Back in 2010, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim collaborated on the concept album and "disco musical" Here Lies Love, which tells the story of former First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. Following award-winning runs in New York, London, and Adelaide, Australia, the project has now arrived in Sea…
Not only is he a talented musician, Ty Segall is quite an accomplished visual artist (see one of his paintings below). And later this month, he'll debut his first-ever solo exhibition in Chicago, titled Assterpiece Theater. A press release reads, "These aren’t multi-media pieces; they are painting…
Hamilton, Ontario vocalist and electronic producer Jessy Lanza has emerged as a thrilling contemporary artist with her cutting-edge fusion of progressive electronic rhythms, ethereal R&B vibes, and experimental synth-pop sensibilities. Her new sophomore album, Oh No, recently released on the la…
From heartbreak to the end of the world: that's how DJ Troy Nelson describes the trajectory of albums from singer/songwriter Marissa Nadler. "I think this is album seven or something? I don't know," she says with a smile and a shake of her head. Over the past 16 years, this ethereal singer/songwrit…
I love it when I stumble across an album that got regular play in my house growing up in the KEXP stacks - especially when the super-cool college DJs of yore actually thought it was pretty good! I'm certain that by the time my parents were buying records by The Human League they were getting plent…
One of my favorite days of the year is fast approaching — Record Store Day, an international holiday for record collectors and music lovers! A day to celebrate the role of the independent record store in the community, as a gathering space to discover, share, and experience the joy of music and com…
"Should is a worthless word," advises the always-wise Bobby Bare Jr. "The only time you use the word 'should' is when you're talking about something that doesn't exist." On his seventh album, Undefeated, the Nashville artist clearly strives forward without any "shoulds" — laying himself, well, "bar…
The local four-piece that calls "Earth" its hometown, The Comettes have honed the sound born in the 1980's - that distorted, etherial, big-voiced rock - and made it their own here and now in 2014. Think: David Byrne, Lou Reed or even Pearl Jam if you slowed down the tape a bit. The band released th…
On-U Sound is a record label based in England since 1979, focusing on dub music in its many forms - or at least some of its many forms - from Lee Scratch Perry to label founder Adrian Sherwood's own work. Compilations have always been a great way for labels to give the world a taste of what they h…
Dum Dum Girls are no fools. The NYC group combines fashionable urban chic with a deadly cool to a devastating effect, and they approach music the same way. On their third album and latest album, Too True (which we adoringly reviewed here), Dum Dum Girls mastermind Dee Dee Penny filters girl band po…
With her otherworldly voice, it's hard to pinpoint where songwriter Cameron Mesirow, better as Glasser, is from. Upon first listen to her ethereal electronic sounds and acrobatic soprano voice, you might be inclined to guess she's from Iceland, but the L.A. artist actually just relocated to New Yor…
It was a session DJ Cheryl Waters had been waiting 20 years for: The Waterboys, a band who are actually celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, despite frontman Mike Scott being a mere 24-years-old, wink. The long-running group are on tour supporting their seven-CD collection, Fisherman's Box…
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 DJs think you should hear. This week’s featured songs come fr…
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 DJs think you should hear. This week’s featured songs come fr…
If Charms’ Facebook and Bandcamp pages are any indication, the Seattle band LOVES candy and chips. Perhaps as a result, the trio play driving rock and roll songs that feel like a sugar rush mixed with a touch of Cool Ranch. Big, boisterous songs come from this group, which has only been together fo…
Fearlessly dabbling in the gaudy with their electro pop sound, Future Bible Heroes began as a project of The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and DJ Christopher Ewen, but gradually evolved into a substantial group of talented musicians. Eleven years after the release of their sophomore album, Etern…
After years of extensive touring, Seattle band Ivan & Alyosha released a new album called All the Times We Had. The group celebrated its release by hanging with DJ Cheryl Waters earlier this year and playing a live set at the KEXP studios. “I want to be the man who understands his woman and you…
DJ Riz and Larry Rose co-host this year's edition of the Big Gay Podcast, bringing you an infectious mix of music by, for, and about the LGBTQ community with songs from Courtney Barnett, Blood Orange, The Drums, Goldfrapp, Austra, Hurray For The Riff Raff, and more. They also mix in songs from Rai…
DJ Miss Ashley celebrates Women's History Month, featuring new tracks from some very talented female artists, including Madrid-based, all-female quartet Hinds, sister duo Bleached, local reggae singer and multi-instrumentalist Chava Mirel of Clinton Fearons Boogie Brown Band, and many other leadin…
DJ El Toro presents nineteen of his favorite new tracks (including a couple of recently unearthed archival gems) for singing, dancing, shredding, and sulking. Lather, rinse, repeat. 1. Mocean Worker - Julius, Irving, Berlin 2. Peaches (feat. Kim Gordon) - Close Up 3. Escort - Animal Nature 4. Tu…
