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…
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, …
Decked out in polychromatic tees, unabashedly hip San Francisco band Painted Palms lit up KEXP with a vibrant live set back in July. The band, brainchild of Louisiana-born cousins Christopher Prudhomme and Reese Donohue, released their new album, Forever, on Polyvinyl Records earlier this year. The…
Twenty-plus years into a varied and universally celebrated career, Spoon can still surprise and delight us. They Want My Soul, the Austin-based band's follow-up to 2010's Transference, has all the Spoon hallmarks you expect: the fiery voice of frontman Britt Daniel, the wry if sometimes bittersweet…
Courtney Barnett may prefer the mundane, but that doesn't mean we have to. In the songs on her debut album, The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, really two early EPs mashed together, the young Australian singer-songwriter relates with hyperfocus the details of a day or of moments of average signific…
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…
Recently, Wo' Pop favorites Tinariwen played a live set for KEXP while moving through Seattle on their sold-out international tour to promote their new album, Emmaar. Drawing influence from West African music, traditional Tuareg assouf stylistics, and bootlegged albums by western artists, Tinariwen…
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…
Drum machines, laptops and keyboards don't generally lend themselves to physical expression in music. In many cases, the minute adjustments that can change an entire track are invisible to audiences during electronic performances. The Seattle group Kingdom Crumbs, on the other hand, is captivating …
Crystal Antlers is hard to pin down. With each release, the energetic band leaves genre behind, making fans uncertain of their future endeavors, yet they manage to avoid slipping into frustrating unpredictability. Recently, Crystal Antlers wrapped up their North American tour with a stop in Seattle…
With a career spanning over three decades Billy Bragg has acquired both a massive catalog and fanbase. His engaging stage presence and brilliant songwriting have cemented him as one of the most successful folk rock singers in the world. In fact, this past January he was honored for lifetime achieve…
"Bouncing keyboards." "Thumping four-on-the-floor beats." "Synth-driven." Those are just a handful of phrases that probably wouldn't have been used to describe Ra Ra Riot prior to 2013. However, for their third full-length, Beta Love, the now-quartet moved away from their string-laden sound in favo…
Throughout the nearly five decades of his career, Aaron Neville has performed and recorded hundreds of songs in a variety of styles, from his Billboard topping 1967 solo R&B classic "Tell It Like It Is" through the creole rock of The Neville Brothers, and he's covered innumerable greats of soul…
Recently, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn declared February to be Seattle Women Who Rock Month. The announcement was spurred by a new play and history project created by Gretta Harley (Maxi Badd, Danger Dens), Sarah Rudinoff, and Elizabeth Kenny called These Streets, a fictionalized story heavily inspire…
Ten-year old, eight-piece L.A. based soul/funk band Orgone has that perfect combination of tight refinement raw gut-punching power that is needed to become known, as they have, as one of the baddest funk bands around today. They play an updated take on the spirit of classic groups like The Meters,…
In the late 90's, few bands were like Firewater. The NYC band was mixing Balkan folk with contemporary post-punk for sound that would eventually inspire others like Gogol Bordello, Balkan Beat Box, Devotchka and even Beirut. Led by former Cop Shoot Cop frontman Tod A, Firewater became musical world…
Monotown: it's a name you'll be hearing a lot on KEXP, and hopefully everywhere else, in 2013. Over the past several years, our trips to Iceland have allowed us to discover bands sometimes even before they've released any albums (as was the case with Of Monsters and Men in 2010), or at least before…
Opening today’s broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Finnish singer-songwriter Mikko Joensuu. Over the course of the last year and half or so, Mikko has released a series of three records over the course of a year or so, called Amen 1-3 (Svart records) exploring coming into faith,…
From a patio overlooking the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth, WA, Seattle musician, Josh Rawlings, prepares himself for a month-long writing session with famed Seattle music producer, Ryan Lewis. Rawlings, who has toured with the golden-voiced Allen Stone and is one-fourth of th…
