The long-running group Tinariwen hail from Mail, but there's nothing lost in translation with the collective's spiraling, sprawling guitar visions that glide across headphones with as much richness as the languid works of Kurt Vile or Alain Johannes (who also guest on the group's l…
"With the challenges in our lives, sometimes you have to go in order to truly blossom." That's the theme behind Industrial Revelation's "No Way Out But In", but it could really apply to the musically adventurous Seattle jazz outfit's entire ethos. Their energetic, unpredictable…
Montreal-formed band Wolf Parade, now mostly based in Vancouver, make up for 13 years of not performing live on KEXP with an extra-long set in our new studio, covering their entire 2016 EP plus two classics harking back to their very first recording. Co-songwriters Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, d…
Xenia Rubinos' evocative, electrifying voice is a singular one to say the least, and in her sophomore album, this year's Black Terry Cat, she has a set of songs that have just as broad of a musical spectrum. Painting with a hard-to-categorize set of sounds drawing from R&B to punk, Rubinos' ret…
On Away, his eighth album with Okkervil River, Will Sheff winds back to the spacious sounds of his early records while visiting more mature topics of death, dissolution and rebirth. During his latest visit to KEXP, the Austin-based troubadour brings a full band to further enliven his new songs and …
Somewhere between Beach House, the '80s, and The War on Drugs exists Pure Bathing Culture, the dream pop duo from Portland. The big, floaty sound of the partnered bandmates stems from Sarah Versprille's melodically echoing vocals and Daniel Hindman's airily reverbed guitar work. Joined by drummer B…
If you've ever seen Seattle's Naked Giants live, you know just how passionate and rabid they can be. Even the drummer can barely contain himself to his throne while the trio is churning out furious, excitable riffs. They feel like they were born to be wild, which is why they're the perfect fit cove…
Maria-Elena Juarez, Christopher Garland, and Jordan Adams have been slaying Seattle clubs as Acapulco Lips with their cataclysmic six-string hurricane of a sound for a few years now, but with the release of their self-titled debut this year, they're loaded with even more tunes that highlight their …
Snuggle your fur babies close: it's National Pet Day, a celebration founded in 2006 "to celebrate the joy pets bring to our lives and to create public awareness about the plight of many different kinds of animals awaiting a forever home in shelters and rescues all around the globe." You can celebra…
“We carry it now as a badge of honor,” says Miguel Ramirez, percussionist of Los Angeles group La Santa Cecilia, “to say that we are immigrants or children of immigrants.” After the band had stopped by KEXP a few months earlier to perform live I reached out over the phone so we could talk a bit mor…
Seattle boys Beat Connection spotlight the Product 3 track "Rosealene," which you can watch a live performance of below. Watching online not enough? The group are currently wrapping up a North American tour, including some mid-December Northwest dates in Spokane and Vancouver. Product 3 is out now…
Power duo Broken Bells, the project of Grammy-Award-winning producer Danger Mouse and James Mercer of The Shins, returns with a surprise single. Stream the non-album track "It's That Talk Again" below, released in promotion of the band's forthcoming concert film, Broken Bells: Live At The Orpheum,…
Take a musical road trip with DJ Kevin Cole: today, on The Afternoon Show on KEXP, he presents 50 States/50 Bands. From 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, he'll be playing a band from every state in the U.S.A. in celebration of Independence Day. Tune in and see who he chooses for your home state. You don't have t…
Though they hail from the small village of Castleton, UK duo Drenge is anything but quaint. Brothers Eoin and Rory Loveless load an explosive arsenal of potent hooks to their 2015 release, Undertow, featuring a surprising mixture of metallic riffs and Morrissey-like melodicism. Recently in-studio a…
Brooklyn duo Ratatat are gearing up for the July 17th release of Magnifique, their first full-length album in five years. They've shared a new song and it's accompanying video called "Abrasive". Be sure to catch them live at the Capitol Hill Block Party July 24-26! [CoS]
