If you weren't one of the lucky few to get into Tuesday's Death Cab for Cutie show, you can now watch videos of the legendary locals performing three new tracks below, via Revolt.tv. The not-so-secret show at The Crocodile sold out in 15 seconds, and was the band's first public performance without…
White Lung's frontwoman Mish Way is nothing less than a singular, commanding singer, but the ferocious spirit that fuels her performances is empowering, not intimidating. On the band's latest album, Deep Fantasy, Way and guitarist Kenneth William, drummer Anne-Marie Vassiliou, and bassist Hether Fo…
Holy hell, what an epic finish! Legendary Icelandic band HAM took over Kex Hostel for our final show of the day from Iceland Airwaves. And when we say took over, we really mean it. These heavy rockers formed in 1984, but it was a series of opening gigs for The Sugarcubes in 1988 that began to garne…
Our second live Iceland Airwaves show of the day at Kex Hostel was friend of the station and amiable funny man Júníus Meyvant. This lanky ginger haired songster is a bit of an enigma, with no album and scant online presence. Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson, his given name, began performing music a bit la…
The New Pornographers have always had a knack for explosive, shining melodies, but after two relatively experimental, more mellow albums, they've returned to playing to their strengths – multi-part harmonies and agile, punchy performances – on their new album, Brill Bruisers. The Vancouver supergro…
Pinch yourself, because this is really happening. Not only are The Dream Syndicate back in Seattle for the first time in 25 years - they also are playing an additional set for the KEXP Music Lounge to bring us as close as possible to this timeless and influential act. From their debut EP through fo…
In an industry where auto-tune is often synonymous with lack of talent, the vocals of Channy Leaneagh, frontwoman of Minneapolis electro-pop group Poliça, are boldly filtered through reverb and auto-tune on each of their albums. But the use of these tools is an overt stylistic choice for Leaneagh a…
This Friday, August 1st through Sunday, August 3rd marks the 16th Annual Pickathon Music Festival at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, and every year, the festival continues to live up to its city's name! The festival features a line-up of over fifty joy-inducing bands — including The War on …
Firing on all cylinders, Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley of Drive-By Truckers zipped over to the KEXP studio to play a couple of their songs off their newest album, English Oceans. With an eight-string, robust Kay Vintage guitar and silvery crooning, the two displayed their stripped-down prowess, il…
Ain't no lie: Los Angeles trio Liars wove a captivating web over us with their dark, atmospheric in-studio session. Entwined in a colorful skein of yarn, inspired by the cover for their latest release Mess, the long-running electro-punk band strung listeners along with their dark dance pop. The col…
Today, millions of Canadians celebrate Canada Day, their nation's birthday, dating back to 1867, when the four current British colonial provinces joined to form the country consisting of ten provinces and three territories that we know today. We at KEXP feel a particular kinship with our polite nor…
2013 has been a good year for guitarists. Chelsea Light Moving's Thurston Moore, Savages' Gemma Thompson, My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, Marnie Stern, and Mikal Cronin have spent the year reminding listeners why the six-stringed instrument remains rock's weapon of choice. Playing with the pro…
From the big stadium to the intimate studio, British group Bloc Party, who made a name for themselves with a big Brit Pop influenced guitar sound, recently stopped by KEXP to strip down their sound to bare essentials. What makes this acoustic session even more special and rare is the band's continu…
Previous Mercury Prize-nominees Django Django have shared the second single from their forthcoming album Marble Skies. The track is called "In Your Beat" and comes with a pop-art inspired collage video directed by SKG (Sophie Koko-Gate) with art direction by Brodie Kaman. The band's producer/drumm…
Legacy is such a weird concept. "We tried so hard", Wilco sing on Schmilco closer "Just Say Goodbye", "as if I have the answers". Back in a July 2009 interview with SPIN mag, describing the band's self-titled record contract wrap-up seventh album, frontman Jeff Tweedy told the world, "I think peopl…
UK post-punk legends Modern English have truly figured out the perfect way to retain their punk roots 35 years on from their biggest hit. What's the most punk way to fund a new album from the original lineup of the band that gave you timeless new wave classic "I Melt With You"? Probably go on tour …
The second day of Macefield Music Festival invoked thunderstorms and musical fanfare as dozens of bands faced ecstatic crowds of music lovers at the KEXP Mainstage, Tractor Tavern, Conor Byrne Pub, and The Sunset. Seattle rapper Grynch threw down his approachable, lyrical west coast rhymes for an e…
After an elaborate ad campaign for Arcade Fire's new single "Creature Comfort" that included a fictitious cereal ad for Creature Comfort Cereal and then placing said cereal boxes around Dublin for a game of Find The Cereal and Get Into the Afterparty, they finally released the actual song along wit…
As the first day of Treefort Music Fest got underway, many of the Thursday bands were stuck in Denver battling a snow storm. It was a theme that resonated as Day 2 of Treefort came around, with cancellations and delays peppered throughout the schedule as a result. But the unfortunate circumstances …
