It's not easy for bands to pull of a daytime performance in bright sunlight. Most are used to dark clubs and nocturnal crowds, but the warm desert tones of LA's Allah-Las made for a perfect Austin afternoon on the first day of our broadcast this year from Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop during SXSW. Thou…
One of the many reasons KEXP went to Montreal was at the recommendation of our friend Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), so when we had our plan in place to record at Breakglass Studios during the POP Montreal Festival, naturally we asked Dan if he had any local bands that he would recommend th…
Tune-Yards have returned with a brand new song that comes alongside an announcement that they'll be following up 2014's Nikki Nack with a brand new album called I can feel you creep into my private life, due January 19th via 4AD. The LP is produced by longtime collaborator Nate Brenner, who is now …
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…
As Cheryl Waters jokes, it's taken over ten years to get Trevor Powers' band Youth Lagoon in the KEXP studio. Really, the band has only been around since 2010 - it just feels like we've all been waiting that long. We were all happy finally to have wrangled Youth Lagoon come grace us, and the timing…
There is much to agree about when it comes to Sutari - the intricacy of their compositions, the appeal of their stage presence, the aptness of their found instruments and the relevance today of the traditional songs they play. Even their name implies accord. "Sutarti", the Lithuanian word that lend…
The fact that Theoretics remixed the Blade Runner theme a few months back automatically backs up drummer Adam Gross' statement, "We're all sort of sci-fi nerds." A five-piece livetronica band from our very own city, Theoretics certainly deliver sound-wise, taking us on a funky space-age aural explo…
Do you like to rock the hell out? Fuzz certainly does. As the last of the sunset faded, a large crowd of people gathered at the Yeti stage at Sasquatch to have their heat stroke blasted away by waves of distortion heavy guitar, fat bass, and driving drums. This three piece does not mess around. Ty …
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…
It's an impressive week for new releases! Beloved Northwest band Sleater-Kinney end their hiatus with the release of No Cities To Love. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "The recently reunited trio’s eighth album (and first in 10 years) is a strong return-to-form, with an intense blend of punk, …
Talk about a storied past. The Jayhawks rose from the fertile era of Twin Cities rock that also produced such contemporaries as The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum and Prince. Though they often get tagged as "country rock revivalists" or "alt-country icons", the band's sound and personnel shif…
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…
Not all of the magical places in Iceland are majestic glaciers, crystal waterfalls, bubbling thermal springs, or the lava field dwellings of the so-called hidden folk -- some are as common as public swimming pools. Sundlaugin, for instance, was for some sixty years a local pool just outside Reykja…
Whatever "chillwave" as a genre tag was, it's dead. However, its two biggest names, Toro Y Moi and Washed Out, have both (maybe coincedentally) evolved into something a little less ephemeral: electronic-savvy, funk machines. As he's gained more prominence, Ernest Greene's initially bedroom-sized pr…
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…
It's hard to believe it's already been three years since the release of the Fleet Foxes album Helplessness Blues (voted #1 album of 2011 by KEXP listeners). Frontman Robin Pecknold took to Facebook yesterday to share an update:
For anyone who’s curious, this is a short Fleet Foxes update – been a w…
Howe Gelb is a goddamn institution. Over the past three decades he has released 25 albums with the mercurial outfit Giant Sand (originally known as Giant Sandworm, most lately known as Giant Giant Sand), and almost as many albums under his own name (#20, Dust Bowl, is available right now). His care…
