It's time to add another band from the KEXP stacks to the long list of fascinating artists I should really become more familiar with - and would happily read a book about. Scritti Politti began 40 years ago in Leeds, and have been intermittently making music in various lineups ever since (with the …
Seattle band Pickwick has always been a band that embraces change. In their earliest incarnations, they were an ambient-folk group before falling in love with the hypnotic grooves of R&B that would be the foundation for their 2013 full-length debut, Can't Talk Medicine. Even still, the band con…
For International Womens Day, Swedish siblings First Aid Kit have shared a new song. Stream the single "You Are the Problem Here" below. Sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg explain they wrote the track, "after reading about yet another rape case where the perpetrator was handed a sentence which di…
Have you ever wondered how to prove your undying loyalty to your favorite band? If the answer is year, The Kills have got you covered. Last month, the band asked fans for 15 participants to get tattoos of symbols inspired by each song for their album Ash & Ice. The call was easily answered and…
He was born to raise hell, and he did it his entire life, but sadly,Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister died today. The hard-rocking and hard-living icon had seemed nearly indestructible, living an uncompromising 70 years on his own terms. Unfortunately, an extremely aggressive cancer got the better…
It's such a great day for new videos! Let's kick things off with a new clip from KEXP faves Tame Impala. In the video for the single "Let It Happen", a business man goes on a very bad trip. Whoa. Let it happen, indeed. The anxiety-inducing short0film was directed by David Wilson, and the track its…
Ryan Adams announced that he will be covering Taylor Swift's mega-hit album 1989 in its entirety. Although there's no official release date, he's been posting his progress on twitter. Below you can hear brief snippets of "All You Had To Do Was Stay" and "Out of the Woods." Adam's haunting vocals a…
Texas-based artist Israel Nash returns this fall with his fourth album of ‘70s-inspired, psych-tinged folk-rock titled Israel Nash’s Silver Season. Get a first listen with the single "Strangers" below. The album was recorded in Nash's recently-built Plum Creek Sound studios. Israel Nash’s Silver S…
It's finally here: the long-awaited sophomore release from KEXP's Iceland discovery Of Monsters & Men! The album was co-produced by the band and Los Angeles-based producer Rich Costey who's worked with artists such as Sigur Rós, Death Cab for Cutie, and The Shins, just to name a very few. (And …
Luminescent UK singer/songwriter Laura Marling shares a video today for the track "Gurdjieff’s Daughter" off her stunning new release, Short Movie. The clip was shot in Marling's East Los Angeles home, and features cameos from Vampire Weekend guitarist Rostam Batmanglij and musician Jonathan Wilso…
L.A. duo No Age share their cover of Black Flag's "Six Pack", and just like the original 1981 single, it's a rush of hardcore fury. The track was recorded for a 7-inch box set curated by designer Dana Lecthenberg for Gallery 1988. Also in the set: Andrew Jackson Jihad’s Sean Bonnette cover of The …
We knew an excellent in-studio session was in the cards when Canadian rock legends Sloan stopped by KEXP. On their eleventh studio album, Commonwealth, the Toronto quartet split the deck on an ambitious double album, with each band member taking a side represented by a playing card symbol. The four…
Sleigh Bells have shared "That Did It," a fearless collaboration with Chicago rapper Tink. The Brooklyn duo weren't thrilled with the original demo last year but according to Derek Miller, Tink's fierce style was exactly what it needed. In an interview with Rolling Stone Miller said, "Once Alexis a…
The legacy of Kurt Cobain was clearly on a lot of people's minds this weekend on the 20th anniversary of his death. At Saturday night's show at The Riviera in Chicago, St. Vincent paid her own tribute with a cover of Nirvana's "Lithium" -- watch below. [Stereogum]
DJ Cheryl Waters was infamously speechless after UK trio London Grammar performed live in the KEXP studios (watch that session here). We can't wait to hear what she thinks of the band's latest video for the track "Hey Now," filmed in stop-motion animation. Watch the breathtaking clip from their de…
Earlier this week, we announced a new Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks album was due out in January, and today we can share a new single with you. Stream the lyric video for "Lariat" below. The new album, delightfully titled Wig Out at Jagbags, is due out January 7th on Matador Records. [Consequence …
Hearing his voice, you'd hardly believe that Jake Bugg was born in 1994. His song “Trouble Town” speaks to a world of experience, and the British singer isn’t yet 20 years old. “In this trouble town, troubles I’ve found. In this trouble town, word soon gets ‘round,” he sings. He may be young, but t…
Recently, Chvrches was featured on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. While they were there, the Scottish trio turned out a very interesting cover of Whitney Houston's dance hit "It's Not Right But It's Okay." She may not have the powerhouse vocals of Houston, but Lauren Mayberry's ethereal innocence r…
If you had any doubts that Prince was in touch with current pop culture (or had a sense of humor), the purple-loving icon not only made headlines last week by starting up a Twitter account (@3rdeyegirl) but also just released the jaw-droppingly funny new artwork to his latest single, "Breakfast Can…
In early October, KEXP was thrilled to host an evening with leftist icon and buck-the-man songwriter Billy Bragg, as part of Songbook: KEXP’s Music & Literature Series. Over the summer, Bragg released his second nonfiction book Roots, Radicals, and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World, said t…
