As if today isn't heartbreaking enough with the death of Prince, but the news also reports that Richard Lyons, founding member of Negativland, passed away earlier this week from complications due to a nodular melanoma. He had just turned 57 years old the day before. Lyons, better known to fans as …
Record Store Day is monumental in Seattle in a way that isn't seen in the rest of the country: we crawl out of whatever grunge holes we live in and slither over to the nearest record stores and start feeding on vinyl, eating 45s, and rubbing the sleeves all over our bodies, happily rolling around i…
Over the weekend, The Posies announced that bass player Joe Skyward, aka Joe Bass, sadly passed away. In 2014, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that, according to the L.A. Weekly, had metastasized and spread to his skeletal and lymphatic systems. Though Skyward left Seattle for the clear Cali…
Like many of the buzzy debut albums in a post-xx world, Wet's Don't You lives in a quiet, emotionally-focused space, so it was fitting that they played in one of the city's more intimate rooms for their debut headline gig in Seattle. But as far as debut gigs go, Wet's was anything but a small affai…
Ever since their Iceland Airwaves KEXP session, we've been excited for more new music from Operators (featuring Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Divine Fits, and Handsome Furs), and today they share the single for "Cold Light," which you can stream below. It's a sneak peek at their forthcoming sophomo…
Last month, Brooklyn via Sydney, Australia, duo High Highs announced their long awaited sophomore LP with a debut of the title track to Cascades, due February 5th next year. The gentle yet lively "Cascades" glowed brightly through the song's haze, promising an upbeat return to the dreamy harmonic s…
Of the sessions we've presented so far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, the music so far has been either experimental (Kristen and Olo Walicki Kaszebe II) or re-interpretations of traditional sounds (Hańba and Sutari), but as terrific as thos…
What happens when you strip away the feedback and distortion that defines a genre like shoegaze? Without all the fuzz, what of value remains? In the case of British band Ride, apparently quite a lot. Somewhat like shaving a cat only to find a bigger one underneath, we discovered during an acoustic …
There's a lot of buzz about Viet Cong right now, and for a lot of reasons, but while their pedigree, controversial name, and recognizable post-punk influences make for easy talking points, it's their ferocious energy and novel songwriting that seems to resonate so strongly with fans and critics ali…
It's one of the greatest animated tie-ins since "Do the Bartman": local ladies Sleater-Kinney team up with Fox's animated series Bob's Burgers for the video for the track "A New Wave." Watch what happens when oldest daughter Tina Belcher plays her copy of No Cities To Love in her bedroom boombox. …
Remember how Modest Mouse hinted at a new song earlier this month? Well, here it is! Stream the track "Lampshades on Fire" (via The Current) below, a sneak peek at their upcoming album Strangers to Ourselves out March 3rd. As you'll hear, it doesn't stray far from the trademark Mouse sound you kno…
It's gusting something fierce out in the dark Reykjavik night. But it's warm and cozy here in Kex Hostel as our live broadcast continues. Our fourth Iceland Airwaves act of the day was rock trio Kimono, heavy, loud, and a bit dark. They formed in 2001 as an instrumental post-rock band, but have evo…
Our second act of the day here at Kex Hostel was Sóley, one of our favorites in Iceland. Maybe you caught her unique live loops and beautiful singing at our Reykjavik Calling show at Neumo's back in October. Or perhaps you've watched one of the many times we've recorded sessions with her, either at…
First there was the Rat Pack, then the Brat Pack, and now... the Mac Pack? The uniforms may have changed – from suits to cardigans to oversized t-shirts and backwards-facing baseball caps – but the life-is-to-be-lived attitude of today's scene makers hasn't. Singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco embodies t…
Join us for Hood-to-Hood Day 2014. Today, KEXP invades Ballard to celebrate the ninth-annual Hood-to-Hood Day! From noon to 5:00 PM, we'll be broadcasting live from Hillard's Beer Taproom, featuring three bands for free, all-ages performances among the many fermentation tanks in the brewery. Today'…
It was Lucius co-lead singer's Holly Laessig's birthday on Sunday, as her partner in crime Jess Wolfe so enthusiastically pointed out, and what better present than to have a sizeable crowd of adoring fans at Sasquatch sing to you? That's what happened, of course, but in addition to being a kind ges…
Wherever Chickfactor goes, I will follow. The premiere indiepop zine, Chickfactor began in 1992, around the same time the east coast pop scene was starting to explode. Labels were forming, like Slumberland and Teen-Beat, and founders Gail O'Hara and Pam Berry were on the scene, interviewing bands, …
In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, there was a plethora of rapping over rock music. But it didn't long for this amalgamation, which amounted mostly to bad pop music, to fade. Northwest group The Saturday Knights found a formula that really worked, though, avoiding that fleeting (and dare I say, money …
Yes, I've covered Sonic Youth a few times here on Review Revue. But come on, is there any band that better exemplifies the joyful noise of college radio and the rise of "alternative" culture? Of course I discovered them myself by listening to college radio, and I'm sure many more did as well - espe…
There’s no sleep for The Flaming Lips this year. After releasing the uncharacteristically dark (but well received) concept album The Terror in the first half of the year and playing a string of supporting dates (including a headliner spot at this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party), the Lips went back…
