I have a confession to make: Not unlike some KCMU DJs circa 1986, I am woefully ignorant of the career and voluminous musical output of Wanda Jackson, also known as the Queen of Rockabilly - or just the Queen of Rock. (Obviously I haven't been reading the KEXP blog enough, or this DJ El Toro review…
With their new release The Wanting, Seattle’s Nightmare Fortress have created the perfect blend of somber and emotionally intense sonic streams of grandiose grave wave soundscapes. Enthralled by this ambiguous and unnerving artwork, KEXP caught up with guitarist Cassidy Gonzales to discuss the maca…
"I just wanna keep very, very quiet," admits Aly Spaltro (a.k.a Lady Lamb) at the end of the fourth verse of "Billions of Eyes". It's not an inaccurate statement, but it also doesn't mean she won't get loud when she needs to. Spaltro builds intricate songs that move through dynamics and lyrics more…
The Twilight Sad have always specialized in making the darker side of humanity seem so grandiose and alluring, but they've never made gloom quite so emotive and magnetic as they do on their fourth album, Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave. When the Scottish band brought six cuts from…
The name says it all with Boise's Treefort Music Fest — think intimate clubhouse, and since this is the Northwest, think very big tree. The line-up is tremendous: not just national acts, such as Foxygen, TV on the Radio, Viet Cong, Rubblebucket, Trampled by Turtles, and hometown heroes Built to Spi…
It has the makings of an indie movie plot: Hip musician dad records album with son while his wife undergoes cancer therapy. The real story is a bit more complicated, but that's essentially the backdrop of Tweedy, the latest project of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer. The duo recorded…
Today marks the birthday of James Yancey, better known as J Dilla, one of the most influential hip-hop artists of this century. Just days after his 32nd birthday, back in 2006, the Detroit-based DJ and producer passed away, leaving an enduring legacy for others to follow. Above the nine albums he p…
In 1998, Old Crow Medicine Show were busking in front of Pike Place Market. In 2014, they're headlining the 2,800-capacity Paramount Theatre. Along the way, the Nashville, Tennessee-based group became one of the primary figures in the 2000s roots music revival, bringing the same energy from their b…
It's hard to imagine a better indie pop dream team than this – a multi-Grammy winning producer Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) and a beloved singer-songwriter James Mercer (of the Shins), each responsible for some of the most infectious songs you've heard in the past ten years, joining to create…
It's difficult to imagine Iska Dhaaf as only a two-piece, even when they're right in front of you. The sound of their full-bodied post-punk is supported by Benjamin Verdoes' (Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band) unique ability to simultaneously play the keyboard and drums. It takes a talented musician to …
Anticipating his upcoming tour supporting Black Sabbath and his own burgeoning career, bluesy rocker Jordan Cook, a.k.a. Reignwolf, performed a handful of sold-out shows including a stop in his adopted hometown at the Neptune Theatre last week. Amazingly, Cook has yet to release an album under the …
Though her first band, brother-sister duo The Fiery Furnaces, caught a lot of well-deserved internet buzz, Eleanor Friedberger has truly found her voice alone. Over two albums - Last Summer, 2011's acclaimed solo debut, and the recent Personal Record, sure to be a favorite on critics' year-end list…
Nearly 35 years in music and Bob Mould shows no signs of slowing down! From his early punk roots with Hüsker Dü in the 1980s through his alternative pop years with Sugar in the 1990s, and in the years between and afterwards with his ten solo albums, the veteran songwriter has explored a variety of …
Following their 1995 debut, Memphis garage punk band Oblivians released two more albums in quick succession and then practically disappeared for the next twelve years. But they didn't quite slip into, well, oblivion. Band members Greg Oblivian, Jack Oblivian and Eric Oblivian -- a.k.a. Greg Cartwri…
"Holy lord that was loud," said DJ Sean of hardcore trio METZ's near-My Bloody Valentine level of noise. "I don't want to put too fine of a point on it. But it was loud." Only six months after their first visit to KEXP's studios, Alex Edkins, Chris Slorach, and Hayden Menzies were back in Seattle l…
It seemed so daunting when Joseph Arthur first talked about The Ballad of Boogie Christ during an in-studio session two years ago. Back then, he thought it might be a potential rock musical or even a "rock opera" about a man who was either enlightened or insane, and it was either going to be about …
Easily one of the best albums of the year so far, Muchacho most fully realizes the ideas, sound and aesthetic that Brooklyn (by way of Alabama)'s Matthew Houck has been developing for the past decade as Phosphorescent. Whether spare, lush, atmospheric or raucously barn-burning, the songs on Muchach…
With roots that stretch back to carefree two person jam sessions at Gasworks Park, the well-rounded Seattle septet Hey Marseilles has grown in the last nine years not just in size, but in the power and scope of their songwriting and performance. In this KEXP live in-studio performance they show wh…
This Tuesday, Portland synth pop band STRFKR kick off their tour in support of new record Miracle Mile at the Neptune with San Francisco electronic shoegaze artist Blackbird Blackbird. The bill is solid. STRFKR are back stronger than ever on Miracle Mile building off of the perfected pop textures w…
Congratulations to Searching for Sugar Man for winning Best Documentary Feature at the 85th annual Academy Awards tonight! Directed by Malik Bendjelloul, the musical biopic uncovers the mystery behind the Detroit-based musician Rodriguez and, most interestingly, how he became a legend for decades i…
