Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share 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 Captain Planet, Melody's Echo Chamber, Anna of the North, and more.
Captain Planet - DIG (Bastard Jazz)
The sixth full-length album from LA-based DJ/producer Captain Planet (aka Charlie Wilder) is another excellent set of vibrant global grooves that blend an array of worldly flavors into his kinetic, colorful, and joyful sonic world. With a clear focus on songs destined to get dancefloors moving, ‘DIG’ is a start-to-finish party that gets boosts from guest vocalists hailing from Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Nigeria, Ghana and Angola, as well as a posthumous feature from legendary Afrobeat pioneer and co-creator Tony Allen, who gets reworked on the standout early single “Tony’s House.” -AR
Melody’s Echo Chamber - Unclouded (Domino)
The fourth studio album from French singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Melody Prochet, aka Melody’s Echo Chamber, is a showstopper. With densely layered arrangements featuring strings, keys, guitars, drums, and ethereal vocals, her vibrant, prismatic fusion of dreampop and neo-psych will leave listeners levitating through all twelve essential tracks. Aptly titled, ‘Unclouded’ is bright and warm, showcasing a visionary and assured artist who knows no bounds. –CS
Anna of the North - Girl In A Bottle (Play It Again Sam)
Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud, aka Anna of the North, returns with her irresistible fourth studio album. Featuring slinky guitar lines, dreamy vocals, and sparkling synths, ‘Girl In A Bottle’ is a perfect dose of melancholic, crystalline pop that explores new love, heartache, and the spaces in between. –CS
Dove Ellis - Blizzard (Black Butter/AMF)
The debut album from this Irish artist is a stellar set of magnetic, assured, and instantly memorable folky indie rock songs distinguished by his distinctive, elastic, transfixing voice that quickly brings to mind Jeff Buckley, Cameron Winter, and a shade of Thom Yorke. Fresh off opening up for Geese’s U.S tour dates throughout the month of November, Dove Ellis caps off his ascendent year with one of the most captivating debut albums of 2025. -AR
EX GENERATION - The Mumbai Exchange (Energy Exchange)
EX GENERATION is a London-based production duo composed of Ziggy Zeitgeist and Lewis Moody. Following their 2024 debut album ‘The Napoli Exchange’ that found them collaborating with Italian funk visionaries from Naples, their sophomore album sets their focus on Mumbai, the epicenter of Bollywood. Recorded in collaboration with some of the city’s most in-demand studio musicians and vocalists versed in both Indian Classical and Bollywood music, ‘The Mumbai Generation’ is an awesome homage to the rare and eclectic Bollywood Disco records from the 70s and 80s and brings fresh life into this transportive, groovy, colorful sound. The album closes out with a sweet Hindi-language cover of Sister Sledge’s “Thinking Of You.” -AR
GROS COEUR - Vague Scélérate (Jaune Orange/Le Cèpe/Spinda Records/Stolen Body)
The sophomore album from Belgian tropical psych rock outfit GROS COEUR is incendiary. Opening with the nearly thirteen-minute epic “La Vague,” this dynamic set of psych, kraut, and prog rock is a wholly immersive experience. With ripping guitars, entrancing keys, hazy vocals, lively percussion, and labyrinthine arrangements, ‘Vague Scélérate’ (which translates to “Rogue Wave”) showcases the band’s undeniable flair. –CS
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - Forever, I’ve Been Being Born (Southern Lord)
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter make a breathtaking return with their fifth studio album and first release since 2011’s ‘Marble Son.’ With mesmerizing gothic and psych-tinged Americana soundscapes shaped by haunting vocals, bittersweet melodies, intricate guitar work, ornate flourishes, and poetic lyricism, Sykes, Phil Wandscher, and company weave an extraordinary tapestry of timeless alt-country that leaves an indelible impression. –CS
MAVI - The Pilot (Loma Vista)
