Few bands pack the emotional wallop of Cloud Cult. Ever the seekers, the Midwest band has always tackled the big questions, the universal, philosophical and existential one -- who are we, where do we come from, where do we go, what do we do with each other while we're here? Cloud Cult albums are li…
KEXP's Midday Show host Cheryl Waters presents a new mix featuring 12 tracks that she's been loving lately. Enjoy music from The Fresh & Onlys, Bleeding Rainbow, Cloud Nothings, The Hold Steady and more! What have you been loving lately? 1. The Districts - Funeral Beds 2. The Fresh & Only…
DJ Kevin Cole lays down some of the Greatest F*cking Songs of 2013 with John Grant, Phosphorescent, Laura Marling, and Julianna Barwick. This is freaking awesome! 1. John Grant - GMF 2. Phosphorescent - Song For Zula 3. Sin Fang - Look At The Light 4. Thee Oh Sees - I Come From The Mountain 5. M…
British DJ/producer Simon Green, a.k.a. Bonobo, has been known to tear up the dance floor during his regularly sold-out shows, but when he dropped by KEXP for an in-studio with Cheryl Waters recently, the vibe was breezy and chill. Accompanied by a full band, Green featured songs from his atmospher…
DJ Shannon brings you her latest favorite gems from bands such as Blaenavon, Shame, Ride, the Casual Sexists, Lea Porcelain, Paradise and Creatures. 1. Blaenavon - Lonely Side 2. Shame - Concrete 3. Ride - Pulsar 4. Control of the Going - Love You More 5. Paradise - Goodbye 21st Century 6. Lea P…
Just about the last thing we'd ever ask for in Seattle is "more rain" - unless of course that's the name of the latest album by M. Ward. On his eight studio LP, the Portland based musician doesn't let the Pacific Northwest's soggy gloom get him down, and dares the clouds away with his initially doo…
With their shifting, phased-out sound, local urban poets and Cloud Nice members Kingdom Crumbs have become of the 206's leading hip hop groups. (In a recent Stranger piece, our own Larry Mizell, Jr. called the group "hands-down full-stop one of the very very best groups our town has.") The Seattle …
As clouds began to gather (though they wouldn't actually be super ominous until Earl Sweatshirts set) El-P took stage to a large audience totally ready to get down with the talented east coast rapper. He would later be called a brother to Killer Mike - and his ability to get the crowd moving whethe…
Thursday night before 4th of July at Neumos, you could tell who watched the show from the safety of the balcony from those on the floor strictly based on the quantity of sweat dripping from their clothes upon leaving the premises. I can't speak much for the casual observers above, but between the h…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Cheryl Waters, host of The Midday Show on KEXP, is "One Way Out of a Hole" by Cloud Cult, a 2022 single on Earthology Records.
Last month, Neptune Theatre hosted the latest in our ongoing series of benefit shows as KEXP, Starbucks and STG presented Little Big Show #9, with 100% of ticket sales going to local non-profit Hugo House. Headliners, and long-time KEXP favorites, Cloud Cult performed a typically uplifting set, as …
Julie Byrne makes a face when she doesn't have to sing, one that expresses a sheer contentment with what's going on around her. She leaned back and made this face - which is featured on the cover her sublime sophomore outing, Not Even Happiness - at least six times during her Sunday afternoon set o…
John in the Morning invades your "Dreams" and insists "You Would Have To Lose Your Mind" to "Poor the War Away" "In Another Century" which sends us back to "Primeval" times where it's a "Private Understanding" that one must "Bendover…
It seemed like just yesterday that Icelandic singer/songwriter Ásgeir was in Seattle and sitting on a park bench next to Kurt Cobain's house on Lake Washington. Just over a year ago, he was performing from his glorious debut, Dýrð í dauðaþögn, and revealed that he had been working with U.S. born, I…
There are few producers on the scene today with as much silent sway as Clams Casino. Over the last six years especially, the New Jersey beat-maker has completely changed the approach to emotion and empathy in beat-making. Artists like A$AP Rocky, Mac Miller, and Vince Staples have been able to thri…
"This is our first rap song." Sharon Van Etten may have an extraordinary talent for extracting every last excruciating detail of her romantic failings, but it can't be said that she doesn't have a sense of humor. One of a handful of acts to play during Monday's brief period of cloudy skies, Van Ett…
Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be a phenomenally awesome trend happening right now where dance bands are accompanying thumping tracks with a lyrical message of higher understanding and deeper self-knowing. Last fall, Cut Copy gave us Free Your Mind, a record musically inspired by rave cultu…
When you are hurting, there's only one place that really makes it feel like everything's alright: home. When all is lost and your judgment's on the brink, going home gives you perspective. You remember where you've come from, and furthermore, just how far you've come between the last chapter and th…