Uncanny! DJ Kevin Cole's favorite band has written a song about his favorite grocery store: listen to a live version of The Replacements performing "Whole Foods Blues" at a recent show in Los Angeles. Frontman Paul Westerberg displays his usual wicked way with words, lamenting his journey to get a…
The alias of Georgia native Ernest Greene, Washed Out burst on to the music scene in 2009 with his defining and refreshing chillwave sound, and he's been a staple on KEXP's airwaves ever since. His style has evolved over the years, exploring various shades of dreamy and psychedelic electronic pop. …
During her concert at last year's Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, Björk screened a virtual reality video for the Vulnicura track “Notget.” (The clip, along with videos for “Family,” “Stonemilker,” and “Black Lake,” were also screened last year at the Björk Digital exhibit in Montreal.) Today, sh…
Ever since their first show in December 2008, Fitz and the Tantrums have established themselves as one of the hardest working bands on the circuit today. In between the release of their 2010 debut Pickin' Up The Pieces and their sophomore record, More Than Just A Dream (out this week!), the Los Ang…
With all Los Angeles' sunny stereotypes, it's easy to miss the darkness there for the light. But not Chelsea Wolfe. The SoCal singer-songwriter has carved a unique place in the music landscape with her epic "drone-metal-art-folk" style. On her recent third album, Pain Is Beauty, she takes a decided…
The Los Angeles band, Las Cafeteras, named themselves after a community space in El Sereno, L.A. where group members met one another and started to learn and play Son Jarocho music together, influenced by regional Mexican folk music. The band feminized the name to honor women, they note. Modern day…
Ask any musician who's made the rather courageous attempt to take their career seriously and they'll tell you how confusing and complicated the music industry is. Especially in 2017, where the rules are changing at a near-constant speed in an effort to keep up with technology. it can be easy to thr…
Saying goodbye is hardly ever easy. Seattle's been lucky enough to be home to surf-pop band Tangerine over the past few years, watching them grow from their jangly debut EP Pale Summer to last year's self-assured and vibrant Sugar Teeth. They've been easy to latch onto from the start, giving a ray …
The city of Los Angeles has always been a backdrop for west coast punk band Bleached: there's a fun-in-the-sun melodic sound paired with a gritty Sunset Strip side. But on their latest album, Welcome the Worms, they escaped to Joshua Tree to find inspiration. "It's funny, because when we would go t…
Currently based in Los Angeles, San Diego native and emerging electronic producer Rafa Lavarez (a.k.a. Different Sleep) has been steadily evolving his underground style over the past 5 years, adding upon his early lush downtempo aesthetic to incorporate a more physical and abstract sound that adven…
NO? Why,"yes!". Serendipity gave rise to the band NO; the founding members met each other, by chance, in a Los Angeles diner and began sharing stories of their favorite musicians and disastrous relationships. Like all greats, their music has a melancholy tinge without being too sentimental. NO fron…
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's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Mizell, Jr., host of The Afternoon Show on KEXP, is "All Roads Lead to Los Angeles" by High Pulp, from the 2022 album Pursuit of Ends on ANTI-.
The roots of Owl John lie in the idea that to save something, sometimes you need to walk away from it. That's what caused Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson to take a break from the Scottish indie rock group and return to writing songs the way he did when he started the band a decade earli…
Perera Elsewhere is the solo alias of Sasha Perera, a London-born, Berlin-based Sri Lankan singer/songwriter/producer that also fronts the futuristic electronic/pop trio Jahcoozi. Debuting the Perera Elsewhere moniker in 2013 with an EP of adventurous, sophisticated, and modernized trip-hop for Los…
Simic is the alias of Ben Block, a Seattle-based DJ, electronic producer, and core member of the local secondnature collective. With musical interests weaving from classic house and techno to krautrock and 80’s sonic experiments, his sets reflect an immersive and dynamic quality that comes from a s…
Her newest album is called Have You In My Wilderness but Julia Holter doesn't typically play outdoors. "I'm not used to being outside in the sun, but I'm glad we're all here," the Los Angeles composer said after "Silhouette". This year's Sasquatch lineup is mostly a high energy affair, but Holter's…
It's mind-boggling how a place so small can create so much terrific music. This year, as I was compiling my list of top Icelandic releases, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd find as many great albums as last year and the year before. Would I find ten? Twenty? Actually, as it turns out, a lot more! …
Thursday's weather forecast put Austin, TX, at a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but you wouldn't know it listening to the Copenhagen-via-Los Angeles trio Gliss' shimmering cool. Supplanted by multi-instrumentalist Martin Klingman and guitarist David Reiss' brooding soundscapes, vocalist Victoria Ce…
Despite being recorded in December, Lavender Diamond's in-studio session was one of the warmest things that KEXP broadcast in 2012. Singer Becky Stark's voice is nothing short of radiant, buoying the Los Angeles quartet's tender, winsome sound. Across the folk pop bounce of "There's A Perfect Love …
