Kick off the summer solstice with these great releases! UK band Wolf Alice release their debut full-length, which KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes as "an expansive blend of ethereal dream-pop, shoegazer psych-rock, bristling grunge-pop and much more, with a dynamic, wide-ranging sound on s…
Swedish artist Lykke Li shares a video as dark and lonely as the track itself: watch the clip for "Never Gonna Love Again" below, from last year's I Never Learn. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she explains, "Loneliness and heartbreak follow you everywhere and they are loudest right after the …
Wolf Parade are releasing their first album in seven years, Cry Cry Cry, on October 6 via Sub Pop. Today they've unveiled the album's second single "You're Dreaming" which was inspired by the shock and confusion following the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It's accompanied by a cut-out visual mad…
Join Midday Show host Cheryl Waters for a new podcast featuring songs that will stick in your mind and hopefully get you singing along as you while away your days. 1. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear 2. The Amazing - Picture You 3. Yellerkin - Tools 4. Django Django - First Light 5. Mat…
You won’t believe the golden light you wake up to crawling out of your tent at Pickathon. The tree-lined hills of the Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon make you feel like you are in an other-worldly paradise. Taking a light walk around the Back 40 to enjoy the surroundings, among the sleepy co…
If there has been a moment where the now-common phenomena of massive reunion tours jumped the shark, it was in January, when Outkast announced that they'd be getting back together for the express purpose of playing their storied catalog at 40 festivals. More so than Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, o…
In its 21st year, Capitol Hill Block Party feels more like a party than ever. The first day alone proved that people were willing to forgo their post-work tiredness and rage in the streets to Run The Jewels, Wolf Parade, and Mura Masa. CHBP may have the budget to keep bringing in larger and larger …
DJ Kevin Cole looks back at musical highlights of 2017 and ahead with anticipation and great expectations! 1. Alvvays - In Undertow 2. Wolf Parade - You're Dreaming 3. Žen - Žal (Strand) 4. Mammút - Breathe Into Me 5. Ride - Charm Assault 6. ГШ (Glintshake) - Убожество 7. Oligarkh - Maria Devo, …
Whether you're attending in person or in spirit, Midday Show host Cheryl Waters presents the perfect soundtrack for your trip to Sasquatch! Music Festival this year. 1. Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better 2. Julia Holter - Feel You 3. Briana Marela - Surrender 4. Unknown Mortal Orchestra -…
We knew that The Besnard Lakes would be on our list to see while we were in Montreal since first, they are one of our favorite Montreal-based bands, but also because frontman Jace Lasek is one of the three founders of Breakglass Studios. It was really fun to see The Besnard Lakes in their element a…
In September, KEXP made our first journey out to Montreal, Quebec, to immerse ourselves in their vibrant and eclectic music scene during the 16th annual POP Montreal Music Festival. With the assistance of FACTOR, a fellow nonprofit that assists the growth and development of musicians across Canada,…
They look like sisters, maybe even twins, the way that Lucius co-founders Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig style themselves and dress, but like any pair, they can also be opposites - the yin to each other's yang. That duality forms the core of Good Grief, the now LA-based band's second release, which e…
DJ El Toro presents nineteen of his favorite new tracks (including a couple of recently unearthed archival gems) for singing, dancing, shredding, and sulking. Lather, rinse, repeat. 1. Mocean Worker - Julius, Irving, Berlin 2. Peaches (feat. Kim Gordon) - Close Up 3. Escort - Animal Nature 4. Tu…
Divine Fits, a super-group of sorts featuring Britt Daniel from Spoon, New Bomb Turk's Sam Brown, and Wolf Parade's Dan Boeckner, played their first show together in Austin last year before going on to release one of the best LPs of 2012 with A Thing Called Divine Fits. The came full circle last n…
"Lovely" and "infectious" — mash those words together and it sounds something like Lucius. Watch and hear the band perform, and those words seem even more apt. Led by co-vocalists Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, the NYC-based five-piece blends gorgeous harmonies and lively percussion in girl group in…
Easily one of the most popular bands to perform during our broadcast from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge, The Joy Formidable have blown up since the first time they played for KEXP back in 2010. Their second and most recent album, Wolf's Law, amps up their shoegazery rock sound to epic proportions, y…
Ever since their Iceland Airwaves KEXP session, we've been excited for more new music from Operators (featuring Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Divine Fits, and Handsome Furs), and today they share the single for "Cold Light," which you can stream below. It's a sneak peek at their forthcoming sophomo…
As Americans we are no longer surprised by European artists who bring their amazing music to our humble shores. The Joy Formidable is another among the ever-growing list of impressive British talent that has taken the US by storm. In 2007, childhood best friends Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan and Rhydian D…