Best Music of 2023 Recap – Local (Pittsburgh) Music
This list covers music from Pittsburgh-based musicians.
For my recap of non-local music from 2023, click here!
Hey. It’s been a while. 2024, for all of its good moments, was a hectic, stressful year for me. The Cliff Notes:
Health scares including a ruptured eardrum (I’m fine now),
Prolonged extreme work stress (including a sleep schedule shift due to recurring late meetings that I’m still trying to correct),
a move,
a job transition,
and beginning to recover from years of accumulated burnout.
Not to mention, disentangling the layers of shame and guilt that have built up over this period of public inactivity.
Unhelpfully, these layers tend to make starting again even more daunting. They coat the still-very-real love and passion and interest with comparisons and expectations, and not wanting to put out my creative endeavors at all if I can’t meet the “as perfect as possible” standards I set for myself. It’s not that I haven’t done anything, or that I’ve had no ideas. I just haven’t completed or published all that much. I tend to not say anything if I don’t feel I have anything to say, and this year brought one thing after another that demanded my full attention and capacity. (Having all the world’s bad news blasted at me at doomscrolling speed sure didn’t help either.)
The role of my anxiety, depression, ADHD, and executive dysfunction in all of this is a real chicken-or-the-egg situation. But if I was just “lazy,” I think I would’ve been having more fun.
Another factor is the sheer volume of music being released in recent years. There was no way I could listen to all of it before (especially alongside my day job), and that’s even more true in 2023 and 2024. As a music lover, this is great. However, as a writer, it’s overwhelming to think about trying to cover it all or “keep up.” It’s a tall order for any one person or publication to listen to everything and offer a completely comprehensive best of the year list. I tried to play catch-up, though, especially on local acts—resulting in this recap needing to be split into two posts for the first time ever.
Still, these lists will inevitably leave off quality releases. Simply because they didn’t cross my radar, or because life got in the way of me giving them a proper shake. I did my best, and I hope that care comes through.
Considering what a massive year for pop music 2024 turned out to be, it’s understandable that the gems of the previous year might have faded from our collective memory. Still, there was SO much quality music put out in 2023. It deserves to be recognized.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t shout out @pghmusictracker and @boredinpittsburgh here. Their work in cataloguing our local scene is valuable and appreciated, and I referenced it many times when catching up on what I missed here in Pittsburgh. Thank you as well to my music-savvy friends for curating thorough Best of the Year playlists. The content and order of these lists came from me, but these were invaluable reference points, cluing me in to new exciting artists and releases.
Enough preamble. In the interest of not letting perfect be the enemy of good, here it is, long overdue—my Best Local Music of 2023 list.
One entry per artist per list. Local (Pittsburgh) music is ranked within the lists for the top ten entries only. Some artists are no longer local to Pittsburgh but got their start here, and/or were based here in 2023. I generally deferred to @pghmusictracker’s categorizations there to keep things consistent. My Best of 2024 is also in progress and should be out soon!
Best Local Albums/EP’s of 2023
eyewash – eyewash: I first learned about eyewash in the summer of 2023, when I saw them open for Teen Suicide at The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls. Despite the pushy crowd, extraordinarily hot room, and a power outage abruptly shutting down the show mid-song, their sound was the most memorable part of that night. I looked them up once I got home, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
On their self-titled debut EP, eyewash seamlessly blends dream pop with shoegaze density and the pulse and energy of alt-rock. Female vocals from bassist/vocalist Rachel Hines and guitarist/vocalist Alex Walsh float over and mingle with the lush, hazy, dark-tinged instrumentals, which capably travel from pretty to gritty and back again. Eyewash knows when to make their guitars crunch and when to make them swirl: reverb and effect-drenched, but with undeniable punch and pulse. The single “Kaleidoscope” is a prime example of this. A foot-tapping groove, deliciously low distorted guitar and bass riffs, and captivating vocal runs frame an all-too-relatable premise of depression and disillusionment with getting older—feeling stuck in ruts of obligation, and yearning for a spark or ray of sunshine to return. (“I feel so gray/I’m not okay…I feel so sick of the rotation/Oh, please, I need a vacation/I do not know if I will make it/At this rate I fear another long year.”) It’s packed with hooks from start to finish, but you won’t forget that it’s a rock song first and foremost.
