KEXP in-studio performances continue on Day 2 of Bumbershoot with Jagwar Ma. The Sydney psych band may have blown the world away with their 2013 debut Howlin’, but with the first few singles from upcoming album Every Now & Then, it looks like they are bent on maintaining their skyrocket traject…
Earlier this week New York duo Cults (Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion) teased a possible new album by sharing a 20-second clip of a song called "Gilded Lilly" on Instagram. Today they announced the new album, called Offering, and shared its title track, their first release in four years after 20…
It's been a long wait for Ted Leo fans, who haven't gotten new material from him since 2010's Brutalist Bricks, but hope is on the horizon. His next LP The Hanged Man will be released on September 8 and he's offered us the lead single "You're Like Me." The single is a dark detailing of sexual assau…
Next on KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel was Icelandic band Low Roar. Low Roar is the brainchild of American Ryan Karazija, who moved to Reykjavik from Oakland, CA in 2010. To combat the loneliness of moving to a strange new place, he recorded his self-titled debut on his lapt…
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. Next Tuesday is Cinco de Mayo and we all know that means - time to drink. Or at least that’s what it tends to mean for a…
Here's a killer word for your next round of Scrabble: Divisionary. You can thank delightful Portland band Ages and Ages for that knock out; it's the title of their second album. What does it mean? Splice together "division" and "visionary" and you can explain how even the best intentions sometimes …
It's nice to pick up a relatively obscure album from the KEXP stacks and discover that it's found a bit of new life in this century. It's not exactly a mysterious discovery along the lines of Light in the Attic's release of L'amour (though I will be looking for a vintage copy of that gem next time …
Next on KEXP's broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was a stellar set from Icelandic band Vök. The band was formed just this year to compete in (and then win) the Icelandic Music Experiments, a competition focusing on helping young and emerging bands advance their careers, much like S…
Though he'd been playing a variety instruments and styles for years, Oakland music Luis Vasquez never intended his current project, The Soft Moon, to catch on. A true bedroom project, The Soft Moon was originally meant to be a device of self-exploration, a spelunking of the depths, as it were, of V…
My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James is releasing an album of covers at the beginning of next month called Tribute To 2. The album follows 2009's George Harrison-focused cover album Tribute To, will also be reissued with extra bonus tracks on the same day as Tribute To 2. James previously shared h…
Next on our video stream live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Colombian-Canadian musician Lido Pimienta. The queer-identified musician, visual artist, and curator blends Afro-Colombian and indigenous music with experimental electro-pop. Her first album “Color” was released in 2010 (KUDETA),…
KEXP's Morning Show host, John Richards, presents the first in a new series of Music That Matters podcasts, it's our Runner Powered Podcast, Volume 1. Enjoy this one hour training podcast, featuring 16 high-energy local and international artists with songs about running and songs that wi…
Like me, you may be nervous about the prospect of a new Crystal Castles album after the departure of Alice Glass in October of 2014. Alice’s departure came with an excellent statement: “My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for …
Anticipation is high for the forthcoming full-length from Temples, totally heightened by last month's awesome performance in the KEXP Gathering Space. While we have to keep waiting 'til next year for Volcano to hit stores, today we've got a remix of the track "Certainty" by Scottish rockers Franz …
So far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, we've heard the inventive, experimental, electronic, traditional, and emotive sounds of contemporary Polish bands, but you might still be wondering, can they rock? The Stubs are here to say, hell yes! O…
Of the experiences that KEXP listeners tell us they value most, the intimate, personal interactions between artists and fans always ranks the highest. In our interviews and in-studio videos, we try to get as close to the heart as possible, but occasionally we are able to dive further into the creat…
KEXP, STG, and Starbucks kicked off the new year with another fine edition of our benefit series, Little Big Show. On January 31st, we joined together to raise money for Reel Grrls, a program where girls ages 9-21 can learn media production skills from volunteer professionals and voice their indivi…
"Be quick dear, times are uncertain, one month crawling, next year blurring, decades in the drain, and monograms on the brain. Decide what's working and what's moved on to the last phase - the floodgate alien days. I love those alien days." And so, Andrew VanWynGarden opens the third MGMT record wh…
Following their 1995 debut, Memphis garage punk band Oblivians released two more albums in quick succession and then practically disappeared for the next twelve years. But they didn't quite slip into, well, oblivion. Band members Greg Oblivian, Jack Oblivian and Eric Oblivian -- a.k.a. Greg Cartwri…
First Aid Kit returned last month with the new single "It's A Shame," and today they've announced that a forthcoming album will be released early next year. Entitled Ruins, the album was recorded in Portland with Decemberists/My Morning Jacket producer Tucker Martine and features appearances from R…
