At KEXP, our love for post-punk sirens Savages knows no bounds. Their debut LP Silence Yourself is without a doubt one of the best introductions of the year. These four women have put together a sound and a vision whose fury and vigil have no equal. Listening to Savages is an experience - it goes p…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Aft…
2011's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming didn't just turn M83 into a triple-A critical darling and unexpected commercial success, it pushed the band to become one of the biggest and outright best acts on the live circuit. Taking their records' widescreen ambitions and bringing them to life with a huge, bord…
A warm April Thursday night brought an all-star lineup to the sold-out Moore Theatre in the form of Courtney Barnett and Alvvays. The two groups differ dramatically stylistically, but they are two of the best acts in terms of captivating and connecting with audiences both lyrically and sonically. A…
If you're committed to going to Capitol Hill Block Party it's difficult to pick just one day of music. Saturday was by far the most packed day of the weekend thus far with rumors that Block Party sold out twice once the overlords decided to release more tickets upon demand. But before the evening, …
As we waited at the Paramount Theatre for the Father John Misty show to begin, a fellow show-goer said to me, "Sometimes he walks around the crowd during the opener. He followed me on Twitter today and I literally died, so I'm gonna say hi to him if I can find him." I wondered in my head how this g…
Post-punk gods Savages have done the unthinkable with their second outing: they made their sophomore record an unabashed anthem to embracing life and love. "Love is the answer" - this is the message of Savages' first single off of Adore Life, their second LP and follow up to the highly acclaimed 20…
If you call yourself an Arcade Fire fan and have seen the band at least once in the live setting, there's a good chance that you need absolutely no introduction to Will Butler. When Arcade Fire skyrocketed to the moon amongst the Reflektor hype of 2013, it was clear that the one facet of their musi…
Now that they've played a number of shows on their much-publicized reunion trek, it's fair to judge whether or not the Outkast festival tour is merely a opportunistic cash grab or an enthusiastic celebration of the Atlanta duo's massive legacy (during which they will inevitably get real paid). At f…
It's been five years since Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have toured America, and in the unique and never-predictable story of Nick Cave, five years is a long time. After the release of 2008's Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Nick has authored the screenplay for a major motion picture, published his second nove…
Barboza, the intimate venue underneath Neumos, feels cut off from the rest of the world, with no sight or sound of the rest of the world. In some ways, it's the perfect venue for a band like Hælos, whose particular brand of UK club R&B feels wholly detached from the rest of the world, cinematic…
You'll wish you could say you were there. It was just one of those shows that all in attendance knew they were blessed by some kind of angelic beings to attend, as HÆLOS played for a respectably sized, though not packed, crowd at The Sunset Tavern last week. The UK trio decided to advance their for…
Mean Jeans guitarist and vocalist Billy Jeans (Christian Blunda) took the stage for his second set of the night (he also performed in openers Patsy’s Rats). He was joined by Jeans Wilder (Andrew Bassett) on drums, and Jr. Jeans (Richard Messina) on bass. It was late, but the crowd at Chop Suey wasn…
When Passion Pit broke through at the end of the '00s, they were a band bristling with potential, but still discovering how to follow through as a live band. Although frontman Michael Angelakos' health struggles gave the touring cycle behind their sophomore effort Gossamer a rough start, by the end…
I remember the first time I heard "Swim" by Surfer Blood - it was summer, I was looking for the kind of joyous surf rock that would reflect the hot/cold feelings of a northern summer. They might be from Florida, but their music has the touch of the East Coast that I needed that summer, and apparent…
I was talking to KEXP engineer extraordinaire Kevin Suggs the other day, and the band Diamond Fist Werny came up in conversation. Having moved to Seattle in 2001, well after their heyday, I had never even heard the name, but apparently they were a pretty big deal around here in the '90s, doing thei…
I don't know if there is a physical, mental, or spiritual way to come away from a Darkside show unaffected. Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington brought their two-man gateway to musical nirvana to Neumos Wednesday night for a sold out show and wowed the room from the first second to the last. The build…
Twenty years of Capitol Hill Block Party magic is bound to bring some surprises, and some of 2016's latest additions made for some of the best events of the day. New Jersey producer and DJ Clams Casino was announced as part of the bill only about a week before the action started on Friday. Meanwhil…
It’s Sunday night, July 6, 2014, and I’m front and center at the Paramount Theater waiting for New Order to hit the stage. The lights are dim as techs move back and forth across the stage, checking guitars and synthesizers and making sure everything’s in its right place. Meanwhile, the tour DJ play…
So I might have been ranting about various shows this weekend being the best shows I saw - but here's the thing. Yes, they were amazing performances by talented musicians, but Killer Mike's set at the Yeti stage topped all of them. There is something about witnessing a brilliant musician finally re…
