Some artists come out of their bedroom studios only to return to the comfort of their four-tracks, and some emerge from the loft and never go back. Stuart McLamb, the creative force behind North Carolina's The Love Language, clearly falls into the latter category. Even when he was technologically l…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part 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 selection, featured on the Af…
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, featured on The Morn…
Focus on the present and join Cheryl Waters in the moment for a mix of fresh new tracks from Iron & Wine, Kelley Stoltz, and Wolf Parade. 1. Iron & Wine - Call It Dreaming 2. Jessica Lea Mayfield - Sorry Is Gone 3. Shake Some Action! - Waiting For the Sun 4. The Mynabirds - Shouting At t…
True to style, every year, there are one or two bands that manage to navigate the Sasquatch! Music Festival contracts and squeeze in a Seattle date right before they head east. For 2015, that band was UK electronic showcase Jungle. While they absolutely wowed crowds with their Sasquatch! set on Day…
For a moment there, it looked like The National's headlining set at Sasquatch – one of the band's biggest shows to date – was going to be underwhelming. For the first twenty minutes, the band felt too mellow, and frontman Matt Berninger, disinterested. And then, after "Don't Swallow The Cap", a swi…
"Oh London moon, help me stumble home, help me lose myself along the way." So begins the return of Broken Bells, the all-too-perfect team up between now legendary producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) and the genius songwriter who gave us the Shins, James Mercer. After The Disco is the soundtrack to…
I've probably said this before, but this is kind of the perfect Review Revue album. Released on RR favorites Shimmy Disc (see also here and here and here and here and oh yes, over here), featuring members of Half Japanese, partially recorded at Inner Ear studios (okay, that's more of a me thing), b…
It should never go without saying that we at KEXP are amazed by the ongoing support by our listeners and friends. This year, you've helped us maintain our fiercely independent programming and find a new home, and now you're continuing to help us fully compete it so that we can reach more of you tha…
This week's post is actually, completely by coincidence, somewhat timely! I had somehow missed the news that the English punk/post-punk heroes Wire had just released a new album called Wire (because once you've been a band for almost forty years, why not go the self-titled route at long last?). The…
Merrill Garbus' colorful campaign behind Tune-Yards' excellent third album Nikki Nack continues today with a vibrant video for the album cut "Real Thing." Mannequin-esque people, Sesame Street-style visuals, and a climatic dance scene featuring packaging peanuts are a few highlights from the below,…
It's an unlikely cover, but it's for a great cause: Moby gives his spin to the Duran Duran classic "Rio." The track appears on a tribute album to the '80s icons titled Making Patterns Rhyme that'll be out this July on Manimal Vinyl. Other artists on the comp include Warpaint, Little Dragon, Crocod…
Influential artist Phil Everly, who formed The Everly Brothers with his sibling Don, passed away last Friday, at the age of 74. Everly's son Jason cites the cause of death as complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Since forming in the 1950s, The Everly Brothers racked up an unprec…
We're excited to announce that Arcade Fire have announced North American dates for their Reflektor tour, including a stop at the Gorge Amphitheatre on Friday, August 8th. Mark your calendars: tickets for the general public go on sale starting Friday, November 22nd.Earlier today, we reported that th…
No one can make a pink wig look bad ass and terrifying quite like M.I.A. can. In the video for her track, "Bring The Noize," not only does she pull of this feat' but she also strings together lightening fast flows that she punctuates with a flick of her sparkly gold talons. It's one thing to hear …
Sometimes I think I'm not remotely qualified to be doing this blog series. (Perhaps you've thought the same.) Take Sparks, for example. I don't think I'd ever heard of Sparks before pulling this album off the KEXP shelves, but they've been a band for over 45 years and released a couple dozen albums…
KEXP Variety Mix host Reeves does his first ever Music That Matters podcast, featuring tracks from the end of 2015 and from anticipated releases of 2016. 1. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Aerobed 2. The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - I Can Be Afraid of Anything 3. DIIV - …
"Welcome to the show (We Missed You)", the projector screen read before Fleet Foxes made their homecoming on a warm May evening. From the chatter and mingling happening in the crowd ahead of the set, it was clear that the feeling was mutual. It'd been five years since the Seattle group played their…
Fleet Foxes are getting back together. The Seattle indie band went on hiatus five years ago after they released their sophomore album, Helplessness Blues. At the time, frontman Robin Pecknold had decided to go back to Columbia University to earn his degree. Now it seems the hiatus is coming to an …
