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…
Closing out our live video broadcast from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves 2015 was a crazy set from Icelandic post-punk band Æla. Icelandic for "Puke," Æla is known for a raucous live show, with costumes, glitter, and wild antics. Their debut album Synið tillitssemi, eg er fravik was released in 200…
In December 2013, Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells passed away after a battle with T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. This February 2016, his bandmate Alejandra Deheza will release the album SVIIB, featuring parts Curtis recorded before his death. In a post on their website, Deheza writes, "Be…
The biggest surprise of the summer is the latest from veteran Chicago band Wilco, who snuck out their ninth full-length late last week. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes the album as "a smartly crafted blend of stomping glam-rock, buzzing motorik post-punk, atmospheric space-rock jams, plaint…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we are featuring Christmas…
You know a musician is beloved at your local college radio station (circa 1990) when they release a 12" single within months of a full-length LP, and both end up covered in laudatory comments. Such was the case with the "Bomba" record, coming hot on the heels of Without Judgement but no less celebr…
Windy City singer/songwriter Ryley Walker shares his third album this week, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "his strongest and most sophisticated set to date, combining fluid guitar lines, intricate rhythms and elliptical lyrics on expansive songs that masterfully blend elements of folk-…
Northwest indie icons Modest Mouse go medieval in the clip for “The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box,” a highlight from their latest full-length Strangers to Ourselves. In the video, frontman Isaac Brock portrays a maniacal ruler in a post-apocalyptic world, with a dagger for a microphone and a br…
Indie rocker Kurt Vile has shared new details about his latest LP, his first release since 2013's amazing Waking on a Pretty Daze. Vile has described the album, which will be titled All Over the Place, as his "darkest album to date" because it's "definitely got that night vibe." [Note: Kurt later …
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. As 99% of Seattle knows, whether they like it or not, the Seattle Seahawks are defending Super Bowl Champs and 2015 NFC …
The second act up for our live streaming broadcast from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was rock and post-punk band Börn. They have a darker, gloomier sound influenced by the Icelandic punk movement of the 80s. Lead singer Alexandra is a total badass. She came adorned in black lipstick, a bright gre…
"I'm glad the tour is going pretty good," Stevie Zoom said to Swedish punk quartet, Holograms. "Pretty good?" challenged bassist/vocalist Andreas Lagerström, "I think it's going great!" It's that youthful energy and defiance that has propelled the young band through their short, but already fruitfu…
Welcome to another installment of Review Revue in which I wonder how the heck I got through my adolescence without hearing some band or other from the '80s. Today I bring you The Room. Before that moniker referred to a sublimely terrible movie by Tommy Wiseau, it was a short-lived but relatively pr…
It's been a long time coming, but British post-industrial trio Factory Floor have finally made it out to the US west coast. The band dropped their self-titled debut LP last year on DFA after releasing one-off singles and remixes in the current lineup for the better part of four years. Over the year…
"Trouble is my name" is how Dee Dee Penny chooses to end the new Dum Dum Girls record Too True. There's a great reason - the girls are a quietly devastating storm. Their refusal to give way to the all too familiar tropes of the business means that Penny and her band members will never become click-…
Rounding out the first night of of KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel is Icelandic punk band Fufanu. The band began life as techno outfit Captain Fufanu, but after the theft of the computer containing their record, they cut “Captain” from their name and jumped into a completely …
With a name like King Tuff, you gotta deliver a bad-ass video, and the west coast garage-rocker does just that with his clip for "Black Moon Spell," the title track from his new Sub Pop release. Directed by Jared Eberhardt, the video has it all: snakes, witches, beer. What more could you ask for? …
Ain't no lie: Los Angeles trio Liars wove a captivating web over us with their dark, atmospheric in-studio session. Entwined in a colorful skein of yarn, inspired by the cover for their latest release Mess, the long-running electro-punk band strung listeners along with their dark dance pop. The col…
Augustines's new album is cause to rejoice -- as much for the band as for fans. From the ashes Pela, the Brooklyn band beloved by KEXP listeners but embattled by a disinterested music industry, songwriters Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson formed this new band named after their shared birth month, …
