The first of several videos we'd like to share with you this morning is Dinosaur Jr.'s new clip for "Pierce the Morning Rain," a cut from last year's I Bet on Sky. The video stars actor James Urbaniak as a man obsessed with finding the perfect car stereo and comedian Maria Bamford as his concerned …
There's a new pop-savvy sheriff in Sub Pop town, and he goes by the name of Cullen Omori, and instead of having to wield a Smith Western to corral a crowd's attention, all he has to do is coo his name. Omori quickly became a wunderkind as one of the instrumental brains of the Chicagoan outfit Smith…
Not sure if it's a compliment to be called a "thinking man's metal band" (or at least, it's not so nice to the other metal bands), but long running alternative metal band Helmet have always made smart music that never loses its punch. Vocalist/guitarist Page Hamilton founded the group back in '89, …
It's been three long years, but Bon Iver is back with a single for the new Zach Braff film, Wish I Was Here. (The soundtrack also boasts a new song from The Shins, as reported on last month.) You can stream the haunting track "Heavenly Father" via NPR Music. The soundtrack will be out digitally an…
Nada Surf have made a career out of finding their place in the world. When they were just kids, they wrote the teenage guide to popularity, navigating a close proximity between love and lust and insecurity. When they grew up and into real relationship, they found the inside of love, discovering tha…
Tom Krell sure had one hell of a year last year. The new How To Dress Well record, Total Loss, was almost unanimously well received for its bare bones mixture of R&B and electronica. It also helps that it was a heartfelt, heartbroken record that tells the true story of Krell's last year (read m…
London post-punk band Savages made an explosive entrance onto the American scene last year at CMJ (and then this year at SXSW) and have quickly become one of the most anticipated new acts of year. And after witnessing them live for the first time on Seattle soil, all this writer can say is this: no…
"I felt a blue wave coming on." If there were any way to sum up the trying events that led up to the amalgamation of Dan Boeckner's latest project Operators, the album's title track does it pretty well. Dan Boeckner, responsible for Wolf Parade (alongside Spencer Krug) and Handsome Furs (alongside …
If you've ever wanted to put Nick Cave in your pocket, now's your chance! LA-based toy company Plasticgod will release six different variations of a mini-figurine based on the iconic frontman, each named after a different song of his. Just check out the detail in the "Red Right Hand" model! Each l…
As if she could: Sharon Van Etten has announced a new EP, titled I Don’t Want to Let You Down. The 5-track release will feature four new songs, along with a live version of the song "Tell Me" off last year's stunning release Are We There. Check out the EP's title track below. I Don’t Want to Let Y…
NYC duo Cibo Matto share a trippy new video today for the track "Deja Vu," off their comeback album, Hotel Valentine, released earlier this year. The mostly-monochromatic clip was directed by Jean Claude Billmaier, and was filmed using an Xbox Kinect camera. Check it out below, and check out their…
We've been hearing a lot about 2014 releases, but Third Man Records is already talkin' about 2015 -- that's when the new album from The Dead Weather comes out. Can't wait that long? The supergroup of Jack White, Alison Mosshart of the Kills, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, and Jack Lawren…
Sigur Rós is hosting the first year of their festival Norður og Niður right now in Iceland and last night My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields performed a rare solo show. Fan-made footage of his set has emerged on Instagram and shows Shields playing guitar with a drummer behind him. It's recently be…
Now on their 28th year as a band and their 13th album, titled HEY WHAT out via Sub Pop, the Duluth duo Low talk about the band's longevity and inspirations.
New York-born Bob Mould is still kicking well beyond a thirty year career as a statesman for punk and alternative rock with this performance highlighting material from his 2014 studio release, "Beauty & Ruin." Live from the Cutting Room, NYC. Recorded 06/10/2014 - 4 songs: I Don't K…
Ring in the New Year with Sonic Reducer at The Laserdome! On Wednesday, December 31st, DJ Brian Foss will be LIVE at the Laser Dome as part of the KEXP DJ in Residence series! In three-month residencies, a different KEXP DJ will curate monthly playlists for unique musical laser experiences and perf…
KEXP is excited to be heading back to Katowice, Poland for our third year at the OFF Festival, this Friday, August 4th through Sunday, August 6th! (See our coverage from years past here.) Our goal, as always when partnering with amazing festivals like OFF, is to discover and share new music from ac…
Brooklyn-bred band Grizzly Bear return with their fifth LP, a release KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls "an adventurous set of densely layered and intricately arranged prog-pop, featuring a punchier, more beat-driven sound to more forcefully drive home the band's dark, imagistic lyrics of decay a…
The Replacements may have broken up 25 years ago (and then gotten back together, and broken up again), but their influence grows larger every year. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy once declared that everything his band does is based on The Replacements. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day calls them his favorite…
Five years is way too long for a visit from Midlake, but let's just say the hauntingly-beautiful folk-rock group from Denton, Texas had a good reason. After spending two years recording in the farm, frontman and founding member Tim Smith announced he was leaving the band. Rather than break-up, the …
