In a town as small as Reykjavik, densely packed with so much talent and collaboration, the term "supergroup" gets thrown around so much that it starts. That being said, Icelandic electronic band Gangly is a true supergroup. The band is a collaboration between three Icelandic powerhouse musicians: S…
I feel like it's been a while since we featured some album-cover reviews with a solid dose of healthy disagreement and debate. And it may be a while yet, because honestly, while there was plenty of disagreement at KCMU circa 1990 around the Manchester band Inspiral Carpets' LP Life, it wasn't parti…
Things haven't always been sunny for Radiation City. The Portland band may not have been able to illuminate our days with another album had founding couple Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison not set aside their differences to reignite their songwriting process. Their third LP, Synesthetica (out this F…
Eagles of Death Metal have issued their first statement since last week's terrorist attack at their Bataclan show in Paris that claimed the lives of 89 people, including their merchandise manager Nick Alexander. Via social media, the band wrote: "While the band is now home safe, we are horrified a…
You know, it's bad enough when there's a band that I'm vaguely familiar with, that I know I should really check out, but have never quite gotten around to (we see a lot of those in this column). But when there's a band that I totally think "yeah, I know that band! I like them," only to realize that…
For as cosmic as their jams can be and as free floating as their new album title appears, Built to Spill have never seemed more grounded. On Untethered Moon, their eighth studio album and their first in six years, the veteran indie rockers haven't drifted away from their roots but, thanks to produc…
It's time to move on. KEXP is moving to a new home. There's still a great deal of work to be done before it's up and running, but the waiting doesn't have to be the hardest part, thanks to KEXPetty, a benefit for KEXP's new home campaign. On Tuesday, May 5th, you'll get lucky with an all-local line…
Call it rockabilly, psychobilly, punkabilly... whatever kind of "billy" you want to call it... The Reverend Horton Heat practically sets fire to the stage whenever he performs. After nearly 30 years and 11 albums, the Heat hasn't lost the spark, and still packs the house with fans of all ages and t…
Take one DJ, one producer and one MC, mix with an eclectic lineup of guests and wrap it in a post-apocalyptic narrative, and you get one of the most unique groups to come about in the past decade, In the year 2000, Kid Koala, Dan The Automator and Del The Funky Homosapien joined forces as Deltron 3…
Since forming in 2007, Seattle's Cumulus – comprised of Alexandra Niedzialkowski, Lance Umble and Leah Julius – have only recently released their debut album, I Never Meant It To Be Like This, last month. But the wait was well worth it! The record is tight and rife with cheerful pop music, from sin…
This week sees new albums from two soul greats. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings share their seventh and final album, recorded before Jones passed away from cancer in November 2016. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "a strong set of buoyant old-school soul and funk, with songs mostly written b…
In the seven years since Michael Angelakos shared the gooey valentine EP that was Chunk of Change, a lot has changed. Three albums later and the cute story backed by intriguing music has turned Passion Pit into the household name. Angelakos went from his bedroom to the frontman of a project that is…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Mizell, Jr., host of The Afternoon Show on KEXP, in honor of It's Still Going on Day, is "Dear George" by Sofia Kourtesis, a 2021 self-released single.
"This is the most beautiful festival we've ever played," beamed Bully's Alicia Bognanno. "I mean, I've still got sand in my pedalboard from Hangout, which was cool, but nothing like this." Bognanno's sentiment about playing while facing the Columbia River Gorge is one that's often repeated througho…
Some artists write songs about themselves, pulling facts from their lives in hopes of finding some mutual truths that can connect with their audience. Others create more from their imagination, searching for the universal within the abstract. Still even more operate in a sort of grey area between t…
The gaudy, sterile synths, the contrapuntal guitar and bass, the party ready drums, and especially the high-ranging, free-wielding, devil-may-care vocals - if you were there in 2005 when Clap Your Hands Say Yeah rose to indie-stardom with their self-titled, self-released debut, you remember it all.…
It's with terrible sadness that KEXP reports Darius Minwalla, longtime drummer for local band The Posies, passed away yesterday, May 21st, in his home in Vancouver, BC. Cause of death has yet to be determined. Minwalla joined the power-pop quartet in 2001, appearing on their 2005 comeback album Eve…
It took losing her voice for Wye Oak to rediscover theirs. On the heels of their successful previous album, Civilian, the Baltimore duo were playing arenas, opening for acts like The National and The Decemberists. And then, sadly, frontwoman Jenn Wasner developed vocal-cord nodules, and under docto…
