This week in new releases, we hear from several artists who've been dormant for a while. Sufjan Stevens returns with his majestic new album, Carrie & Lowell, named after his mother and stepfather and partly inspired by his mother’s death. Several KEXP DJs have already hailed it as a contender f…
No surprise, but the latest video from Washed Out can only be described as "dreamy." Take a break for seven-and-a-half minutes to watch the clip for "Weightless," off last year's Sub Pop release Paracosm. Director David Altobelli tells a lovely story of unrequited love that the compliments the eth…
On November 5, we learned the horrible news that Mimi Parker of the band Low had lost her battle to ovarian cancer. Mimi was only 55 when she passed, but had done so much in her life as a mother, as a musician, and as a human. She was married to Alan Sparhawk, her bandmate. They met in grade school…
Variety mix host Morgan curates a mix of exciting new singles from upcoming releases in the new year. Cool female vocals, warm rock and plenty of amazingly varied Seattle sounds to help the short, dark days feel a little longer. 1. A Place to Bury Strangers - Straight 2. Meatbodies - Mountain 3. …
'90s/early 2000's dream pop outfit Luna have two new albums in the works, a covers album called A Sentimental Education and an instrumental EP called A Place of Greater Safety. Today they've shared a track from A Sentimental Education, a cover of Mink DeVille's "Let Me Dream If I Want To." They've …
It's been a few years since we last heard from The Strokes, but today they triumphantly return with not one, not two, but three new tracks! All of 'em will appear on their upcoming EP Future Present Past, out June 3rd via Cult Records. Check out the singles "OBLIVIUS," "The Threat Of Joy," and "Dr…
Our next set for the KEXP Broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is New York-based quintet Caveman. Caveman's sound has evolved rapidly in the last few years. An overnight success, their 2011 debut Coco Beware was dreamy indie-pop, with light, floating synths and gentle harmonizing voca…
Swedish pop group Miike Snow will return next year with their third full-length, wittily titled III. They've already shared the single "Heart Is Full," their first new song in three years, and today, they share the Run the Jewels remix, which you can stream below. In an interview with FADER, Miike…
Travel to the land of the midnight sun as we journey to Reykjavik, Iceland, once again to join our friends at Kex Hostel for a summer bash. KEXPort celebrates KEXP's ongoing relationship (now in its sixth year, believe it or not!) with our similarly named hosts of our annual winter broadcast during…
It didn't take long for the third Saturday in April to become the highlight of every music lover's spring, and this year's Record Store Day lineup is sure to be another memorable year for vinyl's national holiday. On April 20th, music fans everywhere will wake up early and flock to their favorite l…
After pumping out five albums in seven years, The Hold Steady were due for a break. But during the time between albums, the Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis band just couldn't keep from working. While vocalist Craig Finn released and toured a solo album of his own, guitarist Tad Kubler got the guys togethe…
A brand new song from Björk has emerged called "Blissing Me," along with a video premiered via Amazon Music UK. The song recounts the story of Björk and a fellow "music nerd" crush “sending each other MP3s, falling in love to a song,” according to the lyrics. It's a beautiful change after 2015's h…
Following his fantastic third solo album, Singing Saw, Kevin Morby shares a digital 7” single today titled "Tiny Fires." The acoustic track was written and recorded in Morby’s bedroom in Los Angeles, and features two members of his touring band -- Meg Duffy on slide guitar and bass, and Justin Sul…
Oneohtrix Point Never and Shabazz Palaces' Ishmael Butler have teamed up to form a new project called 319. Shared via the Adult Swim Singles Series, "The Rapture" is the first taste we've gotten of the collaboration. It's an unsurprisngly glitchy, experimental track that holds promise. In the past …
MGMT are releasing the follow-up album to their 2013 self-titled called Litte Dark Age sometime this year, with estimates being at some point in February. Today they've shared the third single from the album, "Hand It Over." The groovy synth-psych song follows previous singles "Little Dark Age" and…
Tycho has seen a marvelous ascent to brilliance in the last couple years. With each album, Scott Hansen seems to find himself in a brighter sense of awareness and emersion in the beautiful, captivating world that the music of Tycho embodies. The band is now two albums deep with a fleshed out live s…
Influential British trio and longtime KEXP favorites Saint Etienne released a wonderful cover of Neil Young's song "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" as their breakout debut single nearly 30 years ago, and they're still going strong today. With each new release, they continue to find ways to tweak an…
Because being the frontman for Radiohead and Atoms for Peace still leaves a little bit of free time in his schedule, Thom Yorke has been working on some soundtracks across the past year. However, unlike his film-scoring bandmate Jonny Greenwood, Thom has been making soundtracks for fashion montages…
I honestly don't know how I do it. A few times a year, I collect a whole bunch of these album covers - enough to last me for months - and then at some point I grab one and write about it. And yet I often end up with some extraordinary timely coincidences. For instance, did you know that KEXP/KCMU f…
It's hard to believe it's been four years since Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, passed away from cancer. SoCal punks FIDLAR posted a tribute today online, a loving rendition of the single "Sabotage" from the 1994 Beasties album Ill Communication. Listen below. FIDLAR have long cited the g…
