Twenty two years after its release, Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen continues to enrapture with its baroque arrangements and Enigk's inimitable songwriting. Performing four cuts from the album alongside a new song on KEXP's broadcast from the Upstream Music Festival with a …
Last month, The Drums shared their first new single in a few years, the super-danceable "Blood Under My Belt." Today, we've got a video for the track, featuring frontman/sole member Jonny Pierce posing against colorful backdrops. In a press release, he shares, "I hate making music videos. But, ala…
The KEXP road crew and I left Seattle last Sunday to head back to France for our second year filming bands at the 39th annual Trans Musicales music festival in Rennes, France. We had such an amazing time last year capturing video from 12 bands, all of which you can check out here. The spirit of Tra…
I've covered a lot of obscure bands in the (gulp) 9 years I've been doing this series, but The Invisible really takes the cake. Interestingly, their album Dystopia seems to be available on all the usual internet music services, but the only smidge of information I can find on them is a discogs list…
These are a few of Greg Vandy's favorite things in The Roadhouse and out. Most of his Top 10 LPs are represented here, but also his favorite songs of the year. It was a great year in music! Download, share, and tune into The Roadhouse on Wednesdays from 6-9pm for what's hot in the new year. 1. Pr…
All day tomorrow, we'll be counting down KEXP listeners' Top Albums of 2012 all day, and there's no doubt that local band The Helio Sequence will have a strong showing. That it took four years to release Negotiations isn't too surprising, considering the Portland duo usually take their time perfect…
When a band self-titles an album midway through their career, it's usually for one of two reasons: they've either run out of ideas or they've taken a significantly new tact. For Portland duo The Helio Sequence, the reason is obvious. Rather than mull over songs in their usual slow-going and contemp…
As we announced earlier this year, Sam Beam (better known as Iron & Wine) is digging through his archives and releasing the findings on his own Black Cricket Recording Company label. Archive Series Volume No. 1 is out now, featuring demos and unreleased material recorded around the same time a…
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 …
Seattle's own Duff McKagan is here to help you start the new year off right. The longtime Guns N' Roses guitarist is releasing the book How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions), a collection of his old Seattle Weekly columns. McKagan explains, "It’s a how-to guide of things I’ve learned about life — …
Swedish rockers Peter Bjorn and John have been proselytizing their pro-60s pop prowess since 1999. The trio really took the indie world by storm back in 2006 with their dance-floor hit "Young Folks," and ten years later, they're still artfully writing their whistle-catchy songs like the title track…
Congratulations to Bob Dylan, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature! Also a critically acclaimed memoirist, Dylan was awarded the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition", and he's the first American to win the prize in over 20 years! The 75-…
During her concert at last year's Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, Björk screened a virtual reality video for the Vulnicura track “Notget.” (The clip, along with videos for “Family,” “Stonemilker,” and “Black Lake,” were also screened last year at the Björk Digital exhibit in Montreal.) Today, sh…
You might call it Flying Nun 2.0, for the venerable New Zealand label recently began signing new Kiwi acts after a long hiatus. Considering Flying Nun signed and released many of its country's most celebrated acts including The Clean, The Bats, Bailter Space, The Verlaines and The Chills, any newco…
They say great art can come from sadness, and that seems to be true for the new album from Grandaddy. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "the fifth album (and first in 11 years) from this reunited Modesto, CA-bred band led by Jason Lytle is an impressive return to form featuring consistently stro…
When My Bubba entered the studio for their third LP, this year's Big Bad Good, they didn't have any songs, but the Swedish-Icelandic duo didn't take that as a reason to not craft a new set of tunes on the spot. Joining DJ Morgan in the KEXP Studio, Guðbjörg Tómasdóttir and My Larsdo…
While on a recent tour down under, Phantogram turned out a Radiohead cover for Australian radio station Triple J's Like a Version series. Hear their take on the 2007 In Rainbows track "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" below. The New York duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter are continuing to tour in support …
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. Today’s song, selected by Midday S…
