Earlier this year, Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National curated the compilation Day of the Dead, a whopping 59 song, 5 and a ½ hour long tribute to the Grateful Dead. Today, NW-via-NZ band Unknown Mortal Orchestra share a video to go with their rendition of the 1978 track "Shakedown Street." Di…
San Francisco's Nick Monaco brings his deep experience within his city's DJ/nightlife culture into his own carefree, cosmic experimental pop sound, recently found on his album Half Naked for Soul Clap's Crew Love label. With his teenage years spent throwing all-night parties and diving deep into tu…
Chicago DJ and electronic producer Chrissy (real name Christopher Shively) has been a prolific provider of exciting underground electronic rhythms over the last 10 years. Beginning with his debut EP in 2005 under the Chrissy Murderbot alias, his steady evolution in sound has witnessed multiple new …
Seattle DJ/producer Ca$h Bandicoot (real name Paco Mejino) has become a fixture on the local club scene over the last couple years, quickly emerging as a stand-out artist with his high-energy, party-starting, forward-looking sound. Deftly blending elements of Jersey and B'more Club with an ear for …
Unbelievably, It's been almost exactly 8 years since I last shared an album by Hüsker Dü in this parts, and at the time I was surprised I hadn't already gotten around to it. That actually means that the amount of time between these two Hüsker Dü posts is longer than the band itself existed, and twi…
There's a new super group in our midsts. Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan, and Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin have joined forces to create Levee Walkers. Their website describes them as "a Seattle band to be sure, but their roots are firmly dug into the foundational music of…
Daughter - the word alone inspires feelings of love, protection, fostering, sharing and hope. For KEXP listeners and viewers, there's even a stronger bond, as the band Daughter have become, since their first appearance on our airwaves in 2012, one of the most endearing bands to ever perform live in…
Collectors of kitsch and arcane Americana in their private lives, Cincinnati's Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker are also accumulators of high praise with their band, Wussy. Over the past 15 years, from when they first formed as a duo, the now five-piece has built a loyal fanbase and gathered a wealth …
Despite the many, many hours in the late '80s and early '90s I spent immersing myself in the sounds of Manchester (both contemporary and historical), for some reason the Happy Mondays never really clicked with me. Maybe they were just a bit too fun and dancey for my mopey teenaged self, who knows. …
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…
Musical lore has it that Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the iconic South African mbube group, was founded by Joseph Shabalala after having a series of dreams in which he heard their sounds. It goes unmentioned whether or not Joseph dreamt of 50 years of worldwide success as perhaps the most well-known cu…
The news that shoegaze legends Lush are touring again is exciting enough, and it's just gotten better as we have new music to share from the UK trio! Check out the video for "Out of Control," a single from their forthcoming EP The Blind Spot, out April 22nd on the band's own Edamame label. It'll b…
UK artist East India Youth (aka William Doyle) shares a new digital EP today, remixing highlights from his sophomore full-length Culture of Volume, out earlier this year on XL. Blanck Mass and Yosi Horikawa each remix the track "Manner of Words" and Truss Total XTC remixes "Montage Resolution." St…
A quick look at the Restorations tour schedule might have your eyes glazing over. After releasing their third studio album (LP3) in only four years at the end of 2014, the Philly indie-rockers have spent most of 2015 tirelessly touring across the U.S., the U.K., and even Jamaica. Or as singer/guita…
You know, it's bad enough when there's a band that I'm vaguely familiar with, that I know I should really check out, but have never quite gotten around to (we see a lot of those in this column). But when there's a band that I totally think "yeah, I know that band! I like them," only to realize that…
For as cosmic as their jams can be and as free floating as their new album title appears, Built to Spill have never seemed more grounded. On Untethered Moon, their eighth studio album and their first in six years, the veteran indie rockers haven't drifted away from their roots but, thanks to produc…
Future Islands has certainly blown up over the last year, as evidenced by the large crowd they drew to their main stage set at Sasquatch. This Baltimore, Maryland band is one of those rare groups whose breakthrough success essentially comes down to one single performance. In their case, it was thei…
The thrill is gone. Yesterday, B.B. King passed away at age 89. Born Riley B. King in 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the legendary guitarist and songwriter became known worldwide for his distinctive voice and nimble finger picking, particularly on his constant companion, the Gibson guitar he named…
All throughout her conversation with Stevie Zoom, Mary Timony kept mentioning how Ex Hex "just came together". You'd be forgiven for thinking a band so fierce and tight could never be assembled so serendipitously, but when you've got a trio of D.C. punk lifers in the same room, there's no other pos…
Like all good things from the '90s, The Juliana Hatfield Three are back! It's been 22 years since the release of their breakthrough album Become What You Are, but on February 17th, 2015 they'll return with Whatever, My Love via American Laundromat. Today, they share the first single "If I Could," …
