Much has been made of The Ruby Suns' globetrotting tendencies, both internationally and musically. American born band founder, Ryan McPhun, left California for New Zealand in the mid '00s and joined Auckland group The Brunettes before forming The Ruby Suns to make blissful, psychedelic multicultura…
Thao Nguyen is a voice of the people. While her music leans a bit more toward peppy indie pop than hippy folk rock, Thao's songs on her fourth LP, We The Common, are about the individual experiences and personal interactions we all have. As she says about the new Thao & The Get Down Stay Down a…
From last week's Spud War, we continue our tuberous theme with Tater Totz, which you might think would be even more contentious than Devo's synth-heavy fifth album, but which seems to have been more well received at KCMU. What is the deal with Tater Totz? I think just attempting to explain this pro…
The final day of Bumbershoot 2015 finally saw sunshine and good weather all around. Maybe the crowds could sneak in one more summer festival after all, after the torrential rains that started the whole thing off. The lineup for this day included another solid dose of excellent local bands, like Sis…
Swedish indie pop band The Radio Dept. have never been optimists, but with new record Running Out of Love, they are really going out of their way not to see any silver linings. "There's nothing gracious about our kind", Johan Duncanson sings on opener "Sloboda Narodu" (yes, that is the famous Yugos…
Throughout Band of Horses' intimate semi-acoustic set at the KEXP Gathering Space, frontman Ben Bridwell repeatedly mentioned that the group's origins were only a few blocks away in a rehearsal space. "This is one of the first songs I wrote for Band of Horses, and I wrote it right down the street i…
It's been an interesting year and a half for Sheffield indie rock duo Drenge. The band's rise to public awareness has taken a pretty incongruent path: being name checked by a member of Parliament upon resignation, dubbed "Derbyshire's Black Keys" by the Guardian UK, and getting commercial appeal fr…
Today marks the release of Dormarion, the third full-length from Seattle power pop project Telekinesis. The band was in-studio this morning celebrating its released, and a couple of weeks ago they played a bunch of material from the new album for the crowd assembled at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop in…
It's a short list of new releases this week, as all eyes and ears are on the SXSW festival, but there are a few key releases you'll want to pick up in stores today. First and foremost, the latest from David Bowie, whose first album in ten years is not only a surprise to all David Bowie listeners an…
Listening to No Cities To Love, the eighth album by Sleater-Kinney, has to be done with one thing in mind: Sleater-Kinney did not have to make this album. That's not meant in a idol-worshipping, "we're not worthy" way, but quite literally. They all have alternate careers that they're perfectly happ…
With a bright blue mantra and neon promise to boot, Cut Copy return this year with their fourth LP Free Your Mind. Dan Whitford and the gang don't seem to be slowing down much in their second decade together. Zonoscope, the band's 2011 award-winning classic, took the band's one of a kind combinatio…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afte…
The sun came out last Friday to set the perfect scene for KEXP and Seattle Center's second in the Concerts at the Mural series. With only the Space Needle and sun overhead, fans came out to see Minneapolis' earth friendly indie rock band Cloud Cult headline the concert. The KEXP favorites took the …
On their dreamy fifth album, Scottish band Camera Obscura adds a local flavor by recording with Portland based producer (and former Seattleite) Tucker Martine. Our Music Director, Don Yates, calls Desire Lines "a beautifully crafted set of bittersweet, soul-tinged indie-pop, featuring a warm, lush …
Indie veterans Yo La Tengo have announced a new album slated for release in March called There's a Riot Going On. In a press release written by writer and critic Luc Santé, the album title is an intentional nod to Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 album of the same name, as well as a remark on the cu…
Philadelphia rockers The War On Drugs have been touring tirelessly on the wide success of their third album, 2014's Lost In The Dream. KEXP listeners voted it as their top album of the year, and with good reason. Singer and songwriter Adam Granduciel wrote the songs during a post-tour period of iso…
Julian Casablancas kicked off his Showbox set Thursday night with an eleven minute experimental track about the corruption of the music industry and the doom of creativity called "Human Sadness". It is truly a new era for one of our generation's best songwriters, personally coming full circle with …
We were afraid when Eric D. Johnson announced the demise of the beloved indie pop band Fruit Bats that we'd heard the last of him. But as he put that project to bed, during a recent in-studio, he assured KEXP listeners he'd be back with more music. We just had no idea how soon! Barely six months si…
“Boy, the come down here was easy, like the arrival of a new day.” That’s how Adam Granduciel chooses to open the new album from The War on Drugs after a minute and a half of dreamscape Americana. As the listener, you could say the same thing. The Philadelphia band have always found a way to worm i…
