As we previously noted, Brooklyn band Parquet Courts make a sound whose exact genre is hard to nail down. Settling comfortably into a blend of seventies and eighties punk, avante rock, 80s pop, and no wave, their songs harken to indie rock's humble beginnings -- think Blonde Redhead but less sad, a…
Tegan and Sara have been writing beautiful, heart-breaking music for quite a few years now. Different fans swear by them for different reasons, but a common thread runs through them all: Tegan and Sara evoke the dynamic emotion of real relationship better than nearly any other band. Ever. Fans used…
Theoretically, if you asked me what show would constitute my ultimate pipedream throwdown in a basement by an active, living band, I think I'd pick METZ. The Ontario group signed to Sub Pop in 2012 and immediately took throneroom space aside some of North America's finest punk names. Two albums dee…
Music That Matters, Vol. 398 - Don't Break Your Promise At KEXP, we never break our promise to bring you the best music possible and, hopefully, to turn you on to some new music that you love. Our latest Music That Matters podcast from Midday Show host Cheryl Waters offers up a sampling of wonderf…
Find out how your band or music project can record a special Live on KEXP performance, along with an opening slot at a Noise Pop show in 2026.
January ends on a bang as many long-awaited albums hit stores this past Friday. Cleveland's Cloud Nothings return with their fourth LP, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "their most polished and measured set to date of punkish power-pop. Produced by John Goodmanson, the album combines a dy…
All throughout the Midday Show on KEXP today, DJ Cheryl Waters has been sharing tracks from the forthcoming Cymbals Eat Guitars album, Pretty Years. Miss a few songs? Had to go into a meeting? You can stream the entire album here, via NPR Music. The band will be crashing through (argh, puns! I can…
“They’re a festival band”, a friend said. “That’s so true, they know exactly how to get a crowd going in less than a minute and keep ‘em going for nearly an hour; like one big party!” I said back. Though, what I really love about Run the Jewels is the ease with which one passes off the mic to the o…
Seattle's Ephrata have been purveyors of dreamy, expansive-yet-poppy music scene they formed in 2012. With each new single and EP, they've expanded their sonic palette and even managed to squeeze in some startling visuals and music videos — sometimes things got bloody. The band will self-release th…
“Tonight’s a special show,” lead vocalist Dustin Payseur said at the beginning of Beach Fossils’ sold out show at The Crocodile. I’m sure many artists say this at the start of every show, but Beach Fossils stayed true to their word, pulling out songs they haven’t played live before, and bringing ou…
English indie band The xx released the deluxe edition of their third studio album I See You today which includes three bonus tracks. One of them, "Naive" samples Drake's "Doing It Wrong," while "Brave For You (Marfa Demo)" is a stripped down acoustic recording of their track "Brave For You." They …
Going into Jagwar Ma’s Saturday night set at the Yeti Stage at Sasquatch, fans had plenty of reasons to be excited about the Australian trio’s hour-long set. The group has opened for Tame Impala and the xx, two other bands who have made being an introvert sound very cool again, and they've released…
Not to be outdone by fellow shoegazers Ride, Slowdive have announced their first new album in 22 years! The self-titled LP will be out May 5th via Dead Oceans. We've already heard the single "Star Roving." Stream a new track below, titled "Sugar for the Pill." On Wednesday, the band will perform l…
The station "where the music matters" is paying tribute to the "the only band that matters" this Friday on the air, but the party doesn't stop there: on Saturday, February 6th, The Skylark in West Seattle hosts an International Clash Day Concert to benefit KEXP's New Home! Seattle favorites Polyrhy…
"Your hippocampus does it alright" That astute observation from Built to Spill's Doug Martsch on his cerebral ode to memory function is a heck of an understatement when it comes to Twin Cities band Hippo Campus. The young four-piece is quickly becoming the pride of the St. Paul scene with their bre…
When it comes to Mike Krol, it's not three strikes and you're out. For the LA based, Milwaukee born songwriter, the third time's a charm, or rather, a Turkey. His third LP, and recent Merge Records release, avoids incarceration with a liberating blast of hook-filled garage rock, smart self-reflecti…
Well, now I'm depressed. I just did some math, and it turns out that in 1990, when John Doe took a break after having released six albums as a member of the legendary punk rock band X (see here for #6) and released his first solo album - as practically an elder statesman of punk rock - he was 3 yea…
KEXP made Seattle music history last weekend by featuring the first band ever to play on the roof of the historic Pike Place Market: Raw Power KEXP! The Seattle supergroup featured local legends Mike McCready, Duff McKagan, Barrett Martin and Mark Arm covering the classics of Iggy Pop and the Stoog…
It's only 73 seconds long, but this mini-trailer has us very excited for the eagerly-awaited sophomore release from UK group Savages. In the clip, none other than Henry Rollins (??!!) reads from Phyllis Rose’s Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker In Her Time as new music from the band plays in the back…
Well, who saw that coming? Wilco have unleashed a surprise new full-length this morning, and are offering it as a free download through August 13th. A CD version hits stores on August 21st, and the vinyl comes out November 27th. The hilariously-named Star Wars is the band's 11th studio album. Stre…