This intoxicating sonic blend is enhanced by killer instincts for song structure—when and how to build tension and release it—as well as strong lyricism. Much like their musical range, they know when to be straightforward and direct with their choice of words, and when to get expansive and painterly. The EP explores themes of loneliness, lust, substance abuse, distrust, feeling trapped in cycles of responsibilities and depression while watching time and life tick away, and the layers of dust that can accumulate on your heart as a result. (“Hypnagogic tones unravel sopor I can’t shake/Blank eyes dart back and forth, the soul’s window’s opaque.”) They can manage to find beauty in the midst of pain (“Negligence of what you know is welcome when you’re here/Return to oneness and be erased of your fear”), as well as the darker side of ostensible highs: “I’ll turn on my favorite song/and dance ‘til I’m in the ground…It tastes so good/I’m wasted, I’m alone, it’s all good/One more, raise a toast/Fall down some stairs/I swear I’m so good.”
This range and dimension, lyrically and sonically, makes eyewash really special. On their 2024 single, “Bound,” they lean more into their heavy side, complete with screams, and have indicated that they’ll push harder in this direction on future releases. They’re great at that too, and I’m eagerly awaiting whatever’s next. But this EP will always have a special place in my heart. Listen on Spotify here and on Bandcamp here.Melt – Replica of Man: When it comes to heavy, psychedelic stoner rock with spectacle and substance, few acts can hold a candle to Melt. (If you’ve seen their ferociously fun live show, you know what I mean.) Their second album, the first with drummer/vocalist J.J. Young, is a triumph of creative vision and instrumental prowess. The sheer sonic heft achieved by the trio catalyzes and ignites just as well as it oozes and wallows. The Black Sabbath influence is clear, and they’re doing it justice while still carving out a niche all their own. I repeatedly find myself surprised that these walls of sound are achieved with just three people: Joey Troupe on vocals and guitar, and James May on vocals and bass, alongside J.J. And the fact that they all take turns as lead singer, each adding a unique and complementary power to the tracks wherever they appear, makes this record even more special. Put simply, Replica of Man fucking rips.
Thematically, rot, imitation, corruption, alienation, revenge, and a foreboding sense of doom about the future take center stage, on levels both personal (“Sight to See,” “Problem Child,” “Skeleton Girl”) and existential (“Oh Diviner,” “Swamp Water,” “Sword or the Scepter.”) It’s ominous and fiery, pointing a gasoline-soaked finger at our worst instincts and the planet-destroying systems that have sprung from them. But instead of feeling preachy or depressing, it feels like catharsis. Fuzz-laden guitars shred up against menacing, heart-pounding basslines, and drum riffs that explode and propel the tracks forward—all with incredible skill and energy. The album is a lament (“It fulfills the prophecy/Unstoppable technology/Steel has seized the upper hand/We concede as it commands”), a warning (“Swamp water baptizes in dirt/Retribution for the Earth/Populations are submerged…Nations disappear/Nature perseveres”), and a rallying cry (“The doorway to tomorrow/is slowly being closed/Oh diviner, show me how/I will be reborn”), all at once. One listen and you can a) have your shit rocked in the best way, and b) rest assured that you’re not the only one feeling scared and pessimistic about the future of this planet.
It’s not so surprising, then, that the band has adopted a space-themed aesthetic. Donning astronaut suits onstage, offering an inflatable alien named Julius (and sometimes real people dressed in alien costumes) to the crowd, incorporating spaceships and little green men into their merch designs, and describing their activities on social media with the most cosmic of terms. (It’s not just a show, it’s an “orbital maneuver” or a “field test.”) After the last few years especially, I’m hard-pressed to blame them for wanting to get out of dodge. The very last line on the album attests to this goal: “Take flight, ignite, leave them all behind.”
