Sylvan Esso was one of 2014's biggest and most unlikely sleeper successes, and now the left-turn electronic side project from two North Carolina folk veterans has entered 2015 as one of festival season's can't miss midcard staples, and it's clear to see why. Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn's spartan …
Unless Kanye West decides to use the phrase on his next album, there will only be one love song with the lyric "fingering oblivion" released in 2015 and it's the title track to Father John Misty's sophomore effort, I Love You, Honeybear. It is probably the only time that phrase will ever be used ro…
"There are so many mountains in the world, but not all of them are on the top 10 list... but if you stand on top of one, you feel like you're on the highest point on earth." This is the concept behind super-duo Minor Alps. Multi-talented musicians Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Juliana Hatfield do j…
Up and coming sister bands Waxahatchee and Swearin’ gave us a lovely night this past Wednesday at Capitol Hill’s Chop Suey. It was a short and sweet set that the audience won’t forget any time soon as they swayed and bobbed to the piercing lyrics and layered instruments - loud in the best possible …
Back to school, back to work, back to record shopping. This post-Labor Day week, it's time to get off your duffs and get back out into the world. To get you motivated is a handful of fantastic new releases, many of which you'll find getting major spins on the KEXP airwaves. Among them, is the lates…
Listening to The Long Ryders for the first time, it's not clear to me that they should have been lumped in with the Paisley Underground bands of the '80s (covered previously in this Rain Parade post). They definitely had '60s influences, but as far as I can tell they were much more a country-rock b…
For being as strange as they are - and in fact they looked possessed on stage this weekend - I have an awfully easy time listening to Sacramento experimental rap group Death Grips. While I know some purposefully avoided the Bigfoot stage during their hellish and angry set, I also watched many flock…
If current trends continue, Thurston Moore will evoke the true spirit of rock and roll musicianship and artistry until the day of his death. 35 years into his career, he and his band of extravagantly talented musicians in Chelsea Light Moving are making hard and heavy rock with just as edge and dem…
After all the speculation last month about a Postal Service reunion, it looks like the whole thing has been confirmed by an update earlier today to the band's website which revealed simply the image above with the band name and year. Ben Gibbard has been very clear that there is no likelihood of a…
Tonight, KEXP will open the Gathering Space for the fourth annual Death & Music. It's a special event, hosted by The Morning Show DJ John Richards, that really goes beyond a traditional concert experience. It's a time to reflect on grief, on the people we've lost, and heal with our community. A…
Okkervil River's 2005 masterpiece, Black Sheep Boy, is one of those records that grabs you wherever you're at. If you haven't gotten the divine pleasure of experiencing it yet, I promise you, it will grab you at some point soon. There's just something about the coming-of-age brilliance of its narra…
If there's a band member sweating on stage during Philip Selway's sets, how is it not going to be the drummer? Selway's work with Radiohead through the late 90s, 2000s, and even the 2010s continuously reinvents how we see and hear the art of drumming in the modern rock and electronic atmosphere. Th…
National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of volunteer service. .
There is no group of people more passionate at festivals than Australians. Ineffably, Aussie bands and fans always give notable performances and serve as fervent audience members, which is why Cloud Control felt like they were playing the steps of the Sydney Opera House instead of the much-smaller …
ADULT. for nearly 20 years, consistently evolving their sound over six studio albums released on revered labels Mute, Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, as well as their own imprint, Ersatz Audio. Currently in the midst of a stacked US tour in support of their new collaborative-heavy studio albu…
Every year, it seems like the number of music festival in the great Pacific Northwest grows. While it's easy to get cynical about the overlap and general spectator approach to the music, there are diamonds in the rough. Of these, Pickathon, located on the beautiful Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, O…
Hop Along frontwoman Frances Quinlan's distinctive voice has been compared to everything from a hurricane to sandpaper and everything in between, but what ultimately makes it so magnetic is its emotiveness, it's ability to sound human and stand out when surrounded by the pointed bluster of her band…
