Sound Scene Express

Browsing the "Local Releases" Category

The Best Pittsburgh Music of the Decade: Electronic/Pop, Part 1

After reviewing Country/Folk/Americana for the first installments, we’re moving on to Electronic/Pop. This is a big umbrella, potentially covering anything from the bubblegum to the experimental. The influences these artists draw from vary widely, but they all have something in [...]

July 16, 2021 Album Reviews, Local Artists, Local Releases

The Best Pittsburgh Music of the Decade: Country/Folk/Americana, Part 3

Photo and text by Melanie Stangl Today, July 17, 2020, I turn 28. In normal times, I’d be celebrating by heading out to the first night of the Deutschtown Music Festival, one of my favorite events of the summer, with [...]

July 17, 2020 Album Reviews, Feature, Local Artists, Local Releases

The Best Pittsburgh Music of the Decade: Country/Folk/Americana, Part 2

Photo and text by Melanie Stangl In December, I introduced this decade retrospective series of Pittsburgh music, and started the list with four standout country/folk/Americana releases of the 2010’s. Once again, my day job got in the way of a [...]

February 10, 2020 Album Reviews, Local Artists, Local Releases

The Best Pittsburgh Music of the Decade: An Introduction

Photo and text by Melanie Stangl Every new year calls for reflection, but entering a new decade is more significant. Ten years tend to have personalities, distinct character traits that can be tough to distinguish in any one year alone. [...]

December 20, 2019 Album Reviews, Local Artists, Local Releases

Caleb Kopta Hits the Gas With New Singles, “Girls” and “Wanderer”

By Melanie StanglPhotography by Jason StarrModeling by Lydia DailyEditing by Christian Laliberte Summer may be winding down, but with two new songs dropping Friday September 20, local alt-rock artist Caleb Kopta keeps the season’s bright, passionate hopefulness alive. Recalling the [...]

September 19, 2019 Local Artists, Local Releases, Upcoming Shows

Indie Hip-Hop Duo BBGuns Encourages You to “Help Yourself” with Phenomenal Second Album

By Melanie StanglPhoto by Gage Vota Album art by John Muldoon and Annika Ignozzi It’s no secret that local hip-hop artists have generated the most widespread buzz about Pittsburgh’s music scene. From powerhouses like Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and Jimmy [...]

June 27, 2019 Album Reviews, Concert Calendar, Feature, Interviews, Local Artists, Local Releases, Upcoming Shows

Alt-Rocker Caleb Kopta Gets Real About the Digital Blues in New Single “Foreign Language”

By Melanie Stangl and Max KovalchukAlbum cover by Tate Kirgiss, Ashleigh Powell, and Jordan WetherbeePhotos by Tate Kirgiss It’s no secret to locals that our music scene is packed with cool, talented artists. And with Vice’s recent in-depth article discussing [...]

May 16, 2019 Album Reviews, Local Artists, Local Releases, Upcoming Shows

Local Indie Pop Duo Sad Girls Aquatics Club Release Their First Music Video for “Oh Billy”

After dropping their debut album Vodkawine to widespread acclaim at the end of 2018, local indie pop duo Sad Girls Aquatics Club (Chelsea Rumbaugh and Marie Mashyna) haven’t exactly been resting on their laurels. In addition to gearing up for [...]

February 8, 2019 Local Artists, Local Releases

With Debut Album “Vodkawine,” Sad Girls Aquatics Club are the Hazy Indie Pop Queens of Your Dreams

Photo by Katie Krulock Album artwork by Xiola Jensen There were a lot of incredible Pittsburgh releases in 2018. (Some of which we’ve covered, others we haven’t had the chance to.) A little over a month ago, a new hometown [...]

December 30, 2018 Album Reviews, Local Artists, Local Releases

Working Breed to Debut Stunning Music Video for New Song “Turtle Race” on 12/14 at Spirit

Still from Video – Director of Photography: Kevin Kukler Single artwork by Lennon Michalski If you know anything about local art-rock band Working Breed, then you know they’re not scared of taking creative risks. (Any group that features a musical [...]

December 13, 2018 Concert Calendar, Concert Preview, Local Artists, Local Releases, Upcoming Shows