Vancouver, BC artist Dan Bejar -- better known as Destroyer -- returns with his 11th album, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes as "a powerful set of dark,'80s-steeped New Wave/post-punk with prominent percussive synths, gleaming guitars and occasional strings and horns accompanying his d…
Moderat is the collaborative team-up between German electronic heavyweights Modeselektor (Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) and Apparat (Sascha Ring). Longtime KEXP favorites with three stellar albums under the Moderat name as well as deep individual catalogues, the trio will be joining forces o…
The music of Duluth, MN-based trio Low has always evoked great emotion, so it's no surprise their videos do, too (except for that one with John Stamos; we don't talk about that). For the track "Lies," off their latest Sub Pop full-length Ones And Sixes, the band turned to Spanish film director Man…
It's hard to think of another band that has not only lasted as long as but has also never lost their knack for sonic adventure like Yo La Tengo. After nearly 30 years, and through 13 studio albums and who knows how many singles and EPs, the Hoboken, NJ, trio still sounds like no one else, even with…
Who would have thought a "Big Black Coat" could be so inviting? The album of that name is the first in nearly five years for KEXP favorites Junior Boys, and it comes not just as a return to form but a revisitation of the pop sounds they've cherished for some time - house, techno, soul, disco and R&…
So far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, we've heard the inventive, experimental, electronic, traditional, and emotive sounds of contemporary Polish bands, but you might still be wondering, can they rock? The Stubs are here to say, hell yes! O…
Well, can't say we saw that one coming! In the next phase of the ever-evolving state that has come to define them, experimental indie rock chameleons Liars come to us now as... a synth pop band?! Well, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. But still, on new record Mess, we find Liars a far cry a…
UK indie pop trio London Grammar have been causing quite a stir lately, and the fact that they don’t even have a record out in the United States yet didn’t deter a single member of the full house they met Monday night at the Crocodile. Their debut LP, If You Wait, has soared towards the top of the …
Following their 1995 debut, Memphis garage punk band Oblivians released two more albums in quick succession and then practically disappeared for the next twelve years. But they didn't quite slip into, well, oblivion. Band members Greg Oblivian, Jack Oblivian and Eric Oblivian -- a.k.a. Greg Cartwri…
"Holy lord that was loud," said DJ Sean of hardcore trio METZ's near-My Bloody Valentine level of noise. "I don't want to put too fine of a point on it. But it was loud." Only six months after their first visit to KEXP's studios, Alex Edkins, Chris Slorach, and Hayden Menzies were back in Seattle l…
It seemed so daunting when Joseph Arthur first talked about The Ballad of Boogie Christ during an in-studio session two years ago. Back then, he thought it might be a potential rock musical or even a "rock opera" about a man who was either enlightened or insane, and it was either going to be about …
Grant Hart, drummer and co-founder of the influential punk trio Hüsker Dü, has passed away at the age of 56. His wife, Brigid McGough, confirmed to NPR that he died Wednesday night at the University of Minnesota Medical Center of complications from liver cancer and hepatitis. On Facebook, his forme…
If everything else in the world seems to be going crazy at the moment, take solace knowing that The Joy Formidable still shamelessly tour with a gong. The Welsh trio's stage presence has always been one that's far larger than whatever venue they're playing in – inside or outside – and the gong that…
For Plants and Animals, growth can take time. The adventurous Montreal trio took four years to release their fourth album, double the time between each of their previous ones. After years of prolonged touring and rapid recording, the childhood friends Nic Basque, Matthew Woodley, and Warren Spicer …
There is much to agree about when it comes to Sutari - the intricacy of their compositions, the appeal of their stage presence, the aptness of their found instruments and the relevance today of the traditional songs they play. Even their name implies accord. "Sutarti", the Lithuanian word that lend…
Considering their output (3 albums in 13 months), you won't be surprised to learn that Wand are pals with Ty Segall. The LA trio released their debut, Ganglion Reef, in August last year on Segall’s Drag City imprint, GOD?, which they followed up in March this year with Golem, on Ty's sometime label…
It's an impressive week for new releases! Beloved Northwest band Sleater-Kinney end their hiatus with the release of No Cities To Love. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "The recently reunited trio’s eighth album (and first in 10 years) is a strong return-to-form, with an intense blend of punk, …
Toronto indie rock band Alvvays introduced themselves to Seattle in quite a dazzling fashion Tuesday night. This was the band's last US show on the tour supporting their fantastic self-titled debut (out now on Polyvinyl) before heading up across the border to finish things off before the end of the…