The new mixtape from North Carolina rapper MAVI marks the beginning of a new chapter for the celebrated emcee. Released almost exactly a year after he got sober, ‘The Pilot’ is a fluid, living and breathing project that features his remarkable introspective lyricism, smooth flows, cinematic soundscapes, and stellar guest appearances from MIKE, Kenny Mason, Earl Sweatshirt, and Smino. –CS
Navy Blue - The Sword & The Soaring (Freedom Sounds)
The latest album from Brooklyn-via-LA rapper, producer, professional skateboarder, and multidisciplinary artist Navy Blue (aka Sage Elsesser) is another razor-sharp set of meditative, poetic, reflective hip-hop that combines his calm delivery and captivating wordplay over beautiful, minimal, loop-heavy beats. Frequently touching upon familial grief, ‘The Sword & The Soaring’ is an honest, personal, meticulously-crafted record that feels spiritually and aesthetically akin to the late, great Ka. -AR
Temporary Blessings - Sumbisori (College Of Knowledge Records)
Cinematic soul doesn’t get much sweeter than the debut album from Melbourne collective Temporary Blessings. Featuring members of Surprise Chef, Karate Boogaloo, and Let Your Hair Down, this new ensemble was assembled by trumpet player and composer Liam McGorry to explore his love of 1960s Italian and French soundtrack music. Through lush, intricate arrangements, the group crafts an expansive blend of moody R&B, jazz, and psychedelic soul that sets an immaculate vibe. –CS
Tems - Love Is A Kingdom (RCA/Since ‘93)
The latest release from this breakout Nigerian artist is a stellar 7-track EP of sumptuous R&B that pairs her gorgeous voice and love-themed lyrics with warm, magnetic, Afrobeats-accented productions. -AR
Various Artists - Tapioca - Brasil Diverso (Poeira Music)
This stunning compilation curated by DJ Tahira is a vibrant celebration of contemporary Brazilian music. Featuring artists such as Josiel Konrad, Aldo Sena, Saulo Duarte, Sambanzo, and Space Charanga, the spellbinding rhythms and lush soundscapes on ‘Tapioca - Brasil Diverso’ showcase the remarkable diversity emerging from the region. Of the collection, DJ Tahira shares: “Brazil is currently experiencing its most prolific period of cultural creation and re-invention. We boast a minimum of 40 distinct rhythms, yet the international understanding often limits itself to just four or five. While an immense cultural evolution is underway here, the lingering global perception, rooted in a '60s, '70s, '80s imaginary, remains strikingly out of sync with our dynamic present." –CS
Ikonika - SAD (Hyperdub)
The latest full-length album from veteran London-based artist Ikonika (aka Sara Chen) finds them further evolving beyond their deeply-rooted producer-only hat and adding their voice heavily into the mix on this self-billed “Sad and Sexy” album of moody, intoxicating, cutting-edge, club-pop jams. Created during a transformational period of life that found Sara becoming a parent and publicly coming out as queer and trans, ‘SAD’ finds Sara “'finding [their] voice without fear speaking first” and injecting their mesmerizing rhythms with a plethora of African influences – Amapiano, gqom, Bacardi – that reflects upon their Egyptian ancestry and all-embracing, genre-blurring, progressive sonic vision. -AR
Jesse Welles - No Kings (self-released)
Jesse Welles is an Ozark, Arkansas-born singer/songwriter who has been active on the music scene since 2012, yet he’s experienced a meteoric ascent over the past year after focusing on writing and performing folk protest songs that are incisive and clever, and doing it at a prolific clip too. Currently garnering acclaim as “this generation’s Bob Dylan,” he’s already released a handful of albums this year, received four nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards in the process, and his latest offering is another breakout 3-song EP featuring the singles “No Kings” and “Join ICE.” -AR
K-Lone - sorry i thought you were someone else (Incienso)
