Pittsburgh local band spotlight: The Sewerheads

The Sewerheads are celebrating the release of their new album, “Despair is a Heaven,” with a Jan. 31 show at Spirit Lodge in Lawrenceville.

Recorded in the fall of 2022 at Electrical Audio in Chicago by Matthew Barnhart, the album on Tall Texan Records was mixed by the band’s bassist, Matt Schor, in Pittsburgh and mastered by Fred Thomas in Michigan.

“(We’re) looking forward to playing shows locally and on the road while we finish writing LP2,” drummer Evan Meindl said.

Meindl filled TribLive in on what else we should know about The Sewerheads:

Band: The Sewerheads

Band members: Eli J. Kasan (guitar, vocals), Shani Banerjee (violin, vocals), Matt Schor (bass guitar), Evan Meindl (drums, keys)

Founded: Fall 2020

Origin of band’s name: According to Kasan, “It’s from Goethe’s ‘Faust.’ Or it came to me when I was dreaming up with band while walking my dog and I looked down…”

For fans of: Rowland S. Howard, depression drinking at smoking bars, the color grey

Influences: These Immortal Souls, Dirty Three, Iceage, X

Releases: “Diary of a Priest b/w Man of Finite Sorrow” (7-inch, Office Boy Records, 2024), “Despair is a Heaven” (Full length, Tall Texan, 2024)

Next show: Record release show! Spirit Lodge on Jan. 31 with the incredible Illiterates and Century III. I (Evan) will probably DJ after the show if my laptop still works.

How to find them: Check them out on Bandcamp (sewerheads.bandcamp.com) and Instagram (@thesewerheads)

3 other Pittsburgh bands to check out: Snarling Dogs, Mento Fellini, Painted Dog

Favorite pizza shop: Badamo’s #1 in town. Or drive a few minutes outside the city to Verona and get Della Sala’s.