• Photo courtesy of Chris Miskis
• 1,2,3

It's been a couple years since we heard from 1,2,3. The Pittsburgh-based band made a splash with its debut release, New Heaven, in 2011; singer/guitarist Nic Snyder and drummer Josh Sickels had signed with French Kiss Records after a single had impressed the Brooklyn label, and besides the national-level release, the band's Pittsburghy video for "Work" went viral locally.

Then there was quiet. For a time, the band split. How do we know that? Because it's the first thing Snyder mentions in the liner to 1,2,3's new album, Big Weather.

The band did, of course, get back together. And not only is there a new full-length on the way, but there's a double LP on the way — recorded locally, and released without the help of a label. Much as New Heaven dealt heavily with themes that danced around the Pittsburgh summer (the wave pool, driving around and listening to Raekwon, etc.), the new album stems from the volatile atmosphere. Big Weather is somewhat self-explanatory: It's inspired by a tornado that hit Snyder's aunt's house, among other weird weather phenomena that allude to the zeitgeist — climate change, apocalypse or whatever you might call it. It's a concept album, with spoken-word interludes, but more arty than pedantic or issues-based.

This week, the band debuted two tunes from the album, "Big Weather Pt. 1," backed with "Leave Me in the Sky with the Lawnchair," the first two songs on Big Weather. Check them out below, and mark your calendar for Fri. May 30, the official release show for Big Weather, at Brillobox.