The popularity of today's folk rock stars, from Iron & Wine and Billy Bragg to Mumford & Sons and Of Monsters and Men, all owe a large debt to American folk legend Pete Seeger, who passed away yesterday at age 94. To the end, Seeger was a champion, activist and resounding voice for civil ri…
Resident Advisor is among the best online magazines for electronic music fans out there since 2001, and their showcase at Decibel Festival was nothing to be messed with. Not only did they pull from local talent, but they are responsible for bringing Actress to Decibel, a feat which was met with a m…
Aminéisn't just up-and-coming anymore -- he's arrived. The Portland rapper made his Seattle debut in probably the biggest way possible -- playing to a packed out crowd at Key Arena at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Walking on to the beastly, hyphy-like beat of "Red Mercedes," Aminé kept…
It’s a fact proven time and time again by the emerging stars of our time - if you pay close enough attention to the masters, eventually, their greatness will rub off on you. Tonight at the Crocodile, the two stars of the evening had, at the very least, one master in common: Prince. Tributes to the …
Brooklyn synth-pop duo Prince Rama ask their audience a simple question halfway through their new LP, Xtreme Now. "When was the last time you had fun?" On the record, it's supposed to be a question about belief, about conviction, and about our response to that in a positive and nourishing manner. I…
These days, it's a lot easier to sell headlines than it is to sell records. If you write a great pop song, your best bets to sell are either to stack it so chock full of name-drops that you hardly see your own, or to dial the clickbait schtick meter up as high as it will go. But when presented with…
It's about as difficult to claim a favorite Nick Cave album as it is to claim a Tom Waits one. That the two artists get compared so frequently by critics and fans isn't due so much to their similar penchant for the seedier aspects of life but rather to their shared mastery of the album's form. Each…
In early June, Australian singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett and American singer/songwriter Kurt Vile announced that they would be teaming up for a collaborative tour featuring an "all-star band" called The Sea Lice which is a revolving cast of musicians that includes Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, W…
Although there was plenty of star power on the final day of Sasquatch, there was a clear standout during the early afternoon on Monday, and it wasn't just because brought a Godzilla figurine onstage with her. When an assured Natalie Prass opened with an electric version of "Bird Of Prey", it was cl…
Beach House, the Baltimore duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, are really into surprises right now. When pre-orders for Depression Cherry went up in the summer, the band's website featured hidden singles, buried in a song recommendation generator based on the user's selection of favorite past …
Master filmmaker and composer John Carpenter just doesn't know when to slow down. With almost 4 decades now separating him from seminal films and soundtracks like Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from New York, Halloween, and The Fog, Carpenter is looking to expand his repertoire. 2015 mar…
Since 2012, Freakout Records has taken over venues in the Ballard neighborhood for multiple nights of blaring, sweaty, and all around thrilling local music with their namesake Freakout! festival. Now entering its fifth iteration on November 17th and 18th, Freakout! is stepping up with one of their …
If you are at all like me, I Never Learn is not the Lykke Li album you were expecting this year. After the rapturous viral success of "Get Some" from her 2011 sophomore LP, Wounded Rhymes, it is easy to imagine Li taking her sensual, entrancing songwriting to a more pop-centric place. After all, th…
Fresh off the Spaceship tells the story of the Black Constellation, an artist collective (Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, Ya Tseen) with Seattle roots and cosmic reach. Hosted by KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. and Martin Douglas, each of the 10 episodes takes listeners on a musical journey connecting t…
