Each week, Music Director Don Yates shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Bill Callahan, BROCKHAMPTON, Tom Skinner, and more.
Bill Callahan – YTI⅃AƎЯ (Drag City)
This veteran Austin-based artist’s latest album is an excellent set of reflective folk-rock inflected at times with psych-pop, jazz and other styles, with an often-gentle though sometimes turbulent sound combining guitars, keyboards, horns, woodwinds and more with his deadpan baritone and finely chiseled lyrics revolving around love, community and contentment.
BROCKHAMPTON – The Family (RCA/Question Everything)
Having already announced their breakup, this San Marcos, TX-bred hip hop collective is wrapping up with two albums, one being a set of unfinished studio recordings and this one, which is more-or-less a solo album from group leader Kevin Abstract, who looks back on the group’s career, from their promising beginning to their turbulent breakup, with bluntly honest and often self-deprecating lyrics revolving around the pressures of fame and relationships turned toxic. The production from Bearface and Boylife is a warm, often-buoyant blend of soul-steeped hip hop, pop and R&B.
Tom Skinner – Voices of Bishara (Brownswood Recordings/International Anthem/Nonesuch)
This London-based drummer/producer (who’s also a member of Sons of Kemet and The Smile) is joined by an all-star lineup on his solo debut album, including Shabaka Hutchings on tenor sax and bass clarinet, Nubya Garcia on tenor sax and flute, Kareem Dayes on cello and Tom Herbert on acoustic bass. Recorded live in the studio and later heavily edited by Skinner, the album features an impressively diverse sound ranging from fiery free jazz and haunting, meditative jazz to groove-driven jazz-funk and hip hop-influenced jazz.
The Black Halos – How the Darkness Doubled (Stomp)
This reunited Vancouver B.C.-bred band’s fifth album (and first in 14 years) is a potent set of anthemic garage-punk with slashing guitars, energetic rhythms, sing-along choruses, fist-pumping song hooks and lyrics of love, loss and resilience.
Gladie – Don't Know What You’re In Until You’re Out (Plum)
The second album from this Philadelphia band led by former Cayetana frontwoman Augusta Koch is a potent set of expansive indie-rock ranging from energetic punk to moody, atmospheric indie-pop, combining buzzing guitars, keyboards, occasional cello and horns, anthemic song hooks and lyrics of struggle, healing and renewal.
Field School – When Summer Comes (Bobo Integral)
The debut Field School full-length from Olympia-based artist (and former Math & Physics Club frontman) Charles Bert is a well-crafted set of lo-fi indie-pop with jangly guitars, bittersweet melodies and lyrics of love and loss.
Helens – Somewhere in Nowhere (self-released)
This Portland band’s debut full-length is a well-crafted set of shoegazer dream-pop with fuzzy guitars, atmospheric synths, gauzy vocals and bittersweet melodies.
Noah Coinflip – God is Love (self-released)
The second full-length from this Seattle producer/musician (who’s also produced records for Livt, Talaya., Rell Be Free and other notables) is a solid set of fusion jazz incorporating elements of R&B, funk, house and other styles.
Subsonic Eye – Melt the Wax EP (Topshelf)
This Singapore band follows up their third album (2021’s Nature of Things) with this solid three-song EP of well-crafted indie-pop combining jangly guitars and lively rhythms with Nur Wahidah’s bright, melodic vocals and lyrics reflecting on her upbringing.
Sneaks – The Eva EP (Merge)
The latest release from this DC-based artist (aka Eva Moolchan) is a solid five-song set of adventurous post-punk combining atmospheric synths and hypnotic rhythms with lyrics of isolation and connection.
Blacklisters – Leisure Centre EP (Exploding in Sound)
This British band’s latest release is a potent four-song EP of arty noise-punk with squalling guitars, pounding rhythms, occasional sax, angst-fueled vocals and acidic lyrics aimed at toxic masculinity and the idle rich.
Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations – You Survived So I Might Live EP (Transgressive)
This London artist’s latest release is a four-song EP that’s also the first part of his upcoming album I Came From Love (due out April 2023). It's a potent blend of jazz, hip hop and electronic styles, combining a murky, atmospheric sound with lyrics revolving around ancestry, racism, injustice, survival and heritage.
Weeping Icon – Ocelli EP (Fire Talk)
This Brooklyn band’s latest release is an adventurous three-song EP ranging from fierce, politically charged post-punk to droning ambient.
Music Director Don Yates shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation, including this week's new releases from Fousheé, Homeboy Sandman, Fievel Is Glauque, and more.
Each week, Music Director Don Yates shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Weyes Blood, The Winston Brothers, Chancha…
Each week, Music Director Don Yates shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation.
