"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…
I might not have gotten on the Odd Future bandwagon back when it began, but that doesn't mean I was going to miss Earl Sweatshirt this year at Sasquatch. He took stage simply - his black Supreme sweatshirt (hood up of course), OF DJ Syd backing him up close behind. Lucky for the audience ("Hey Coac…
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Every once in a while, I post an album from a band that's been so minimally documented on the Internet that I feel I'm adding significantly to the body of public knowledge about them with one little blog post. This is dangerous because usually I know next to nothing about these bands. Take Ism, for…
It's always inspiring to see bands releasing new and interesting music thirty years into their careers. (I'll be honest and admit I haven't heard 2015's Stuff Like That There - I'll blame that on the fact that it was released one month before my son was born - but I'm just assuming it was new and i…
The name "Baby Dayliner" may not ring a bell, but trust us, you know this song. This earworm of a track was a heavy hitter on the Morning Show in late 2000's, and was chosen as a Song of the Day by DJ John Richards. A couple of years ago, we were able to coax the NYC-based artist out of his semi-re…
She may be young (she just turned 22 in March), but New York's Frankie Cosmos (real name: Greta Kline) literally has too many albums to count, in that, I tried, and I got tired of counting. With album titles like the landlord LOVES restaurants! (2011) and Collaborative Farting (2011), and song titl…
As the sun set on KEXP's 2016 Hood to Hood broadcast from the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, the party headed a few miles away to the Skylark Cafe where DJ Troy Nelson was hosting an evening of local music. It's a good thing the show was All Ages, because we had the winners of this year's youth-o…
Sun Liquor and Silversun Pickups - the pairing pretty much writes itself - yet there's so much more to the LA band's relationship to KEXP and history behind their generosity in performing an exclusive show for our donors. Our love for Silversun Pickups goes back to their debut EP, Pikul. KEXP was n…
Local faves Death Cab for Cutie share another track from their upcoming release, Kintsugi, their first new full-length without founding member Chris Walla. Stream the album's opening track "No Room In Frame" below. Kintsugi hits stores March 31st via Atlantic, and the boys play two nights at The P…
Perfume Genius mastermind Mike Hadreas is a local, but it wasn't until the 2010 Matador 21 anniversary shows in Las Vegas that I first saw him live. Sandwiched on the bill between two iconic heavyweights (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Cat Power, for crissakes), Mike sat timidly behind his piano w…
I've covered Beat Happening records in this space before, but it's been just over six years, so I figure the time is ripe to go back to that well. For my previous post, I compared the reactions to the Oly DIY heroes' first and fourth albums. Today we'll split the difference (sort of) and go back to…
Twenty-plus years into a varied and universally celebrated career, Spoon can still surprise and delight us. They Want My Soul, the Austin-based band's follow-up to 2010's Transference, has all the Spoon hallmarks you expect: the fiery voice of frontman Britt Daniel, the wry if sometimes bittersweet…
You could feel the weight of the road lifted from their shoulders. After wrapping up their North American tour with a packed, energetic show at The Neptune the night before, indie-rock legends Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks joined us in the KEXP studios with Springtime on their minds. "It's pretty…
Weighing Barboza's Tuesday night festivities by pictures alone would be a crime. What you don't see behind camera - in view of the focused eyes of Russell Whyte and Reed Juenger - is a bloody marvelous party. There's little-to-no room to move or breathe, dozens of couples or just-mets dancing toget…
Recently, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn declared February to be Seattle Women Who Rock Month. The announcement was spurred by a new play and history project created by Gretta Harley (Maxi Badd, Danger Dens), Sarah Rudinoff, and Elizabeth Kenny called These Streets, a fictionalized story heavily inspire…
Amber Mark is a blossoming NYC-based vocalist making waves in the music world with her stunning voice and vibrant sound that blends R&B, pop, soul, dancehall, and various club styles. She just released her impressive debut mini-album 3:33am, recently appeared on stand-out singles by DJDS, Demo …
