve been playing some new songs at shows over the past year and have been working hard on the recordings, and they’re finally ready to share them with the waiting world. Boyfriends, Girlfriends will be officially released on 09.27 on Rostrum Records, and they’re playing a show on 09.16 at the Rex to celebrate. You can get the CD there ahead of the street date, and New Shouts will be performing, too! Donora also has a new music video, directed by Thom Glunt, that premiered on Spinner.com a month ago. (BTW, I’m the beardy guy playing cards. That was a fun day of filming!) Enjoy the video, and see yinz at the show!
 

 
Donora: Facebook / Twitter / Rostrum Records

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The Ceiling Stares / “Tunnel Through The Air” vinyl single / Release show on 10.01
Pittsburgh-based record label Velocity of Sound releases 7″ vinyl records of local underground artists, and for their latest single, they’ve hooked up with the Sweaters & Pearls label to feature two bands: The Super Vacations from Viriginia, and The Ceiling Stares from Pittsburgh. This record has three psychedelic rock tunes, with The Super Vacations playing two sped-up, punky versions, and The Ceiling Stares playing a longer, more fluid jam. You can head over to the Velocity of Sound site to buy it on cool green vinyl, and check out this nice feature in the Pgh City Paper, as well. The Ceiling Stares will be playing at The Shop on 10.01 to officially celebrate the vinyl release, with Flesh Vehicle and Holy Daze. Stream the side from The Ceiling Stares here:
 
A Tunnel Through The Air – The Ceiling Stares by Velocity of Sound
 
The Ceiling Stares: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp
Velocity of Sound: Website / Twitter / Soundcloud

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Neighbours / Neighbours
Neighbours (now with a Britishized “u”) have that Kinks/Animals/Small Faces vibe goin’ on and it works really well. The five songs on this debut EP have captured their live energy, right from the keys riff and forceful vocals that kick off the energetic “Real Talk”, to the Motown-inspired lament in “Fun”, to the soft and slow and pretty “Without You” (with some great reverb on the vocals, nice recording there, fellas), to the punchy percussion that carries “Popgirls” through to the end. They just had a CD release show on Friday (sorry you missed it!) but you’ll be able to pick up the CD at future shows. They also have a couple of “name your price” singles here and here, and you can grab the EP digitally on Amazon or iTunes. Enjoy some sample tracks here, too:

Neighbours: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Bandcamp

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Ready Room / TACT
I don’t know much about Ready Room except that they share a drummer with another local band I like, Legs Like Tree Trunks. They’ve embarked on a new project to release “something” on the 11th of every month. In July, it was a new EP, entitled TACT, that is a quick four-song march through skittery rock/punk territory with intricate guitar lines and percussion work, with vocals swirling on top of that, ending in the eponymous track with a languid piano/guitar interplay. The recording sounds really, really clean and fits their sound perfectly. August found them releasing a song remix, and who knows what they have in store for September and beyond, so keep your eyes/ears out. Stream the EP here and go to their Bandcamp page for a “name your price” deal.

Ready Room on the web: Facebook / Bandcamp / Blog

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Slingshot Genius / The Operative Condition / Release Show on 09.08
I’ve yet to catch Slingshot Genius in person, so I’ll appeal to another local blogger’s description of their sound: “On the rainy evening in May I saw them I heard shades of the Pixies, Social Distortion, Sonic Youth, and Guided By Voices, to name a few. But they don’t wear their influences on their sleeves, which is refreshing.” Thanks for the quote, BNAC! Their new album, The Operative Condition, is out this week, and they’re having a release show this Thursday with Dream Job at the Thunderbird. You can download their track “Blur” from the Pgh City Paper here as a preview.

Slingshot Genius: Website / Facebook / Twitter

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The Wine, The Women and The Bomb / Virus
I kinda missed the boat on this one, since the release show for The Wine, The Women and The Bomb‘s new EP just happened in August, but what the hell, I’ll include it here. Virus is a powerful rock monster that alternately growls, hisses, and purrs. The guitar sounds weave in and out and carry an impressive amount of weight without overpowering the rest of the mix. The drums provide an ample anchor for the guitar and bass, but the vocals seem to be the real focus here. Yelling, snarling, talking—there are lots of singing styles on here, and they’re all just right for the moments and moods these songs conjure. Give it a listen and you’ll see what I mean:

The Wine, The Women and The Bomb on the web: Website

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Draw Us Lines / Echo Chamber Recordings
Last, and certainly not least, I’d like to point out that we’ve put a lot of work into the Echo Chamber series (and by “we” I mean Jim, he’s the fucking man) and have released the audio recordings from those video shoots as buyable CDs/mp3s! We gave out some download codes to folks who came to our birthday show in July, but you, my friend, can go to our Bandcamp page and buy the whole collection for just $5. These are all local bands playing acoustic versions of their songs, and some of these songs are not available anywhere else! Want to hear an awesome, stripped-down version of New Shouts‘ jam “Gotta Get Along”? We’ve got it. Want to hear that lovely Meeting Of Important People song “Oh, Will You Finally Go?”? We’ve got it. Want to hear indie rock legend Karl Hendricks playing solo in the Children’s Museum? We’ve got that. Stream the whole thing below and you’ll see that it’s worth it. And watch the videos and read the stories behind them, too, because they’re all great. There are plenty more to come, so stay tuned, too.

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Thanks for reading, folks. There’s lots of good local music out there, and we’re just trying to do our part to let you know about it. Enjoy your Labor Day festivities (hopefully nothing involving laboring), and see yinz around town! And yes, comment and let us know about other stuff goin’ on. We’re all ears.

Filed under: Homegrown Goodness, Lists