UK post-punk band The Vaccines took a more somber turn last year with their excellent album Come of Age. After their pitch perfect indie rock masterpiece of a debut, Come of Age was a surprise to most – a melodic turn towards introspection and harsh reality rather than reckless lust for youth. With…
Some artists have a real gift for creating worlds. In an interview with Pitchfork talking about Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, M83's Anthony Gonzalez said, "I would rather live in an imaginary world forever. My music is my retreat". You can here the escapism in that record - a neon brilliance of clouds …
As record companies continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated At…
As record companies continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated At…
San Francisco garage rock band Weekend have been doing some serious growth over the last couple years. On their 2010 debut Sports, Weekend gave us an enjoyable, noisy introduction that put them in tune with the scene and its direction. Now, with a couple years under their belt and a fresh batch of …
Last year, we weren't shy about how much we lived the debut record by Divine Fits. The supergroup is led by Britt Daniel of Spoon and Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, and also features Sam Brown of New Bomb Turks as well as Alex Fischel. Their 2012 LP A Thing Called Divine Fits was beginning to end an …
In recent years, few one-off side projects have led to the mass following and devotion that The Postal Service has mustered. Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard first teamed up with DNTEL mastermind Jimmy Tamborello back in 2001 for "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", from Jimmy's indie el…
David Lynch's musical legacy is not one to be trifled with. Throughout his many decades of film work, Lynch has made it a priority for the musical impact of his films to be just as haunting and brilliant as the visual. From the dystopian terror of his and Peter Ivers' Eraserhead soundtrack to his f…
If volume is your only musical qualifier, then there is probably only one band on your best of 2013 list. San Francisco metal duo Deafheaven dropped Sunbather last month, a seven track sonic masterpiece that relentlessly pulls at your heartstrings and threatens hearing damage for 60 minutes. The al…
In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.
