Vancouver quartet Jo Passed released their debut full-length, Their Prime, in May via Sub Pop. The album title cheekily plays on the insecurities bandleader Jo Hirabayashi has about age. "It's me owning my worst nightmare,” Hirabayashi says. "A lot of the Jo Passed project has been about confronting fears. I was afraid to move away from Vancouver to Montreal on my own. Afraid to leave musical relationships I had. Afraid to bare the full responsibility of a project. I've been putting out records, and not ones anyone's necessarily heard. Being open about those fears is a good way of dealing with them. You end up at this point where you hit 30 and you're like, 'Oh what happened? Am I done? Did I not activate my main creative energy?' It's a ridiculous idea but 30 feels a little like 1000 in rock 'n' roll terms.” The album’s lead single and our song of the day, “MDM,” touches on the ever-present concern about our attachment to technology. The song comes with a video directed by Seattle-born, New York-based photographer Eleanor Petry. Check it out below, as well as Jo Passed’s KEXP in-studio performance of the song from last year. Jo Passed perform Saturday, August 11th as part of the Sub Pop 30th Anniversary Celebration in West Seattle, and play Friday, August 24th as part of KEXP and Seattle Center's Concerts at the Mural series with The Moondoggies and The Black Tones.
Finding good new music can be a full time job, so let KEXP help! In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.