As we announced last month, Seattle's own Perfume Genius (aka Mike Hadreas) has a new album coming out this Spring, titled No Shape. Stream a video for the first single "Slip Away" below. Via a press release, Hadreas elaborates, "I pay my rent. I'm approaching health. The things that are bothering…
Only two songs into the Long Beach rapper's performance and it was clear that the first big crowd of Sasquatch 2016 belonged to Vince Staples' ferocious sunset slot, Dressed in his usual onstage uniform of black pants and a white "Street Justice: Have A Taste", Staples breathlessly ran through cut…
Kendrick Lamar has developed very quickly to one of the most intelligent and humanely aware persons of our generation. This is only what we have been able to see. Kendrick has developed through his whole life, every experience, to what he is now, and he keeps us updated through his music. Following…
KEXP can never get enough of Sóley. The charming Icelandic songstress has a knack for covering a deep emotional range and some occasionally morbid subjects in the most disarming and endearing way. In fact, we've recorded her six out of the past seven years we've been covering Iceland Airwaves, and …
A Deerhunter show is never just going to be Bradford Cox and company playing songs for two hours. This, as they’ve established in the past decade, is just not how the Atlanta band works. The gig might not always be as chaotic as the now-infamous “My Sharona” show and Cox might not run offstage, lea…
Is there any band that has defined the sounds of early 80s like New Order? From the post-punk roots of "Ceremony" to "Age of Consent", and the new-wave brilliance of "Blue Monday" to "The Perfect Kiss", New Order are the figurehead of an era. They extended their reign through 1993's Republic, where…
It's hard to describe our anticipation for the full-length debut from Mr. Silla. We've featured Sigurlaug Gisladóttir, a longtime member of Icelandic band múm, with her own project for the past few years -- recording her first in her own Reykjavik studio in 2011, then during our broadcast at Icelan…
What does the passing of time sound like? That's the question that Santa Barbara retro synth-pop band Gardens & Villa seem to be asking often on their sophomore record Dunes, out this week on Secretly Canadian. We first met Gardens & Villa back in 2011 with a self-titled LP decorated with j…
February is kicking off with lots of interesting stuff for your ears, most notably, the sophomore release from duo Broken Bells -- Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shins. KEXP's Music Director, Don Yates, describes the new album After the Disco as "a strong set of psych-tinged rhythmic pop that…
When it comes to long-lived makers of weird music, Einstürzende Neubauten is a fair match for Pere Ubu. Pere Ubu was founded a couple of years earlier, but as far as I can tell Neubauten has never had an officially inactive period. Pere Ubu is arguably the poppier of the two bands (most of their so…
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. Thanksgiving is around the corner and it’s time to prepare for feasting. Did you know that the average American eats any…
Finally. This week, that's probably the only thought that comes to mind as M.I.A. sees her fourth LP hit shelves. It's just shy of three years since we first heard a sample of "Bad Girls" on Maya's new year's eve Vicki Leekx mixtape. Now, the song has been an international hit for over a year and a…
As far as new releases go, it's a bit of a slower week than in the past hectic month, but 2013 still holds many terrific new albums yet to be released, including quite a few just hitting stores today. Among them, is the excellent new mini-album, Fade Away, from LA duo Best Coast, which at seven son…
Last year, Odd Future (a.k.a. OFWGKTA) really stepped up its game. Although it has always been more than the negative headlines that circulated around co-founder Tyler, the Creator, who nonetheless held critics' praise, the LA hip hop collective proved to be more than a gimmick with the huge succes…
Seattle duo The Spider Ferns don't make music, they create worlds. Each of their songs is like a new landscape. You may have heard the sounds before -- drums that seem to echo into infinity, bass lines that throb and pulse like they have lives of their own, electronic sounds that shimmer like a cre…
It just wouldn’t be Airwaves without seeing one of Jófríður Ákadóttir’s many musical projects, and today we’re being treated to some of her new solo work, produced under the moniker JFDR, live from Kex Hostel in Reykjavík. A local songwriting prodigy, Jófríður has been playing music since she was 1…
Indie veterans Yo La Tengo have announced a new album slated for release in March called There's a Riot Going On. In a press release written by writer and critic Luc Santé, the album title is an intentional nod to Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 album of the same name, as well as a remark on the cu…
