As we waited at the Paramount Theatre for the Father John Misty show to begin, a fellow show-goer said to me, "Sometimes he walks around the crowd during the opener. He followed me on Twitter today and I literally died, so I'm gonna say hi to him if I can find him." I wondered in my head how this g…
We began our broadcast at Iceland Airwaves from KEX Hostel in Reykjavik with familiar faces in a brand new group. Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen have both been featured several times live on KEXP, and not just from Iceland in years past – Ólafur also in Seattle and Austin during SXSW and Janus …
For a two piece group, Solids never ceases to thrash around. The Montréal based band, comprised of Xavier Germain Poitras on guitar and Louis Guillemette on drums, already has quite a following. In 2010, Solids released an EP, Generic Dogs, and would later disseminate two 7"s, one titled Fog Friend…
After over a decade, Fruit Bats is, um, flying away into the sunset, as mastermind Eric D. Johnston announced this morning: "Hey All. So, after 13 years, 5 albums, bunch of tours, and lots of laughs, Fruit Bats is calling it a day. There is no major or dramatic reason – I’m not gonna launch into o…
During the recording process of Phantogram's third album, Three, members Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter experienced a devastating loss. Barthel's sister and Carter's close friend Becky died by suicide. While the electro-pop duo has always explored dark themes in their songwriting, they weren't prepa…
Audioasis host DJ Sharlese continues the two-part 2014 Pacific Northwest Roundup. Featuring more local sounds from 2014 by Secret School, Shabazz Palaces, Jen Wood and many more! 1. Wimps - Couches 2. Childbirth - I Only Fucked You as a Joke 3. The Murder City Devils - Cruelty Abounds 4. King Du…
I remember the first time I heard "Swim" by Surfer Blood - it was summer, I was looking for the kind of joyous surf rock that would reflect the hot/cold feelings of a northern summer. They might be from Florida, but their music has the touch of the East Coast that I needed that summer, and apparent…
La Luz has been through a lot since their debut EP Damp Face hit the airwaves and internets. From a U.S. tour, to playing with Of Montreal and The Head and the Heart, to sustaining serious injuries after getting hit by a semi while on the road, to releasing their new LP, It's Alive, to replacing th…
Mychal Cohen, lead singer for Seattle band Campfire OK, seems to always be singing behind a wry smile. In fact, each of the band members seem to share this sense of playing through a wink. From keyboard player, to vocals to banjos, bass and drums, the band imbues an aura of comfort and happiness – …
Is today really the day you can get a free Nirvana tattoo? Why, yes it is. From noon to 6PM today at Seattle's Silver Platters (and a couple of other places in the U.S.), you can get the squiggly Nirvana smiley face tattooed permanently on your body for free... well, for free if you pick up the 20t…
Funk music isn't just heard, it's experienced. You can have a great time playing a funk article at home on your stereo, but it takes on a whole new life when it's right in front of your face. Seattle future funk-fusion act High Pulp gets this. With a staggering 10 members in the group, they push an…
Thee Oh Sees have cycled through a number of name changes over the years, and a few just in the past couple months, but for their forthcoming album Memory Of A Cut Off Head the California band is circling back to their original name OCS. Today OCS shared a new song off the new album called "The Foo…
The second act up for our live streaming broadcast from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was rock and post-punk band Börn. They have a darker, gloomier sound influenced by the Icelandic punk movement of the 80s. Lead singer Alexandra is a total badass. She came adorned in black lipstick, a bright gre…
Did you know about the current infestation of pythons that Florida is facing? Yeah! They're eating all the small animals and slowly squeezing the biodiversity out of the region - but there is a different python at work in Surfer Blood's new album, Pythons. It's a surf rock kind of slippery happy su…
Producer and musician Erik Blood is a Seattle icon, working releases for a broad roster of local artists, including Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, The Moondoggies, and TacocaT. Released earlier this year, the influence of his diverse collaborations is apparent in his new record Lost in Slow Mot…
They say there's a day for everything, and maybe they're right, because today happens to be National French Fry Day. It's been said that french fries date back to the 1600s, when the residents of a region formerly known as the "Spanish Netherlands" (currently: Belgium) had the custom of accompanyin…
It's a holiday week, so for new releases, we get a cornucopia of reissues, remixes, retrospectives, and more. Husband-and-wife duo Shovels & Rope share a surprise covers album that KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes features appearances "ranging from Shakey Graves and JD McPherson to Lucius an…
Family band - it's a term that can evoke either wholesome 70's stereotypes or embittered alt rock rivalries, but London siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis seem from a time further removed. Their sound and style recall those carnivalesque clans of dustbowl days with alluringly alliterative names that…
Closing out the KEXP stage on Sunday night, you couldn't have asked for a better send off than Smokey Brights. The Seattle rock outfit wasted no time jumping right into what they do best: blaring killer guitar riffs and belting out infectious melodies that are sure to get people up and moving. This…
Soul legend Mavis Staples has announced a new album called If All I Was Was Black. The album was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, a regular collaborator with Staples since 2010. The title track has been shared, as well as the cover art and tracklist. Tweedy said of the political messages within the…
