After a highly successful run in 2014, Project Pabst returns this weekend July 17-19th at Zidell Yards in SW Portland. This year's eclectic lineup boasts several impressive big name performers sure to draw a crowd- for example, Blondie, Weezer, and Passion Pit, alongside indie pop band Alvvays, pun…
When a band self-titles an album midway through their career, it's usually for one of two reasons: they've either run out of ideas or they've taken a significantly new tact. For Portland duo The Helio Sequence, the reason is obvious. Rather than mull over songs in their usual slow-going and contemp…
Ever since Portland band The Shivas blew us all away at the 2013 MusicFestNW broadcast, we've been eagerly awaiting a follow-up to their outstanding release, White Out, on K Records. Today, KEXP proudly presents an online stream of their latest album, You Know What To Do — and the title says it all…
All day tomorrow, we'll be counting down KEXP listeners' Top Albums of 2012 all day, and there's no doubt that local band The Helio Sequence will have a strong showing. That it took four years to release Negotiations isn't too surprising, considering the Portland duo usually take their time perfect…
This Saturday, KEXP is heading down to Waterfront Park to "Rock the Dock" with a lineup with acts from all around the Northwest. This FREE, all-ages event includes performances from Portland punks The Thermals, Seattle's power-pop enthusiasts Bread & Butter, versatile Seattle songwriter Jenn Ch…
Just on the horizon, lurks Mount St. Helens, sitting 100 miles south of Seattle and 50 miles northeast of Portland. It was on May 18th, 1980, at 8:32 AM PT that it resulted in the most destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Will Mt. St. Helens erupt again? Scientists say ye…
Portland synth pop legends STRFKR are no strangers to KEXP, but they came through the studio once again after returning stateside from a quick jaunt over to Japan and played a quick set that included cuts spanning their whole career. Their sound has often been difficult to define: at times straight…
Everyone's recovering from the long Memorial Day weekend, including the music industry, but there are still some excellent new releases awake today. One of the highlights is the third full-length from Portland band Unknown Mortal Orchestra. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "an adventurous, im…
I love this record. Barna Howard is my new favorite artist. His previous, acoustic self-titled debut, which I played some last year, only hinted at this Missouri native, now Portland based artist's easy songwriting skills. His latest, Quite A Feelin', is already in the running for my album of the y…
It’s always interesting when you learn about an artist’s path to recognition – and it’s even more captivating when it involves details and arcs you’d never expect. This is the intriguing life of singer-songwriter Laura Veirs: she was raised in Colorado in the 70s, where she studied geology and Mand…
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…
Beach Slang either have terrible luck or are possibly not very good at locking up their equipment. The band announced today that they were, once again, robbed. The unfortunate event happened right here, in Seattle, after their November 11 show at Chop Suey. Their brief statement on Facebook reads: …
LA-via-San Francisco band Thee Oh Sees return with their 11th album, a release KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "a more jam-oriented take on the band's adventurous blend of raw garage-rock, trippy psych-rock and motorik prog." Veteran Minneapolis duo Atmosphere release "a potent set of emotive …
In a wonderful example of "you never know unless you ask," powerhouses Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs are teaming up for a collaborative album, titled case/lang/veirs, out June 17th via ANTI- Records. Check out their first single "Atomic Number" below, as well as an album trailer. A few yea…
Things haven't always been sunny for Radiation City. The Portland band may not have been able to illuminate our days with another album had founding couple Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison not set aside their differences to reignite their songwriting process. Their third LP, Synesthetica (out this F…
It's another jam-packed week of new releases! Highlights include the latest from London-based artist Adam Bainbridge (aka Kindness). KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the relase "finds him toning down the disco influences of his promising debut album in favor of an often-gorgeous set of ‘80s R&am…
KEXP knows all about the power of a Colin Meloy cameo in your video, and today, Bob Mould taps into the Decemberists' talent with his new video for the track "I Don’t Know You Anymore." Filmed in Portland by director Alicia J. Rose, the clip shows Mould moving into the modern age (#IDKYA). Mould's…
In Portland, it takes a village. Or nearly that, at least, to bring to life the songs of Kyle Morton. Over three albums and a handful of EPs, the 11-member group Typhoon build gorgeously orchestrated folk pop around Morton's uniquely intimate and personal lyrics. Morton, who nearly died of Lyme Dis…
PNW transplant Aesop Rock shows some love for his new hometown of Portland in the video for "Shrunk," off his latest LP, The Impossible Kid. Filmed at the old-school arcade palace Ground Kontrol, Aes raps about therapy while an 8-bit version of him battles the therapy bear from earlier promo clips…
