Beach Fossils have done a lot of growing in the past couple years. Their 2010 self-titled debut was pleasing to the ear and to the heart with it's quiet, introverted finesse. But in 2011, by trimming some lo-fi fat off their tracks, they created a timeless experience with the What A Pleasure EP. Su…
It's about as difficult to claim a favorite Nick Cave album as it is to claim a Tom Waits one. That the two artists get compared so frequently by critics and fans isn't due so much to their similar penchant for the seedier aspects of life but rather to their shared mastery of the album's form. Each…
Less than a minute into Hummingbird, the sophomore effort from LA band Local Natives, keyboardist/vocalist Kelcey Ayer makes a stark confession: "I woke up with my green eyes blue/And all I think about is you/And it feels". In the remaining three minutes of the heartbreaking opening track, he never…
It's real. After teasing fans on and off for the better part of 22 or so years, guitarist/vocalist Kevin Shields has delivered the third full-length My Bloody Valentine album, m b v. (Take a deep breath.) Since its release on Saturday night (which resulted in the cancellation of the evening plans o…
Jim James picked a pretty lofty title for his first solo LP. But after a dozen listens or so, I can say in confidence that he has every reason to do so. He's led Kentucky psych-rock band My Morning Jacket for almost 15 years, releasing six studio albums and a dozen or so EPs (their 2005 LP Z and 20…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
Tegan and Sara have been writing beautiful, heart-breaking music for quite a few years now. Different fans swear by them for different reasons, but a common thread runs through them all: Tegan and Sara evoke the dynamic emotion of real relationship better than nearly any other band. Ever. Fans used…
Since breaking out of their native Wales in late 2010, The Joy Formidable have straddled a line that few bands in a post-Internet world have been able to. They're not quite artsy enough to be fully embraced by the Pitchfork crowd, and they don't have the commercial-baiting hooks that both televisio…
Chaz Bundick has made some pretty grand music under his Toro y Moi monicker. His bedroom electronica evolved through 2010 and 2011 to incorporate more R&B textures and hip-hop cool, but in the last six months he's upped his game. From a songwriting standpoint, Bundick has dialed in to pop/R&am…
In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.
