Right around the time they were selling out two shows at Seattle's Neptune Theatre, Local Natives took an afternoon to treat KEXP VIP Club members to a special, stripped down show at The Triple Door. Though it's hard to call anything these Californians do "stripped down", they at least stuck to mai…
There's one aspect to booking Man or Astro-Man? for an in-studio session that the band didn't reveal until they were on air. "We steal one thing from you guys, and if you figure out what it is, we'll give it back." Well, we don't think they took anything when they stopped by KEXP's studio in March,…
If Killer Mike had my favorite show at Sasquatch, Chvrches gets to take favorite pop show of the weekend. Where their albums are already pretty perfect in the realm of pop - the live performance blew them out of the water. Lauren Mayberry's vocals are so close to sweet that it's almost bitter - she…
If KEXP had a Five-Timers Club, Low would now be one of its key members. The long-running Duluth, Minnesota trio has been a KEXP favorite for the better part of the last 15 years, and while the trio was out in the Northwest promoting their tenth (!) full-length, The Invisible Way, they stopped by …
With a list of influences that including Dire Straits, Napalm Death, Beat Happening and Ol' Dirty Bastard, it's not an easy task to define the straightforward and honest sound of indie rock four-piece Parquet Courts. Their clean and simple guitars accompanied with in-your-face and incredibly smart …
San Diego-based surf rockers Wavves have announced the release of their fourth album this spring. The LP, tentatively titled Afraid of Heights, will be out March 26 on Mom + Pop, and fellow California crooner Jenny Lewis is slated to make an appearance. "You know the tone of King of the Beach and t…
Who would be in your dream band? If you could put together some of your favorite musicians into a fantasy project, you might very well have come up with Divine Fits. Britt Daniel of Spoon and Dan Boeckner of Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade have teamed up up with powerhouse drummer Sam Brown of New Bo…
Perhaps no other artist has brought Eastern music to the West like sitar master Ravi Shankar. His tutelage of George Harrison in the mid-60's kicked off a lifetime of cultural exchange. While rock bands like The Beatles were incorporating Eastern sounds in their music, Shankar himself was composing…
The deeper we get into Animal Collective's Painting With chapter, the more it feels like a real renaissance for the band. As the band themselves described it, the process for the new record felt natural and fun - a far cry for the laborious process it took to put forth Centipede Hz. Spending time i…
Whatever your personal opinion of her may be, there is one fact that is truly undeniable: Lana Del Rey is in a league of her own. If you don't believe me, read her fantastically revealing cover piece with Fader. If you don't feel like it, listen to her albums, watch her videos, read other interview…
It’s Living Singles! The series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, Sharlese Metcalf—host of KEXP’s Mechanical Breakdown—brings us a very new wave edition.
Sound & Vision is bringing back Living Singles, where we talk with a KEXP staff member about three songs they are loving right now.
Prolific Garage-rock force Ty Segall gave an interview with Stereogum that offered some interesting new tidbits of information about the musician. For one, he no longer lives in San Francisco. Secondly, he's not a huge fan of smoking weed. But most interestingly, he's very interested in making a hi…
The crowd at Kex Hostel is abuzz with excitement in anticipation of the triumphant return of Icelandic indie-rock band SUÐ (appropriately, Icelandic for “Buzz”). The band originally formed in the late 90’s, releasing only one album, 1999’s Hugsunarvélin, and played together until 2003. After reconn…
Here at KEXP, we firmly believe that music matters. But we live in a world that is more awash in music than ever before. So how do you, as a musician, make your mark? How do you stand out and create a brand that will get you noticed and while still being true to your image and intent? What tools ar…
Imagine a pair of bell-bottoms. A suede vest. A wide collar, strutting leather boots. Similarly, imagine sequins and elongated lashes. Pearls and sly eyes. If you can imagine this, you can begin to sense the spirits that inspired the newest record from Seattle soul and funk group, The True Loves. T…
West coast rapper Tyler, The Creator shares his fourth LP, which boasts the FCC-unfriendly title Scum Fuck Flower Boy. (A representative for TTC says the "official title" is just Flower Boy.) The album features guest appearances by Frank Ocean, ASAP Rocky, Anna of the North, Lil Wayne, Jaden Smith,…
This Friday, Radiohead are releasing OKNOTOK, a deluxe reissue of their iconic 1997 album OK Computer in honor of its 20th anniversary. The album includes a remastered version of the original album, eight B-sides, a hardcover book, and three previously unreleased tracks: "I Promise," "Lift," and "M…
