Any major dude will tell you that Canadian crooner Mac DeMarco knows how to get a laugh, but don't let the oversized t-shirts and backwards-facing baseball caps fool you - behind the humorous antics and normcore fashion, Mac delivers an impressive blend of dynamic pop melodies and smartly crafted,…
Shabazz Palaces sound like no one else. Whether you call it "sci-fi", "way-out", "weirdo" or even "planetarium" rap, the Seattle duo's music might as well be in outer space considering how far off they sound from their contemporaries. But it's not like they don't want anyone else to follow. In its …
Charlotte Gainsbourg has announced that she will release her first album in seven years in November. Called Rest, Gainsbourg has released the album's title track as well as a teaser for its accompanying music video, which she directed herself. In a statement, Gainsbourg says that Lars Von Trier, he…
Classixx, the duo of L.A. producers Tyler Blake and Michael David, have shared their new collaboration with Passion Pit, called, "Safe Inside." Their upcoming album Faraway Reach on June 3, and it'll have contributions from T-Pain, How to Dress Well, and many more. [Pitchfork]
Tegan & Sara will drop their eighth studio album, Love You To Death, on June 8. Today, the Canadian sister duo have shared two new, addictive album tracks called "Boyfriend" and "U Turn." Check them both out via Spotify below. [Pitchfork]
This week, you can finally get your hands on the debut from London trio HÆLOS. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "an excellent set of moody electro-pop with a dark, haunting sound featuring atmospheric synths, hypnotic hip hop and electronic beats, ethereal vocals, melancholy lyrics and anthem…
Acclaimed Canadian artist Grimes returns with her highly-anticipated album, Art Angels. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls her fourth full-length, "her most brightly melodic and also her most aggressive-sounding release, featuring a cleaner, more luminous sound for her adventurous dance-pop while …
Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O has shared "I Shall Rise." her contribution to the video game Rise of the Tomb Raider. It builds steady into a forceful and empowering anthem. Karen O herself calls the song her version of Gloria Gaynor's classic "I Will Survive." Check it out below. [Stereogum]
On September 25, Disclosure will release their long-awaited sophomore album Caracal. Today they've shared a new called "Jaded" along with it's accompanying video. Sam Smith makes a cameo appearance, but this song is vocally and visually all about the Lawrence brothers. [CoS]
August is off to a great start with these excellent new releases, including the sophomore smash from Seattle's own La Luz. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it, "another impressive blend of noirish surf-rock and ‘60s girl-group pop. Produced by Ty Segall, the album’s sound is a bit more raw than …
Veteran Tucson band Calexico return with their ninth album today titled Edge Of The Sun. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "a beautifully crafted set of expansive folk-rock inflected with mariachi, synth-pop, cumbia and more. The album’s vibrant, colorful sound is fleshed out with help from an…
It's a throwdown for album of the week, and The Mountain Goats just might come out on top with their fifteenth full-length Beat the Champ. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it, "a fascinating set inspired by professional wrestling though often dealing with notions of identity, justice, death and …
As we mentioned in today's Music News round-up, Prince has returned with not one, but two new albums this week: a solo album titled Art Official Age, and one with his band 3rdEyeGirl called PlectrumElectrum.
Happy Amplifiers Love Week! From now until the 2014 One-Day Summer Drive and Hood-to-Hood Challenge on Friday, June 13, we’re celebrating the more than 5,800 sustaining monthly donors who enable KEXP to play more “music that matters” every year.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs has written a song for Spike Jonze's new film Her, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as a man who falls in love with a computer. The track is called "Moon Song" and will performed in the film as a duet by Phoenix and his electronic love (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Chec…
Northwest supergroup Unlikely Friends (featuring members of BOAT and Math and Physics Club) have returned with their sophomore album, Crooked Numbers. The LP follows up on 2016's Solid Gold Cowboys and KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "another impressive set of buoyant power-pop with jangly g…
The Music that Matters podcast that defies description yet has that Barton Fink feeling with songs from great new artists (make sure to listen to HOLY!) and old favorites like Buffalo Tom, Elvis Perkins and Geowulf. 1. Elvis Perkins - There Go the Nightmericans 2. Jonathan Wilson - Over the Mid…
It's an understatement to say The War On Drugs' return to KEXP was highly anticipated, but it's the best that words can do for this sublime session from Adam Granduciel and company. Featuring four songs off the band's beautiful new album A Deeper Understanding, the Philadelphia…
There's a reason Seattle's Nail Polish called their most recent release Authentic Living. The trio's rapid-fire punk pulls no punches when it comes to documenting the struggle for finding authenticity in an ever-evolving Emerald City. Joining DJ Sharlese on Audioasis, the band cuts straight to the…
Topping this week's list of new releases is the third album by Chicago band Smith Westerns. While the band's 2011 release, Dye It Blonde, drew tons of comparisons (and a tiny bit of flak) for its fuzzy glam nods to Nuggets-era gems, their new release finds the band aiming for what our Music Directo…
