Each week, KEXP’s Music Director Don Yates shares brief insights on new and upcoming releases. See what's coming up this week below, including reviews for new releases from Budos Band, Supercrush, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, and more.
After a seven year break, the members of Broken Social Scene felt compelled to reunite, not just for new music, but to underscore the personal bond that runs through the Toronto collective. Performing songs from their new album, Hug Of Thunder, and a BSS classic, the band join Stevie Zoom in the K…
He's one of America's most consistent journeyman songwriters, but Conor Oberst's 2016/17 companion albums Ruminations and Salutations are some of his best and most harrowing work yet. Performing four songs from those albums with a band, Oberst's songwriting is placed front …
The jazz-inflicted, inspirational dub of Jah9 fills the KEXP Live Room with positive energy in this session. The Jamaican singer leads her band, The Dub Treatment, through songs on her new album, 9, and discusses doing improvisational dub soundtracks to yoga class and linking up with Mad Professo…
Mellifluously melodious and dripping with rich vocals, Front Row Seat to Earth, Weyes Blood's latest album, is her most shimmering and accomplished to date. Laced with intimate lyrics and an atmospheric shine, Natalie Mering and her band enter the KEXP Live Room to play four songs and discus…
The Michigan outfit Heaters took the “space rock” tags that were put on the band after their debut to heart, naming their sophomore outing, Baptistina, after the asteroid that was once presumed to have ended the dinosaur. Doubling down on the heavier, more gauzy elements of their music for their s…
Australia’s federal government will spend more than 3 times what the US will on artists and musicians this year. We hear how the Australian-based band, Haiku Hands is benefiting from their country’s funding model. Chastity Belt and Vivian Girls talk about their new albums. We hear why four Seattle …
KEXP Radio hand selects all of its music, with expert DJs showcasing both established and emerging bands. Rock is generally a broad term for KEXP, as indie and alternative sounds are often blended with a variety of other genres in an innovative music format. KEXP variety mix programming makes up th…
There's very little surprise in seeing a two night Growlers stint at the Crocodile sold out as can be. The California surf rock band has seen some pretty stellar years of growth as of late, culminating in their excellent latest LP Chinese Fountain, seeing the band at their strongest and cleanest ye…
Marshall Law Band has been the de-facto house band for the ongoing Seattle protests that began following the death of George Floyd. The band is out with a new album, 12th and Pine, representing their experience at the heart of the protests and the resounding messages they carry.
Each Tuesday for the next two months, KEXP will present recordings we captured during the OFF Festival in Katowice, Poland. Our excursion there in the hot days of August - made possible by the festival and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute's Don’t Panic! We’re from Poland! initiative - introduced us to…
If there has been a moment where the now-common phenomena of massive reunion tours jumped the shark, it was in January, when Outkast announced that they'd be getting back together for the express purpose of playing their storied catalog at 40 festivals. More so than Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, o…
It’s been almost two months since Washington State lifted it’s COVID mask mandate. Hospitalizations are down to the low we saw last summer before the Delta variant peak. Bands are starting to tour again but not without risk. We caught up with three musicians who shared their stories of touring afte…
It's a bummer that the new Phantogram album, Three, got pushed back from September 16th to a October 7th release, but the band share a new song to make up for it. Stream the single "Same Old Blues" below. [Under the Radar]
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Mid…
Here's another one: How is this the first time I've covered a Ramones album in this almost decade-long series of blog posts? I mean, the Ramones! Come on! Is there a more influential band with a deeper catalog more filled with albums that college radio DJs are likely to have intensely critical and …
This past weekend, Macefield Music Festival presented a stellar lineup, with performances by more than 20 Seattle bands over the course of the 3-day celebration. A diverse set of music fans strolled the Ballard neighborhood to see shows from some of the biggest players in Seattle's indie music scen…
Lots of great local releases this week, including the sophomore full-length from Seattle supergroup Childbirth, featuring members of Chastity Belt, TacocaT and Pony Time. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it, "a strong set of snarky garage-punk with primal, grungy guitar lines and pounding rhythm…