While we’re still here, however, we’re lucky to have Melt in our neck of the woods. If you haven’t yet, now’s as good a time as any to #getmelted. Listen on Spotify here and on Bandcamp here.Forestry Division – Forestry Division: André Costello has been a fixture in the Pittsburgh music scene for over a decade now. In that time, he’s grown his project from a solo indie rock/Americana/folk act into a finely tuned ensemble; headlined local festivals and packed many venues; overhauled the band’s name and aesthetic; and released several quality albums, singles, and EP’s. Through it all, he’s remained one of the most talented musicians and songwriters in the city. Adept at folk/indie rock barn burners and catchy hooks, but also never afraid to venture outside of a typical strong structure or track length to take the listener exactly where he wants them to go.
Led by intricate, impactful guitar riffs, Costello and his bandmates know how to linger and expand into an instrumental idea, with keen instincts for layering, pacing, and tension and release. Songs can spin out into six minutes or more without a second being wasted. And though these genres are typically known for storytelling lyricism, he can just as easily adopt a more illustrative, evocative approach: piecing together a mosaic of poetic phrases, linked by their shared emotional core rather than a clear narrative. This sort of exploration could veer into overindulgence. But it doesn’t. Costello makes these choices with skill and with a purpose, always going somewhere interesting and affecting with them.
All of what I’ve just said holds true on this brilliant self-titled record. It’s the first (and as we’d find out later, last) full-length album under the Forestry Division moniker. Its themes and lyrics reflect our internally and existentially fraught times, packing a powerful emotional punch. The melodies and song structures are expertly arranged and executed, which makes for an enjoyable flow both within and between tracks. “Townhouse” is a particular standout. It’s a lament shot through with desperation about feeling stuck and losing trust in the future, in relationships, and in the goodness of humanity in general. It’s striking. The gradual escalation from a focus on Andre’s controlled lower range (“I can’t leave/no I can’t stay/All of the good ones/are dying away” and “It turns out that all the wrong circles/are really spirals/When they grab a hold of you/they drag you down”) up to a higher, frantic, voice-cracking shout (“Write down your name and number!/Write down your name and number!/I’m an upstanding member [of society]/I’m an upstanding member!”) is a potent creative choice to demonstrate this unraveling. If you’ve felt a little hysterical at some point in the past few years, this should resonate.
Other highlights include the sprawling slow burner “Moraine.” Its recurring blissed out guitar riff is made for closing your eyes and falling into. Meanwhile, “Loud Enough,” “Are We Ready?”, and “Get a Loan” are all bona fide crowd pleasers with a bit more energy. That doesn’t necessarily indicate happier subject matter, though. Costello sings about struggling with social anxiety, climate change, aging, stagnation, relationship uncertainty, and the seeming inevitability of drowning in crippling, destructive debt just to buy or rent a home.
Still, to quote the record’s closing song, it’s “not always doom and gloom.” These worries are interspersed with enough wisdom and optimism to remind us why we fight through all of this. We want to love, and connect, and trust the unpredictable tides of our lives. We want to reach into each other’s hearts and pull out stars. We want to watch the wind rustle through the leaves of a willow tree—and to live on a stabler, more just planet, so that future generations can do the same. As elusive as these things might seem, we have to seek them out, cultivate them where we can, and appreciate them when they appear.
Aging, then, doesn’t just bring “slow decay,” as Costello fears in “Loud Enough.” It brings wisdom too. With their final album, Forestry Division offers catharsis for our increasingly isolated times, framed and enhanced by their distinct musical expertise. Put this record on during a long drive or road trip. Listen on Spotify here and on Bandcamp here.Gaadge – Somewhere Down Below: Gaadge has put together some really solid indie rock on this record, expertly incorporating fuzzy, buzzing elements of grunge, alternative, and shoegaze. Even the drum hits feel staticky sometimes, like you’re hearing them on an old tape from the 90’s. Somewhere Down Below is a perfect balance of energetic and immersive, gritty and spacey, fuzzed-out and hard-hitting. It’s fantastic. Several tracks are shorter and focus more on the instrumental journey than the words, refusing to drag four minutes out of a solid 90-second idea, and leaving you wanting more. The lyrics that are present are evocative and poignant. They mostly explore various iterations of the speaker or someone they know trying to run away from a reckoning—whether external or internal—but ultimately, not being able to escape their fate. Check it out.