The third full-length album from Bristol, UK-based electronic producer Josiah Gladwell (aka K-Lone, also co-founder of Wisdom Teeth Records) is another super sharp set of warm, melodic, hypnotic electronic grooves that leans into a minimal, atmospheric, and refined sound. While his sophisticated, nuanced, and glistening house vibes are still present and stronger than ever, ‘sorry i thought you were someone else’ also carries a palpable emotional undercurrent, as it was written after his father’s passing, and the album “became a place of escape and reflection” for K-LONE, yielding his most intimate record in his stellar discography. -AR
Lou Salome - Just Something You Cared About In High School (Baby City)
The debut album from this NYC duo composed of Leah Hennessey and Jack Kilmer is an impressive set of moody, arty, youthful indie rock that’s soaked in romance, passion, and a “teenage-brained oblivion-chasing” ethos. Both members have backgrounds in film, Hennessey as a director and Kilmer – son of the late Val Kilmer and British actress Joanne Whalley – as an actor, and there’s an undeniable cinematic intensity in their intoxicating, palpable chemistry and mesmerizing vocal interplay that often gives their music a titillating rush. -AR
Magugu x Le Motel - Bitter Better (Malorca)
The second collaborative EP between Cardiff, UK-based Nigerian poet/rapper Magugu and Brussel-based electronic producer Le Motel is another excellent set of unique cutting-edge rap that blends Le Motel's sleek club-ready rhythms that blend UK garage, grime, jungle, dancehall, and bass with Magugu's commanding flow and delivery with lyrics in Pidgin, an English-based creole language spoken in Nigeria. -AR
Maria Rodeìs - Lo Que Me Pasa (Elefant)
The latest album from this versatile Barcelona-based musician is a nice set of Latin alt-pop with touches of R&B, flamenco, synth-pop, reggaeton, bachata, and bossa nova that’s held together by an expressive, romantic, and passionate streak. -AR
Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving (Capitol)
The second full-length studio album from this breakout British artist is a smooth, smart, and sumptuous set of warm R&B, jazzy soul, and classic pop that spotlights her gorgeous voice, diaristic storytelling, and charming charisma through polished songs that explore the nuances of love, romance, and relationships. -AR
Optic Sink - Lucky Number (Feel It)
The third album from this Memphis trio fronted by Nots member Natalie Hoffman is a sweet set of synthy post-punk with a No Wave swagger that infuses their angular, snarling, angsty songs with a groovy, body-moving energy. -AR
oreglo - The Whirr EP (Brownswood Recordings)
The latest EP from London ensemble oreglo finds them digging deeper and darker into their experimental fusion of jazz, prog rock, and post-punk. Never staying in one place too long, ‘The Whirr’ moves from urgent rockers to contemplative grooves, resulting in a thrilling and engrossing listen. –CS
strongboi - ep 1 (self-released)
The latest EP from this Berlin-based duo composed of longtime friends Alice Phoebe Lou and Ziv Yamin is another sweet, skip-free set of playful indie pop with a cool, groovy, slinky vibe that's reminiscent of recent tourmates Men I Trust as well as Mr Twin Sister and TOPS. -AR
The Notwist - Magnificent Fall (Alien Transistor)
The latest offering from this beloved and quietly influential German band that was formed in 1989 around brothers Markus and Micha Acher is a wonderful collection of rarities, remixes, B-sides, and unreleased material pulled from their rich, deep history. Sequenced for flow rather than chronologically, ‘Magnificent Fall’ feels like a long-lost The Notwist album, yet one that impressively captures their exceptionally vast range as it folds tender chamber-pop, wistful folk-pop, twinkling indietronica, abstract hip-hop, cerebral dub excursions, and unpredictable experimental fare into a seamless listening experience. Amongst their own material are standout remixes by Grizzly Bear, Ada, and Odd Nosdam. -AR
Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share 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 …
Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. See what we added this week, from De La Soul, Boy Deluxe, Danny Brown, and more.
Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. See what we added this week, from Austra, Bad Colours, FKA twigs, and more.
