There are always one or two potentially great albums that get snuck in at the eleventh hour (or twelfth month), just as music critics and fans are putting together their year end lists. (Did you vote for yours yet, by the way?) Our Music Director, Don Yates, couldn't wait to hear the new Big Boi al…
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…
Right before their KEXP in-studio, DJ Cheryl Waters caught the Montreal band BRAIDS in a group hug. It was a sweet moment that defines this young group's history: vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston and drummer Austin Tufts met on the playground at the tender age of twelve; together, they met multi…
When Pearl Jam first released their new track, "Mind Your Manners," the general consensus was that the song was a pretty big departure from their usual material. The official video for "Mind Your Manners" stays true to this theme of Pearl Jam stepping out of their comfort zone. They don't share mu…
Heading down to Georgetown today for the FREE, all-ages Sub Pop Silver Jubilee? Yes, of course you are, we all are. But you might want to consider heading over earlier in the day to check out some of the literary and art events happening at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs have scaled the Empire State Building with a song as big as the iconic building itself - "Despair" starts as an anthem sung by a girl in a bar before ascending the building to become an anthem sung from great heights. "My song is your song" Karen O croons throughout, as the sun come…
Cheryl Waters' summer rolls on with vibrant new tunes from Chelsea Wolfe, Zebra Hunt, and Midday Show all-time favorites Wolf Parade. 1. Alvvays - In Undertow 2. Juana Molina - Cosoco 3. Japanese Breakfast - Machinist 4. Fotoform - I Know You're Charming 5. Wolf Parade - Valley Boy 6. Cende - Mome…
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best and Seattle's Bread & Butter like to keep it free and easy with big, crunchy chords and juicy power pop hooks. The quartet are no joke though - the crashes and choruses on their debut album are plenty effective and sound best turned up loud. Pa…
Great Grandpa, Joy Formidable, Cartalk, and Pink Lotion cover eco-themed songs for our Clash For Climate event
This week's list of new releases may be one of the shortest of the year, but it's also topped by one of the year's most anticipated scorchers. Foals rain Holy Fire with their third release, treating fans to a big new sound to match their big new label. Their third release, but first on Warner Bros.…
It's been 57 years since a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa took the lives of musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, but their music and influence live on, as strong as ever. Called "The Day the Music Died," after a lyric from Don McLean's tribute single "Ameri…
R.E.M., who released Reckoning, their second album, almost exactly 31 years ago, were a band for 31 years. They began as a quirky group of Athens weirdos beloved by college radio DJs, and became one of the biggest rock bands in the world, and then they decided to stop being a band, which you have t…
Foals have accompanied their electronic crescendo-filled track "Bad Habit" off their most recent album Holy Fire with a video that's fit for the big screen. Wandering through the desert after a siren like woman, singer Yannis Philippakis is desperate for something more than water. Slowly the illusi…
If there were baseball cards for Sub Pop bands, Toronto hardcore band METZ would be the 1.0 benchmark for live performance batting average. They just don't make 'em like METZ every day. No matter where they play, whether it be a massive festival stage (like Sub Pop's own Silver Jubilee several year…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, selected by Midday S…
Psychedelic rock band Tame Impala decided to do a little reworking of Outkast's track "Prototype" from their incredibly popular Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album. The cover retains the slow burn of the original, but Kevin Parker's voice has a bit more innocence than that of Andre 3000 and Big Boi.…
The tummy ache Music That Matters podcast, featuring a vast array of fantastic new music. Why? Because I said so. Keep asking and I'll turn this podcast around and we'll go home. 1. Hand Habits - Sun Beholds Me2. Porcelain Raft - Big Sur3. Tori Bukle - Rooms4. C Duncan - Nothing More5. Western Hau…
Those Pretty Wrongs frontman Jody Stephens was a key member of the seminal Memphis band Big Star, but while he was behind the drum kit in that outfit, he's front and center on his new project with Luther Russell (The Freewheelers). In this acoustic performance, Stephens and Russell's so…
Hardly anyone on the Seattle electronic scene does intimacy quite like NAVVI does. In the two and a half years since they started asking about our weekend plans, the duo of Brad Boettger and Kristin Henry has worked slowly and steadily on perfecting the tug of war that makes their vision of relatio…
