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…
For almost two years, Cumulus kept the tracks for their debut album hidden. After beginning their songwriting process in 2011, the group, led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Alexandra Niedzialkowski, slowly but surely put the pieces together while recording in Anacortes, WA, with Phil Elverum. The r…
With her otherworldly voice, it's hard to pinpoint where songwriter Cameron Mesirow, better as Glasser, is from. Upon first listen to her ethereal electronic sounds and acrobatic soprano voice, you might be inclined to guess she's from Iceland, but the L.A. artist actually just relocated to New Yor…
It's not often that the Review Revue files intersect with what's going on in the present day, due to the archive-digging nature of this project, but every once in a while we get lucky. This week's band, Pere Ubu - perhaps one of the longest-lived bands I've covered in this series - is playing tomor…
It was a session DJ Cheryl Waters had been waiting 20 years for: The Waterboys, a band who are actually celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, despite frontman Mike Scott being a mere 24-years-old, wink. The long-running group are on tour supporting their seven-CD collection, Fisherman's Box…
Next on the KEXP broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is an Icelandic/Swedish folk duo My bubba. Their earlier efforts (released under the moniker “My bubba & Mi”) are deeply rooted in southern americana and folk. The songs are sparse, allowing their pure, delicate voices and entr…
This week, KEXP is broadcasting for the third year in a row, during Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. Now through Friday, November 1, we're bringing you five bands a day performing live at KEX Hostel in Reykjavik, including Emilíana Torrini, Moses Hightower, Petúr Ben, John Grant, Ásgeir and many ot…
Our next set for the KEXP Broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is New York-based quintet Caveman. Caveman's sound has evolved rapidly in the last few years. An overnight success, their 2011 debut Coco Beware was dreamy indie-pop, with light, floating synths and gentle harmonizing voca…
Even if you hadn't caught her 2011 solo debut, Last Summer, you'd know at first listen to the vocals on her latest album, Personal Record, who Eleanor Friedberger is. Hers is the unmistakeable nasal drawl that characterizes the songs of The Fiery Furnaces, which Friedberger comprises with her broth…
Zach Yudin's music endeavors as Cayucas have been gaining some serious momentum since his band's tour with Ra Ra Riot this past February. With their full length debut, Bigfoot, out now on Secretly Canadian, and some favorable reviews from Fader and the like, Yudin is back out on the road headlining…
When Laura Marling first emerged out of the West London folk scene in 2008, her age (then 18) belied her eloquent lyrics, deft guitar playing and strong voice, but as her has career progressed, critics have stopped using her age as a talking point and begun championing her consistency. Her fourth a…
Few bands pack the emotional wallop of Cloud Cult. Ever the seekers, the Midwest band has always tackled the big questions, the universal, philosophical and existential one -- who are we, where do we come from, where do we go, what do we do with each other while we're here? Cloud Cult albums are li…
Today is National Pet Day! While you probably don't need a lot of reminders to appreciate that furried, feathered or finned one in your life, who might right now be curled up beside you, romping around your yard or sitting eagerly waiting for food, today is for remembering all our little friends. P…
Dan Deacon will release "Konono Ripoff No. 1" as an exclusive run of 500 hand-numbered 7" for Record Store Day on the 20th. Deacon has played the song live in recent months but this will be the first time it's been released. The song is performed by two different pairs of drummers -- the A-side i…
Boise isn't one of those places where you hop out of bed and say "I think we should go to Boise this weekend!" Actually, I don't think it would have ever been a destination on my list, but then low and behold Treefort Music Festival was born. So many people talked up this fledgling festival last y…
The COMPLETE lineup for the Pitchfork Music Festival was announced today! On July 19-21 Chicago's Union Park will be saturated with killer live music. Joining the already impressive lineup include- Glass Candy, Yo La Tengo, Phosphorescent, Metz,Julia Holter, M.I.A. and MANY more. A full, detail li…
Welcome to another installment of Review Revue in which I wonder how the heck I got through my adolescence without hearing some band or other from the '80s. Today I bring you The Room. Before that moniker referred to a sublimely terrible movie by Tommy Wiseau, it was a short-lived but relatively pr…
Things are picking up! In the world of new releases, that is. 2013 has fully arrived, and as you head back to work, school or whatever your day-to-day, it's time to put record shopping back into your regular routine. The shelves of your favorite record shops are now being lined with anticipated new…
Lackadaisical singer/songwriters Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile joined forces last month release the collaborative album Lotta Sea Lice. Since then they've been on tour and last night were the musical guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. They performed "Over Everything" on the broadcast s…
Audioasis is KEXP's long-running Northwest music show hosted by Kennady Quille.
Audioasis delivers three hours of local music from all pockets and genres of the Pacific Northwest. Every Saturday, we’ll dig into the history of our local music scene, share upcoming live shows, and connect the fant…