Short Fictions – Oblivion Will Own Me and Death Alone Will Love Me (Void Filler): Emo both at its highest energy and its most despondent. From screams to acoustic strums and everything in between, Short Fictions can do it all. The variety and vulnerability they pack into just 25 minutes is impressive. If you’re still even a little bit of an emo kid, don’t miss this record or this band.
Feeble little horse – Girl with Fish
Clara Kent – THE FOUR WINDS: EAST
Chet Vincent and The Music Industry - Young Leaves
Different Places in Space – Different Places in Space
Benji. – Love Gun
Gloomer – Embrace the End
String Machine – Turn Off Anything Again
Feralcat and the Wild – Disassembly: I love the variety of moods the band is able to capture here, and the narrative arcs they’re able to imply with instruments alone. Though I’m sure the multimedia performance at New Hazlett Theater a couple years back would have brought it to the next level. (Sadly I couldn’t see this myself.) The album was released on streaming platforms in 2023, and it certainly holds up on its own too. It’s electronic, with both oddball and slick synthpop moments; it’s funk; it’s theatrical rock; it’s a storytelling video game soundtrack…and as is the case with all Feralcat projects, whether solo or full band endeavors, it’s in a league of its own.
Sad Girls Aquatics Club – Easier
Dan Koshute – Intravolve
Working Breed – Gaslighter
Animal Scream – Heartbroke Motel
The Real Sea – Fall / Awake (EP)
Old Game – Black Moon Lillith
Giovanni Orsini – Inebriated
Old Neon – Can’t Fucking Wait
Moemaw Naedon and C. Scott – Yinztroducing…
Woodland Creatures – Lay It All Down
Royal Haunts – Mana
Bryce Rabideau, John Bagnato, Jason Rafalak – Meanwhile
mycatseesghosts – songs for juno
Akage Design Co. – Song with Dumb Names
Silver Car Crash – Shattered Shine
Sweat – Who Do They Think They Are?
Bia Dao – Autumn EP
Best Local Singles of 2023
The Real Sea – Fall / Awake (Bandcamp-exclusive single): An absolutely gorgeous and immersive song. It’s part shimmering psychedelia, part dreampop, part shoegaze, and entirely intoxicating. Vocalist/guitarist Sharon Mok’s gentle, pretty vocal lines alternately dance over and fall into layers of lush guitar, framed by ornate bass and drum riffs that are prominent but not too dominant. It all works together beautifully. When I first heard the instrumental break that starts just shy of the three-minute mark, I was transfixed. Dazzled. And I knew that this would top my list. Sink into this when you need the sonic equivalent of being wrapped in a soft blanket while watching a vibrant sunset over calm water.
Balloon Ride Fantasy – Dreams of Apes: “Dreams of Apes” sees Balloon Ride Fantasy striking a perfect balance between their imaginative, idiosyncratic lyricism and their sharp instincts for synthpop earworms. The mid-tempo, melancholy-tinged track explores the existential fear of being a small nervous animal at the mercy of larger forces, such as time, as well as what agency we can claw back in a world that’s as cruel as it is beautiful. This sense of loss and confusion is felt by both predator and prey: in the first verse, “I am a rabbit/Lost on my way home/Lost on my way to home,” and in the second, “I am a falcon/Lofty and weightless/Lofting on waves of fog…Time is a roving hawk/pecking at my eyes/No way to fight.”
