The history of the band Islands is so rich that it's almost hard to find where to start. Founded in Montreal in 2005, the band relocated to New York and then eventually moved the long distance to Los Angeles, where frontman Nick Thorburn decided to live after a difficult romantic breakup. In 2006, …
If rock and roll music – specifically punk rock – is a genre for the young, then The So So Glos have done as much as anyone to help foster and support that spirit. Not only does the Brooklyn-based band -- comprised of brothers Alex and Ryan Levine, their step-brother Zach Staggers, and Matt Elkin -…
Considering all of the terrific live sessions Cheryl Waters is witness to in the KEXP live room, it's rare she'd be knocked speechless after a first song. But clearly London Grammar has learned from the best. Through the moody atmospherics of guitarist Dan Rothman and keyboardist Dot Major and the …
Portland riff-brokers Red Fang recorded a crushing in-studio session for Seek & Destroy's four-year anniversary on October 27, playing songs in from their new album, Whales & Leeches. You can watch the full performance below, and you can also catch them live at their S&D-sponsored, all-…
If surf rock is making a comeback with the rise of bands like Seattle’s La Luz, then Portland-based band The Shivas may well be ahead of the curve. Their head-bobbing rhythms and cute, airy background vocals envelope the ears like a warm tropical day. The band can rock, too, like on their song “Sta…
If you happen to break up with someone don’t go on a drinking binge and record emotional songs with the hopes of playing them for your ex. Right? Well, usually. This equation actually worked for Stuart McLamb, however, frontman for the North Carolina-based group The Love Language. McLamb originally…
A few years ago, "chill wave" seemed all anyone could talk about, and Washed Out was among the first on the scene with the ubiquitous single "Feel It All Around". But while the fad died out, the Georgia-based bedroom composer Ernest Greene developed the his free-floating sound into a full live proj…
Hearing his voice, you'd hardly believe that Jake Bugg was born in 1994. His song “Trouble Town” speaks to a world of experience, and the British singer isn’t yet 20 years old. “In this trouble town, troubles I’ve found. In this trouble town, word soon gets ‘round,” he sings. He may be young, but t…
"I know everyone here by name", Ólafur Arnalds said during his first in-studio performance at KEXP. It was in fact the fifth time the Icelandic composer and performance has recorded with us, though previously it had been within his own apartment in Reykjavik (in both 2010 and 2011), live from KEX H…
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.
