We love when one of our favorite bands remixes another favorite band, and that's just what we've got with the track below: hear Wye Oak's take on "Need A Friend," a single from EL VY, the collaboration of Matt Berninger of The National and Brent Knopf of Menomena and Ramona Falls. Find the origina…
Filling the KEXP studio with his breezy pop/rock tunes, Nic Hessler flawlessly paints a picture of summer by the shore with a sound that is unmistakably Californian. Originally signed to Captured Records under the name Catwalk, he halted his career when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with an autoimm…
This is one of those records where reading the DJ reviews from 1987 really makes me want to hear the album (without having to do anything so crazy as, say, buy it on iTunes or Amazon, cheapskate and preferrer-of-physical-media that I am). A lot of tantalizing phrases and references get thrown aroun…
As was made our way to the mainstage for Built to Spill, slow drops of rain began to fall. The rain would never become hard or steady, instead lending the stage a golden glitter - the sun setting came in beams across the stage as Doug Martsch carefully but effortlessly lead the way through classic …
There's nothing queasy about the latest from west coast dream-pop band Craft Spells. It's been almost a year since their sophomore full-length, Nausea, came out on Captured Tracks; since then, songwriter Justin Paul Vallesteros has relocated back to Seattle and overcome a depression that influenced…
A "rain plan" is practically unknown in the Northwest. It rains here too frequently, but rarely fervently, for anyone to need that kind of contingency. Instead, for us rain plans are active ones, scenarios for doing and being. Maybe that's why Israel Nash's 2014 album, Rain Plans, gripped us so fir…
Amazingly, Bear Hands have been around since 2006, but haven't gained the recognition they deserve until relatively recently. Before re-locating to Brooklyn's lush music scene, the band suffered through a falling-out and the loss of their first manager. But, despite their ups and downs, their singl…
KEXP staffers aren't the only Americans to fall under the ethereal spell of Iceland: when musician John Grant played the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in 2011, he liked it so much, he decided to stay! Performing songs from the album he recorded there, his sophomore release Pale Green Ghosts, Gran…
"Sin Fang in a box", Cheryl Waters called it. It's how Sindri Már Sigfússon solved the problem of taking his Sin Fang project on the road, especially outside of his native Iceland, when he couldn't manage to bring a full band with him. But more importantly, it's also a creative interpretation of hi…
DJ El Toro presents nineteen of his favorite new tracks (including a couple of recently unearthed archival gems) for singing, dancing, shredding, and sulking. Lather, rinse, repeat. 1. Mocean Worker - Julius, Irving, Berlin 2. Peaches (feat. Kim Gordon) - Close Up 3. Escort - Animal Nature 4. Tu…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Cheryl Waters, host of The Midday Show on KEXP, is "The Fall" by Zola Jesus, from the 2022 album Arkhon on Sacred Bones.
Following a fantastic set at the Capitol Hill Block Party, Car Seat Headrest (aka Will Toldeo) has announced a full-on North American tour in support of his latest, Teens of Denial. He swings back home with a Saturday, November 26th show at the Neptune Theatre. Toldeo also shares a Live EP he rec…
The sheer volume of great pop music coming out of the UK can be overwhelming, and that’s only what makes it Stateside. Imagine actually living there, surrounded on all sides by unending legacy and talent. That’s exactly the type of pressure cooker from which London based pop artist Oscar has emerge…
Delorean's synth-heavy alternative dance music resonates like the clean whir of a fully-functioning flux capacitor. Typically, their albums contain influences ranging from punk rock to electronic music, giving Delorean their eclectic sound. Having dropped a new album, Apar, in Fall of 2013 on the N…
Having worked with artists like Q-Tip, Kanye West and J. Dilla, it’s safe to say that Texan jazz pianist and producer Robert Glasper is well connected. His quartet, the Robert Glasper Experiment, includes three talented and multi-influenced musicians; bassist Derrick Hodge, Casey Benjamin on vocode…
Soul legend Mavis Staples has announced a new album called If All I Was Was Black. The album was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, a regular collaborator with Staples since 2010. The title track has been shared, as well as the cover art and tracklist. Tweedy said of the political messages within the…
Hibou, the moniker of Seattle songwriter Peter Michel, returns with a new LP entitled Something Familiar out March 2 via Barsuk Records. The album follows up on the project's 2015 self-titled debut, which Michel recorded in a walk-in closet. This time around he's recorded with a full-band at Chris …
Seattle's Earshot Jazz Festival is respected for its massive and adventurous artistic legacy. Now in its 26th year as Seattle's major annual jazz festival, Earshot is known for presenting creative masters and important emerging artists, and for finding fresh synergies between international artists…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Cheryl Waters, host of The Midday Show on KEXP, is "Falling Apart" by Slow Pulp, from the 2020 album Moveys on Winspear.
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Mizell, Jr., host of the Afternoon Show on KEXP, is "Falling in Love" by System Olympia, from the 2023 album New Erotica Collection on Okay Nature.
