Brooklyn band The So So Glos lead this week's new release with their fifth full length. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says the LP, "finds them bringing a bit more diverse and hook-filled sound to their anthemic garage-punk, with often-politically charged lyrics contrasting anxiety, political extrem…
Despite the recent years of turmoil that almost resulted in a break-up, the beat goes on for Brooklyn band The Drums. Now stripped down to founding members Jonny Pierce and Jacob Graham, it's been a three-year wait for their latest album, Encyclopedia, out now on Minor Records. As Pierce notes hims…
The Internet doesn't seem to know a whole lot about Somerset anarcho-punks Thatcher on Acid. (Can you think of a band name that more specifically places a band in time, place, and genre? I sure can't.) One thing I appreciate about this gig is that these posts often serve as a way to add to the know…
Beat the winter doldrums with a trip up north for the 2016 Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival, this Friday, January 29th and Saturday the 30th in scenic Leavenworth, Washington. It may be cold outside, but this year's line-up is extra-hot, featuring Strand of Oaks, Fruit Bats, Grace Love & the True…
Mere weeks before heading out on his Life Aquatic Tour (yes, inspired by the Wes Anderson film), west coast rapper Vince Staples shares the new single "BagBak." Listen below. Frankly, I don't remember any scenes with a bagbak, but you can definitely envision Bill Murray and his band of interns sto…
Get ready for some two-fers on The Midday Show on KEXP: the new Spoon album is finally here! KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, the "Austin band's ninth album finds them tweaking their sound with more prominent dance beats, electronic textures and adventurous sonic touches, while still providing …
This week's highlights include the latest from Hudson Mohawke. The Scottish producer, a.k.a. Ross Birchard, shares his sophomore full-length, and KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the release "finds him bringing a bit more restraint to his maximalist blend of various electronic styles with R&…
Twenty two years is a long time to wait for a group's second album, but The Juliana Hatfield Three have not missed a beat on the new songs from their recently released, Whatever, My Love. Unlike the vast majority of '90s bands currently slugging it out on the road, this trio does not have to rely o…
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…
You only have a few days left to enter KEXP’s 2016 Vive Latino flyaway and seize the opportunity to win a free trip to two for this awesome music festival in Mexico City, April 23 and 24. KEXP asked last year’s winner to share a few of her memories from Vive Latino 2015, and here’s her enthusiastic…
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 …
British shoegazers Ride made a triumphant return earlier this year with Weather Diaries, their first album in 21 years. Today they've shared a new song called "Pulsar" which, according to drummer Loz Colbert, "re-imagines old organ samples, transmissions from space, effects, heavy beats and pulsin…
It's a very short list of new releases this holiday week, so you can probably tie your record store shopping to your quest for 4th of July BBQ supplies. While you're stocking up on burgers, weiners, beer and soda, you might stop to grab the latest from British producer Zomby, whose third album, our…
Next on the Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel was Icelandic indie-rock artist Júníus Meyvant. Hailing from the remote Vestmann Islands, Júníus Meyvant (the pseudonym used by Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson) started playing music later than most, after finding a beat-up guitar at his parents…
Forget anything you might already think about Northwest electronica. For all of our gloomy and rain-sodden days and our fern-covered evergreen terrain, we sometimes produce bubbly and even tropical music. Take, for instance, Bellingham producer/multi-instrumentalist Grant Eadie, who with his projec…
This Sunday, February 26th, not only can you hear new music from beloved local band Pickwick, but it will be for a great cause! Over at The Crocodile, Galen Disston and crew will perform tracks from their highly-anticipated upcoming LP LoveJoys. And, also on this impressive bill are Beat Connection…
The alias of Portland-based musician Douglas Appling, Emancipator has become well-known for his blissful, lush, and cinematic style of music that organically fuses downtempo, trip-hop, and instrumental hip-hop elements into his own enveloping style. A stellar live performer that's a staple on the f…
The 2016 Summer Olympics kick off this Friday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. More than 200 nations will compete 28 different categories: synchronized swimming, table tennis, canoe slalom, and many others (that seem less fun to me). Rio de Janeiro beat out Madrid, Chicago, and Tokyo to host, and in hono…
Grimes is a self-admitted comic book dork -- she designed a variant cover for Image Comics' The Wicked + The Divine, and is a former intern for Drawn & Quarterly -- so, it's no surprise she was excited to contribute a track to the soundtrack for Suicide Squad, adapted from the DC comic. In an …
The UK dominates this week of new releases with standout albums from two British duos. The mysterious twosome known as Jungle release their self-titled debut with XL Recordings, which KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes as "an excellent set of retro-futuristic electro-funk with shimmering key…
