Welcome to another installment in the occasional Review Revue sub-series, "Australian bands that you really should have heard of before now." (And by "you" I mean "I.") Previous installments include The Hummingbirds, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul Kelly and the Messengers, The Lime Spiders, and too many m…
If you missed a minute of our exclusive interview with Father John Misty, stream his hour-long intimate chat with DJ Cheryl Waters below. KEXP has had a long-standing relationship with this charismatic singer/songwriter (real name: Josh Tillman) and one-time Seattle resident. From his early days as…
Announcements for the upcoming Upstream Music Fest + Summit keep, well, streaming in! Last week, we revealed the first wave of breakout sessions. Now the full speaker lineup is here, along with new details on keynotes from Macklemore and some additions to previously announced sessions, like Pearl J…
On May 13th, in honor of Stevie Wonder's 66th birthday, KEXP celebrated Soul Day, featuring twelve hours of some of the best rock 'n' soul music ever made. From 6AM to 6PM, KEXP DJs spun soul icons like Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin alongside contemporary greats like Lee Fields and Allen Ston…
case/lang/veirs -- the lowercased super-group of Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs -- share a video for the track "Atomic Number," a highlight from their self-titled debut, out now via Anti- Records. Director Kangmin Kim explains, "This animation is inspired by the search for a soul-mate with …
Check out two new videos from EL VY -- the stellar collaboration of The National's Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls (and formerly Menomena). The clip for "Sad Case/Happiness, Missouri" is a NSFW affair, filmed by Michael Brown and Ben Krall, and edited by Kelly Lyon. Matt's brother T…
Seattle's Lemolo specializes in the kind of dark, introspective, and haunting music that fit so well in the old live performance space at KEXP's Dexter studio (and will surely fit in the new one as well!), which is perhaps one reason we keep asking them back. Ahead of the release of their 2015 albu…
Northwest noisemakers The Thermals return this Spring with the album We Disappear, out March 25th via Saddle Creek. Check out the first single "Hey You" below. The album was recorded both here and in their hometown of Portland, and produced by ex-Death Cab for Cutie dude Chris Walla. Frontman Hutc…
We could think of no better band to close out the live room at KEXP's Dexter and Denny studio than legendary shoegazers Ride. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of their landmark debut Nowhere, the UK quartet reunited for a worldwide tour. We captured a stunning acoustic session from founding f…
Of all of the late night sets at Sasquatch 2015, none was more subtle than James Blake's. Unlike most of the nighttime sets in the Gorge, Blake's performance revealed itself gradually rather than blasting the audience over the head with lights and sound, and it was all the more effective because of…
"Let's get heavy," Other Lives frontman Jesse Tabish jokes before launching into the principle dichotomies behind the creation of their latest release, Rituals. But whether they're conflating old and new styles or humanity's primal nature and our technologically isolating modern world, the surprisi…
Supergroup The New Pornographers share a video for the track "Dancehall Domine," a track from their new release Brill Bruisers, out now on Matador Records. Director Scott Cudmore explains, "Sometimes I like watching the b-roll or behind the scenes or outtakes on DVDs and blu-rays...'Dancehall Domi…
As if we needed an excuse to get Cloud Cult on our airwaves again... The longtime KEXP favorites released an acoustic album earlier this year featuring live recordings of acoustic sets the band performed at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Seattle, though, was their inspiration, as band re-tool…
Already, between the blazing Seattle sunlight and constant music he's been cranking out, it's been a solid summer for Chimurenga Renaissance's front-man and activist Tendai Maraire. After having released his album riZe vadZimu riZe in March, an ambitious collage of contemporary rap and traditional …
"Follow me to hill country," singer-songerwriter Israel Nash invites at the outset of his recent in-studio at KEXP, and you can't help but feel immediately transported not just in place but in time. Born in Missouri, Nash sought his fortune in New York before settling in Texas hill country. In Drip…
The lyrics "My fingers have shriveled and dropped to the dirt / and two giant talons have grown where they were" sound like a recurring nightmare, but in Chad VanGaalen's song "Monster," that's exactly what he's looking for. Ramshackler extraordinaire, DIY genius, and honestly weird CVG showcased h…
Seattle continues to prove how rich a music scene it really has. Sam Anderson, who plays in the popular Hey Marseilles, is continuing the trend of band members in well-established groups putting out solo projects that blow people’s minds. Before him just a few months ago, Benjamin Verdoes of Iska D…
To say Ian Moore has had a tumultuous career in music is an understatement. He was so popular of a blues guitarist early in his career that once screaming tipped his tour van over, leaving him and his band trapped for hours. He studied musicology in college, once fled to a cave near Krause Springs …
Steamier than a geothermal pool, My bubba write songs that will warm your heart (and other parts) on a cold winter's day. The Icelandic/Swedish folk duo, formerly known as My bubba & Mi, shared their sultry songs for the second year in a row at KEX Hostel in Reykjavik during Iceland Airwaves, t…
Well, that was a sure way to wake up the neighborhood! Kicking off KEXP's 2013 CMJ broadcast was New York's own Bear Ceuse, a band whose pounding drums, searing guitars, and loud, belted vocals definitely woke up the group of caffeinated New Yorkers who gathered at Judson Memorial Church for their …
