Noel Brass, Jr. sits at the back of Cafe Vita in Greenwood, quietly sipping on an espresso. He's immediately recognizable — it's hard to find a photo of Brass where he isn't wearing his trademark fedora and glasses. It's a rainy November afternoon and I can't think of a better setting to dive into …
During the recording process of Phantogram's third album, Three, members Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter experienced a devastating loss. Barthel's sister and Carter's close friend Becky died by suicide. While the electro-pop duo has always explored dark themes in their songwriting, they weren't prepa…
Earlier this year, everyone's favorite bald vegan returned with a new project, Moby & the Pacific Void Orchestra. A track from their debut LP These Systems Are Failing was already a KEXP Song of the Day pick (listen here), and today, we've got a video for the track "Break. Doubt." Watch below.…
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 Midd…
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…
All throughout the Midday Show on KEXP today, DJ Cheryl Waters has been sharing tracks from the forthcoming Cymbals Eat Guitars album, Pretty Years. Miss a few songs? Had to go into a meeting? You can stream the entire album here, via NPR Music. The band will be crashing through (argh, puns! I can…
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 DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Mid…
While climate change may be something that members of our federal government have decided to ignore and/or flat-out reject, it's difficult to ignore the fact that summers in Seattle have gotten increasingly warmer. On August 8th we broke the previous record of 51 days without rain, making it the dr…
Seattle's Ephrata have been purveyors of dreamy, expansive-yet-poppy music scene they formed in 2012. With each new single and EP, they've expanded their sonic palette and even managed to squeeze in some startling visuals and music videos — sometimes things got bloody. The band will self-release th…
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. All this week we are celebrating Seat…
When Vancouver-based band Black Mountain stepped in the studio, we got a contact high. Not necessarily from their clothing, but definitely from their heavy, sludgy, psychedelic sound. Vocalists Stephen McBean and Amber Webber trade verses over a Black Sabbath-inspired wave of droning guitar and key…
Gong Xi Fa Cai! If you've already blown your new year's resolutions, get a fresh start with the lunar calendar and the 2016 Chinese New Year, which begins today, Monday, February 8th, and ends on January 27th, 2017. Traditionally, every year is assigned an animal in the Chinese Zodiac, and 2016 has…
The owls may not be what they seem, but neither does David Lynch. As a director, writer, musician, actor, artist, even furniture designer, he truly does it all. It's no surprise that his surrealistic influence extends to the music world, so on today, his 69th birthday, KEXP pays tribute to Lynch wi…
For Christmas, PDX-via-NZ group Unknown Mortal Orchestra gave us the gift of song: stream the track "SB-03" below, written by frontman Ruban Nielson and his brother, Kody Nielson (aka Silicon). The twelve-minute-long track was released on December 25th, following the singles "SB-01" and "SB-02," r…
There is something both completely Polish and non-Polish about Lautari, the band featured this week in our series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice. The award-winning ethno-jazz quartet, whose members hail from central and southern Poland, draw their name from the …
"Your hippocampus does it alright" That astute observation from Built to Spill's Doug Martsch on his cerebral ode to memory function is a heck of an understatement when it comes to Twin Cities band Hippo Campus. The young four-piece is quickly becoming the pride of the St. Paul scene with their bre…
When it comes to Mike Krol, it's not three strikes and you're out. For the LA based, Milwaukee born songwriter, the third time's a charm, or rather, a Turkey. His third LP, and recent Merge Records release, avoids incarceration with a liberating blast of hook-filled garage rock, smart self-reflecti…
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. This week's songs come during the 201…
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. This week, we are featuring artists p…
