Playing while it's raining at a festival is always a gamble. Lots of people who would have otherwise wandered over out of curiosity are hiding out in every covered nook and cranny imaginable, so it was only the diehards waiting in the drizzle for The Julie Ruin's mid-afternoon set. But, to be hones…
If you are at all like me, I Never Learn is not the Lykke Li album you were expecting this year. After the rapturous viral success of "Get Some" from her 2011 sophomore LP, Wounded Rhymes, it is easy to imagine Li taking her sensual, entrancing songwriting to a more pop-centric place. After all, th…
London post-punk band White Lies have never done anything small. Upon transitioning from their old band Fear of Flying to new, more epic material in 2007, this UK three piece has only pushed for bigger and better as time has gone on. Their 2009 debut To Lose My Life… showcased their unique take on …
To call James Blake's second LP "greatly anticipated" may be a bit of an overstatement, but only because it's been hardly two months that we've even known that a new album would be available some time this year. Despite the short time to process the news, fans certainly were eager to hear what the …
The deeper we get into Animal Collective's Painting With chapter, the more it feels like a real renaissance for the band. As the band themselves described it, the process for the new record felt natural and fun - a far cry for the laborious process it took to put forth Centipede Hz. Spending time i…
With his work as Ricky Eat Acid, Say Ray functions inside a sporadic group of bedroom production geniuses, whose works are as intentional and impactful as they are fleeting. Under an output heavy Bandcamp-driven new model, the line between album, EP, mixtape, or otherwise is blurred or disregarded …
Loyal listeners of The Roadhouse on KEXP may have noticed host Greg Vandy was absent a bit last year... well, now you can hold in your hand the reason why: 26 Songs in 30 Days: Woody Guthrie's Columbia River Songs and the Planned Promised Land in the Pacific Northwest, out now via Sasquatch Books. …
If there's one rule about horror movies, it's that you always leave enough of a loose end for a sequel, regardless of whether or not it ever happens. Sure enough, that's exactly what the master of horror and suspense cinema John Carpenter did on his first solo LP outing. Lost Themes, an album compr…
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix cannot catch a break. With his work as Liturgy, he has crafted some of the most vivacious, jarring metal records we've heard in recent years. Take 2011's Aesthetica as an example. The record operates between quiet and loud like little else on the market. Its use of black metal t…
Truly, we can't do without you, Dan Snaith. With a discography 15 years deep and only getting sweeter with time, any chance to see Snaith in any venue under any of his monikers is an incredible blessing. In fact, I bet he could have sold just as many tickets throwing a DJ set as Daphni or even just…
Tom Krell has always been a thinker. On 2010 debut Love Remains, Krell introduced us to his unique blend of slow jam R&B and heady philosophy (what he studied at school in Brooklyn and Cologne, Germany) with an unforgettable collection of heartbreaking magic. On 2012 breakthrough Total Loss, Kr…
"It's a complicated place, this planet we're on." That's how Mark Kozelek closes "Dogs", the most confrontational and stomach-churning cut on new Sun Kil Moon record, Benji. It's a great thesis for the rest of the record, really - Kozelek has witnessed some pretty insane shit, and much of it appear…
A collaboration with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy Center dedicated to the power of music to lift our spirits and heal our souls.
