Australian band San Cisco’s first time in Seattle included a stop by KEXP for an in-studio with Cheryl Waters. “That was more fun than a barrel of monkeys,” joked Waters, describing the performance. Formed in 2009 in the small city of Fremantle, Australia (the same town home to Tame Impala), San Ci…
Telekinesis is the name of Seattle's own Michael Benjamin Lerner and his soft-spoken, incredibly charming indie-rock solo act. Since his 2009 self-released debut EP, Lerner has garnered a reputation for himself blending 80's pop sensibilities with mellowed-out vocal stylings, a tried and true dynam…
As Kaoru Ishibashi himself admits, a year ago no one knew who he was. Now, with his musical project Kishi Bashi, he's selling out shows with his intricate and ecstatic performances. Inspired by as much by free jazz as bluegrass, hip-hop, and classical music, Kishi Bashi's baroque indie pop easily d…
Deep Sea Diver have been kicking around in one form or another since 2007, but last year, the Jessica Dobson-led group spent a fair amount of time outside of the studio, taking the kinetic pop songs from their album History Speaks on the road while Dobson wasn't playing with another guitar-centric …
Middle kids, in general, struggle for attention. Middle Kids (the band), on the other hand, have had little trouble getting noticed during their short career. The Sydney trio released their first single, the Ryan Adams-esque “Edge of Town," before they had even played a show. Shortly thereafter, po…
This year's Oscar nominations rolled out this morning and some very familiar names to KEXP are on the list. Indie-folk genius Sufjan Stevens is nominated in the Best Original Song category for one of the two songs he contributed to Luca Guadagnino's Call Me Be Your Name, "Mystery Of Love." Stevens …
Car Seat Headrest came dressed for success to their first KEXP in-studio session. Adorned in suits and ties, the young Seattle band got down to business with a fantastic five-song set of lo-fi epic indie rock. Despite his relatively young age, frontman and songwriter Will Toledo (reportedly just 22…
Second on today's broadcast live from KEX hostel at at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was Icelandic singer-songwriter Axel Flóvent. Axel has achieved recent international prominence after years playing in his hometown of Húsavik (a small fishing village in the north of Iceland), and all around his…
Canadian indie legends Metric have undoubtedly "made it." They're at the glorious stage in a career where they have the commercial success to justify any off-kilter choice they make, while still being independent enough that they have the freedom to make those off-kilter choices without any corpora…
San Francisco garage rock band Weekend have been doing some serious growth over the last couple years. On their 2010 debut Sports, Weekend gave us an enjoyable, noisy introduction that put them in tune with the scene and its direction. Now, with a couple years under their belt and a fresh batch of …
Adult Swim has been on a roll with music lately. If you recognize the name at all, most know Adult Swim from their late night spot on Cartoon Network, giving home to cult classic TV like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, and Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, and also ridiculous parodies in…
If you've been listening to the Morning Show with John Richards, you've probably heard a lot of up-and-comers Wild Cub, whose energetic, electronic-infused sound takes the best from 80's new wave romanticism, R&B and indie rock and makes it impossible to sit still. Back in February, the Nashvil…
New York based Freelance Whales may have gotten their start playing on subway platforms in 2008, but now they are one of the most critically acclaimed indie rock bands in years. Judah Dadone, Doris Cellar, and company stopped by the KEXP studio in October to play some tracks off of their Diluvia al…
Thurston Moore has nothing to prove after decades spent as part of one of the most influential bands of all time, Sonic Youth. The guitarist, singer, and songwriter has long been worshiped by SY fans and adored by critics as Sonic Youth evolved from brash indie upstarts in the 80s, to semi-commerc…
Yoni & Geti's Testarossa project is one of the most refreshing albums of the year, full stop. It brings two repeat collaborators together for a project that plays into each of their strengths with twice the strength and precision of any previous joint efforts by a mile. Furthermore, it's a larg…
Pitchfork published an article last week titled, “What it’s Like to Be Black in Indie Music.” Its author, Matthew James-Wilson, talks about his personal experience in the scene as well as what he gathered from various musicians he interviewed for the story.
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It has the makings of an indie movie plot: Hip musician dad records album with son while his wife undergoes cancer therapy. The real story is a bit more complicated, but that's essentially the backdrop of Tweedy, the latest project of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer. The duo recorded…
The legendary Bob Dylan releases "an album of vintage songs associated with legendary crooner Frank Sinatra." KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "it works beautifully, with spare, low-key accompaniment (ethereal pedal steel, softly plucked bass, gentle guitars and occasional muted brass) and his …
It's hard to imagine a better indie pop dream team than this – a multi-Grammy winning producer Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) and a beloved singer-songwriter James Mercer (of the Shins), each responsible for some of the most infectious songs you've heard in the past ten years, joining to create…
Well, can't say we saw that one coming! In the next phase of the ever-evolving state that has come to define them, experimental indie rock chameleons Liars come to us now as... a synth pop band?! Well, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. But still, on new record Mess, we find Liars a far cry a…
