Hearing music from your favorite artists in concert is incredible, but there's nothing like that feeling when the sounds of live unreleased tracks hit your eardrums for the first time. Below are four release shows happening in the city this weekend, so you can hear new music from Pittsburgh musicians/bands before anyone else.
Thu., Nov. 21
Hemlock for Socrates - Paper Animals
9 p.m. Spirit, 242 51st St., Lawrenceville. $8-10.
hemlockforsocrates.bandcamp.com
After returning from an eight-year musical hiatus in January, married indie-rock duo Hemlock for Socrates is releasing its second album of 2019 with a release show at Spirit. The new project Paper Animals follows Barometrics, an album focused on themes of aging, the changing political climate, and how people have become more isolated over that past two decades.
From cryptic social media posts featuring short video clips and captions with existential questions (Paper Animals 10 - What does one individual's death mean; Paper Animals 01 - Why now?; Paper Animals 05 - Do you meet their standards?) it seems like the lastest release will keep on track with the complicated topics of Barometrics.
Joining the band in the Lawrenceville venue is Action Camp and Swampwalk. Additionally, attendees get a free copy of Paper Animals on CD.
Fri., Nov. 22
Kiwano Sour - "Angel Wings"
7:30 p.m. Cattivo, 146 44th St., Lawrenceville. $10-12.
facebook.com/KiwanoSour
Funk band Kiwano Sour recently had a minor lineup change — Chris Wood replaced keyboardist Oliver Fleischmann — and the group of seven is ready to "bring all new sights and sounds and a new direction," starting with the release of its latest single, "Angel Wings." The track is the first music released under the current lineup.
Also on the bill for the night is Pittsburgh's hunnycomb, and Maryland's Natalie Brooke and The Band.
Fri., Nov. 22
The Hawkeyes - Ever For After
9 p.m. Hard Rock Cafe, 230 W. Station Square Drive, South Side. $12-15.
hawkeyesband.com
Just a few tickets are left for The Hawkeyes' release show for Ever For After, the rocks band's third LP. Ever For After marks a new direction for the Pittsburgh band, as they teamed up with local producer Sean McDonald, who has worked with Pittsburgh acts such as The Clarks, Gene the Werewolf, Jim Donovan, and more.
Fans got a preview of the new sound, which leans into rock-pop, when The Hawkeyes debuted track "Stone's Throw Away" from the album in late spring.
Acoustic rock act Snarfunkle opens for the band.
Sat., Nov. 23
Buffalo Rose - Big Stampede
7 p.m. THIS IS RED, 605 E. Ninth Ave., Homestead. $15.
buffalorosemusic.com
In September, Pittsburgh folk band Buffalo Rose signed with record label Misra Records. Now the group is set to celebrate its first EP, Big Stampede, with the label, which will be released internationally, Saturday at THIS IS RED in Homestead.
It's been a turbulent year for the group, as in addition to signing to with Misra, Buffalo Rose lost a vocalist — they added Rosanna Spindler to fill out the lineup —shortly after releasing their debut LP, The Soil and the Seed.
With Spindler, the group feels it's moving in a poppier direction, which can be heard in "I Feel So Good," Big Stampede's final track and opening track "Somewhere, TN." The EP also has a track titled, "The Soil And The Seed" in a nod to their debut.
Buffalo Rose's release show features special guest George Heid III, as well as an opening set by C Street Brass. The Pittsburgh Winery will be providing libations.
Catch release shows from Hemlock for Socrates, Buffalo Rose, Kiwano Sour, and The Hawkeyes this weekend
