“Put your hands up if you love hip-hop!” shouted De La Soul as they opened a killer set of their career spanning hits cherished by fans of old and probably more than a few brand new fans. New York hip hop band of the last 25 years, De La Soul truly are masters of the craft and made it damn well kno…
What a happy coincidence! When I began my usual internet research for this week's piece on Northwest heroes Mecca Normal, I fully expected to find the usual nostalgic laments for a great band that was no more. How wrong I was! Not only is the two-piece guitar/voice unit of Jean Smith and David Lest…
Before Black Pistol Fire even began performing, drummer Eric Owen stripped himself down to his skivvies, preparing himself for a loaded live session. And, yes, he is donning golf gloves. Coupled with the high energy guitarist and life-long friend Kevin McKeown supplied, the incredible duo flooded t…
It's hard to believe that the album Dizzy Heights is only the third solo release from beloved singer/songwriter Neil Finn. From Split Enz to Crowded House to the Finn Brothers and his soundtrack work, the New Zealand icon hasn't stopped making music for the past 30 years. "It's confusing for the ge…
Justin Vernon, James Blake, Thom Yorke, Pat Grossi — all artists whose voices soar happily in the upper register. Add to them James Vincent McMorrow. With his gorgeously produced new LP, Post Tropical, the Irish singer-songwriter left his folky debut in the dust, choosing instead horns, synths, and…
Step aside, Beyonce. Sure, the pop diva may have self-released her own album last year, but as DJ Sharlese points out, Washington's own LAKE have been DIY'ing it since 2006. In fact, last year, the quirky locals released two albums -- The World is Real, on K Records, and their self-released album, …
Take one DJ, one producer and one MC, mix with an eclectic lineup of guests and wrap it in a post-apocalyptic narrative, and you get one of the most unique groups to come about in the past decade, In the year 2000, Kid Koala, Dan The Automator and Del The Funky Homosapien joined forces as Deltron 3…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, fol…
It's impossible to get too much of Charles Bradley. The loveable soul singer has been thrilling KEXP listeners and audiences world wide since his late-in-life discovery by members of The Budos Band and has appeared on KEXP many times. Recently, he's been featured in the acclaimed documentary Soul o…
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…
For Seattle garage rock fans, Friday night's bill at Tractor Tavern was a dream come true. San Francisco's Mikal Cronin made his way up the coast in support of his highly acclaimed new record MKII and brought along Oakland friends Shannon & The Clams and rising local three-piece Dude York. Each…
More than a band, Savages is an idea. Guitarist Gemma Thompson said it herself during an in-studio session at KEXP: "We had the idea originally and wanted to put everything we'd all accumulated individually into creating a performance that had a sonic representation of the name Savages." Their deli…
Saturday night, 12 bucks (a cheap cover at nearby clubs) bought you a night of chilled out, near-perfect indie pop bliss. Though How To Dress Well just swung through town a couple months ago, they returned with friends - namely, rising indie pop icon Sky Ferreira and Australian psych-pop band High …
Wilco are about to release reissues of their first two albums, 1995's A.M. and 1996's Being There. On both reissues are unreleased tracks and today we've received one from the Being There sessions called "Dynamite My Soul." The acoustic track features vocals from frontman Jeff Tweedy and his acoust…
Next on the broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Russian punk band Glintshake. Formed in 2012, much of their early music was in english, but they’ve since switched to making music in Russian, even re-recording some of their English songs in their native language and changing their…
Next on KEXP’s broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was Icelandic electronic band Gus Gus. Formed in 1995 by filmmakers Stefán Árni and Siggi Kjartansson as a film group and acting collective, the group’s purpose quickly changed with the addition of programmer Biggi Thó…
Last year, The Shins released their fifth album called Heartworms. Next week, they're releasing a flipped version of the album entitled The Worm's Heart, featuring reworked versions of all the songs on the album. The basic premise is that all the songs keep the same lyrics and melodies but the slow…
Montreal natives The Luyas have been around since 2006 and have put out some really great records over the years, two of which -- Too Beautiful To Work and Animator -- were included on the long list for the 2011 and 2013 Polaris Music Prize respectively. Their sound is hard to pinpoint, using tons …
Capitol Hill Block Party 2015 Sunday brought two things: rain and totally incredible music, and both in plentiful volume. But hey, this is Seattle right? Naturally, everyone has a jacket in their back seat/pocket and nothing about the festival seems to be missed under grey skies. The drop in temper…
Holy shit, Say Hi knows how to get the party started on a Friday night at 9PM! I honestly think I saw more empty drink cups and shot glasses lining the Barboza shelf of subwoofers tonight than I’ve ever seen at their weekly Saturday night dance gigs. In a city on a hill where we show the Rocky Horr…
