Now, more than ever, the world needs The Clash. For the fifth annual International Clash Day, KEXP is highlighting the band's activism and political messaging. Even their band name carries political weight: bassist Paul Simonon was inspired when he noticed the word appearing frequently in the daily…
UK trio The xx are heading out on tour soon (including a Monday, April 24th stop at CenturyLink Field), but before they go, they've shared a video for the track "Say Something Loving." Director Alasdair McLellan captures young Londoners caught in lazers and love. On Facebook, the band state, "We w…
Parquet Courts go on location in this clip for "Berlin Got Blurry," a single from their forthcoming fifth full-length Human Performance, out April 8th via Rough Trade. Director Claes Nordwall follows frontman Andrew Savage as he meanders about the scenic European city, riding the train, using pay …
The last time I posted on The Smiths in this space, I was pretty bummed about the disappearance of various local businesses and the gloomy weather. Good thing those days are behind us, right? Hahahahaha! Ha! Ha. Suffice it to say it's been a while, and there are a number of fine Smiths albums with …
Matt Johnson's The The is yet another band (or musical project, if you prefer, since it seems to have been Johnson and whatever troupe of brilliant musicians he could round up when it came time to make a record) that I never listened to in their heyday/my youth, and I can't quite figure out why. Ma…
San Francisco rockers Thee Oh Sees have shared the opening track from their upcoming album Mutilator Defeated At Last (out May 18). "Withered Hand" goes for broke with a steady buildup and an explosive payoff. The band has also contributed a song called "The Ceiling" to the 50 Bands & a Cat fo…
It's hard to live up to a name like theirs, and harder still to shine brightly for over fifteen years, but Stars have not only lost none of their shimmering allure - they've somehow turned an amorphous Canadian collective, on par and in cahoots with Broken Social Scene, into a consistently producti…
It's not often you get to say you saw a three band gig where all three bands blew you away for completely different reasons. Luckily for those crammed in Neumos basement at the sold out Pallbearer, Sólstafir, and Mortals show Thursday night, that was 100% the case. Each with an entirely different f…
This weekend was without a doubt the best music festival I’ve ever been to. I still haven’t been to the greats like SXSW or Primavera Sound, but All Tomorrow’s Parties Iceland went above and beyond your run-of-the-mill weekend festivals like Coachella, Sasquatch, Outside Lands, and Lollapalooza. Th…
Paul Janeway's vocal range is some kind of miracle. For the young Alabama-based soul stirrer and his band, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, the sounds of Memphis and Muscle Shoals go marrow deep. On Half The City, their unbelievable mature debut, Janeway channels '60s R&B greats like Otis Reddi…
In addition to producing about three months of shows and two new songs, The Postal Service reunion can now add a video to the list of things its produced. The AB/CD/CD-directed clip for the new song "A Tattered Line of String" finds a man fighting off a laundry machine that's trying to suck him in.…
On any given weekend in Seattle there are a million amazing shows - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. And maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, folk, g…
In honor of the late Jason Molina, Graveface Records has announced the release of a tribute album (due out on April 23). Weary Engine Blues has an impressive roster of singer/songwriters -including John Vanderslice, Will Oldham (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), Phil Elverum (The Microphones), Mark Kozelek, …
A catchy melody doesn't just get stuck in your head – it lives there. You sit with it, sometimes for days or even years, ruminating on it whether you want to or not. Writing just one of these songs can be an accomplishment. Portland songwriter Mo Troper does this 15 times over on his latest album, …
Amongst the fervent Seattle soul scene, The Dip stands out as one of the most exciting and joyous acts to emerge in recent years. The seven-piece act fronted by Beat Connection's Tom Eddy emerged in 2015 with their decadent self-titled debut LP and have kept the momentum going with last year's Won'…
Wo' Pop is a 3-hour look into what used to be called "World Music" I call it "Modern Global Music" because it encompasses all the current musical genres while being deeply engaged in the sounds and ideas of each city or region.
African Kwaito, Bhangra and Bollywood from Bombay and London, Mbalax f…
The Grand Theft Auto video game series has never been a stranger to good music. Old school fans still cling to the 2002 Vice City entry for the precious Wave 103 radio station, where you can listen to Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan, and Human League while running from the cops down a neon Miami-esque…
Next on the KEXP broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is an Icelandic/Swedish folk duo My bubba. Their earlier efforts (released under the moniker “My bubba & Mi”) are deeply rooted in southern americana and folk. The songs are sparse, allowing their pure, delicate voices and entr…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, fol…
Fearlessly dabbling in the gaudy with their electro pop sound, Future Bible Heroes began as a project of The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and DJ Christopher Ewen, but gradually evolved into a substantial group of talented musicians. Eleven years after the release of their sophomore album, Etern…