But you don’t need to keep track of every metaphor to resonate with the music. It builds from a stark piano riff at the beginning into the richly textured synth grooves, head-nodding drum machine beats, and dreamy vocal harmonies that characterize BRF’s singular sound. The tried-and-true pop technique of repeating lyrical phrases to get them stuck in your head—and to drive a point home—is used very effectively here. It’s not just the band trying to fill up space, nor a choice made to hide a lack of ideas. It’s to make this a better pop song, which it absolutely does. You’ll probably remember “No peace at all/no peace at all” and “The beast is all/You feed it/You feed it” from the chorus more than any other words in the track. They also employ slight, sound-alike variations across the verses and the bridge—for instance, time won’t let you “smile,” “slide,” nor “fly.” This scratches that “repetition good” itch in your brain while still deepening the song’s message.
All told, it’s striking how well the beat, lyrics, and vocal melodies complement each other to evoke a sense of sadness that you can still groove to. The recurring keyboard hook that sounds more like a traditional piano than their usual synthesizers, as well as the clarity and strength of Bethany Conley’s vocals in the mix, are shrewd creative choices that help make this song a standout in their catalog. Lead singer/songwriter Chris Olszewski is in prime form as well, along with his writing partner and keys/guitar player Phil Conley. Everyone’s bringing their best, no one’s muffled by the mix, and it all just works.
For something the delves into the natural world for inspiration as much as it does, “Dreams of Apes” sure makes a great soundtrack for walking around a city at night, reflecting on life. The music video captures this duality effectively. This may actually be my favorite single Balloon Ride Fantasy has released yet—it’s at least in the top three—and that’s saying something. Don’t miss it.Melt – Problem Child: J.J. Young’s commanding, super-charged rock star vocals pair perfectly with the churning, mechanized, menacing pulse of the instruments behind it. It feels like a sinister steam train chugging down the train tracks, with a maniacal conductor capable of anything at the controls. Whenever the instruments briefly crash to a near stop, a fireball spews from the smokebox and up through the chimney—either in the form of Young threatening to “break the glass and steal your envy,” or in the form of searing guitar and bass riffs from Troupe and May, respectively. It’s absolutely killer.
The power and range of Young’s voice, including expertly wielded belting and falsetto runs, is something to behold. And it gets even more impressive live, when he’s playing the drums at the same time. All aboard the Melt Express.Sad Girls Aquatics Club – Who’s Your Witness: The indie rock leanings, fuzzy guitars, and slightly manic synths on this track work so well. It’s bedroom pop with the distortion turned up. SGAC does it again.
Forestry Division – Townhouse
Gaadge – Any Timers
Chet Vincent and The Music Industry – Toledo
Moontown – At All
Sierra Sellers – Come Thru
Benji. + Spillage Village, feat. Will Juergens and Cam Chambers – Terms & Conditions
Paging Doctor Moon – Scars
Kahone Concept – Shaking Out My Problems
NASH.V.ILL – Sister
Oliver Hufford – Staying Up Late
Dan Koshute – Cavalcade of Faces
The Moat Rats – Oh Heart
Chandra Rhyme – iNvite
Zinnia’s Garden – Purple Portal Dream
Gloomer – Being and Nothingness (Bandcamp-exclusive single)
Back Alley Sound – Surefire
Woodland Creatures – Keep On Running
L.T. Creacher – Bummer Proof (Bandcamp-exclusive single)
TV’s NORM – Fraiser’s Dog
Hayden Hanna - .EVERYDAYPATCHESTHENIGHTUP.
Hemlock for Socrates – Silent Crowd – Meeting in the Dark Variant
Bia Dao – Feel You Still
I really appreciate it if you’ve made it this far. Thank you! This was way more challenging than I anticipated to put together, so I hope you enjoyed reading it, and that you give at least one of these songs a chance. Something tells me we’re about to be pretty nostalgic for 2023.
If you’re curious about the best of the best outside of the Three Rivers, check out my non-local music recap here, or click to the next post below! My Best Music of 2024 List is also in the works. I hope to have that out later in January, or by February at the latest, so I can finally be caught up on this instead of a year behind.