Warhol would've been proud. Although the wigged genius fostered relative grumps like the Velvet Underground as his house band, his own art was often considered just this side, if not over the line, of parody. Warhol was both revered and despised for presenting such common items as soup cans or doll…
As the days grow shorter, the list of exciting new albums seems to grow longer. Though none of the big year-end blockbusters are out yet, there's a lot to choose from on the new release shelves at your favorite record store, including the latest from Moderat. This second LP by the collaboration of …
It's funny that while we're getting some of our brightest days right now here in Seattle, some of this week's most exciting new releases are some of the year's darkest. Buzzy new British band Savages tops this week's list with one of the best albums so far of the year. Our Music Director, Don Yates…
"You got your peanut butter on my chocolate?" No, we got your chocolate on Thurston Moore! Or maybe it was the other way around! Either way, a simple chocolate bar wrapper was the inspiration for a brand new song, written on the spot, by Thurston and his new project Chelsea Light Moving. No doubt …
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "Frontier's Edge" by The Budos Band, a 2023 single on Diamond West Records.
KEXP explores some of the women-led bands on Kurt's list, Kurt's feminism, and the very notion of grouping bands together based on gender identity.
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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 DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Midd…
This fall, Cults will release their first new record in four years, Offering. "I Took Your Picture" is the second single shared from the forthcoming LP, after the title track. The band says they were inspired by the Motels and the Cars for the track. “It’s a song about fleeting moments and how we l…
During hour six of KEXP's live broadcast from Upstream Fest + Summit, The Maldives brought their harmonic alt-country to our performance space at Little London Plane in Pioneer Square. The Maldives played five tracks from their latest record, Mad Lives, a concept album about a man's life and death …
It's Cinco De Mayo today, or as we've coined it “Gringo de Mayo.” (Read our history lesson on the KEXP Blog here.) In addition to DJ Cheryl Waters' on-air celebration on The Midday Show on KEXP, we're spotlighting some of favorite bands from Mexico with a round-up below. You can always discover mor…
Brooklyn band The So So Glos lead this week's new release with their fifth full length. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says the LP, "finds them bringing a bit more diverse and hook-filled sound to their anthemic garage-punk, with often-politically charged lyrics contrasting anxiety, political extrem…
This past week, L.A. rapper Kendrick Lamar unleashed his latest, untitled unmastered, seemingly out of nowhere. The album consists of eight previously unreleased outtakes from his To Pimp A Butterfly recording sessions, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes "holds together remarkably well, comb…
Formerly known under the alias Spazzkid, Mark Redito is a Los Angeles-based electronic artist creating an energetic and emotional sound that finds a perfect middle-ground between pop perfection and club bangers. Recent releases on Cascine, Magical Properties, and IHC 1NFINITY have displayed his evo…
It's hard to lament The Strokes hiatus when their guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. keeps putting out such great solo releases. On his third full-length, Momentary Masters, he delves into an unintentional new wave inspiration ("I don't really know how to put it into categories," he tells DJ Troy Nelson…
All this year, KEXP has been hosting a series of unique fun events to raise money for our New Home campaign! Back in October, we hosted a two day showcase in Portland, one at Holocene and the other at Doug Fir. While there, we were fortunate to work with Louie Herr and Aaron Colter of Banana Stand …
There's been heavy speculation that LCD Soundsystem would be reuniting this year for Cochella. Well, frontman James Murphy has confirmed the reunion, and a new album, in a statement on the band's website. Murphy writes, "we’re not just playing Coachella. we’re playing all over. we’re not just havi…
Indie rockers Ra Ra Riot will release their fourth studio album Need Your Light on February 19. Today, the band has shared the video for the album track "Water," which was directed by Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij. They have an extensive promotional tour planned for early next year, and on M…
Brooklyn-based popsters The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announce a new EP today, Hell, out November 13th via their own cleverly-named label, Painbow. Today, they share a track from that, a cover of the 1993 single "Laid" from Manchester band James, which you've surely heard on The Morning Show on…
It's been a few years since we've heard from Denver band DeVotchKa, and in that time they've been doing the usual - you know, gardening, making babies, growing beards, writing ballets - just not releasing new material... at least not yet. Between occasional shows and a handful of concerts with the …
Longtime KEXP faves Low return with their 11th album, Ones and Sixes, on September 11th via Sub Pop. The latest from the pride of Duluth, MN was co-produced by the band themselves along with engineer BJ Burton at Justin Vernon’s April Base Studios in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Stream the full-length b…
