Timely does not even begin to describe the new record from NYC rappers Heems and Riz MC, a.k.a. Swet Shop Boys. While it's depressing as hell, these two dudes seriously could not have picked a better week to drop an album about basic human rights being put up into contention. As the race towards Vo…
You won’t believe the golden light you wake up to crawling out of your tent at Pickathon. The tree-lined hills of the Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon make you feel like you are in an other-worldly paradise. Taking a light walk around the Back 40 to enjoy the surroundings, among the sleepy co…
If you're committed to going to Capitol Hill Block Party it's difficult to pick just one day of music. Saturday was by far the most packed day of the weekend thus far with rumors that Block Party sold out twice once the overlords decided to release more tickets upon demand. But before the evening, …
If there's a band member sweating on stage during Philip Selway's sets, how is it not going to be the drummer? Selway's work with Radiohead through the late 90s, 2000s, and even the 2010s continuously reinvents how we see and hear the art of drumming in the modern rock and electronic atmosphere. Th…
"How is it," longtime readers of this series might wonder," that you've covered two David Sylvian solo albums, but not a single Japan album? Or even Rain Tree Crow!" You know, I have no good answer to that beyond the fact that this pulling-records-off-the-shelves game is a fickle one. Maybe I spent…
It hasn't even been a week since the release of their latest full-length, but Japandroids are adding to their discography with a limited edition 7-inch vinyl. Side A is "Near to the Wild Heart of Life," the title track of the new LP, and on side B is this cover of the Talking Heads’ 1977 single “L…
Seattle's Ephrata have been purveyors of dreamy, expansive-yet-poppy music scene they formed in 2012. With each new single and EP, they've expanded their sonic palette and even managed to squeeze in some startling visuals and music videos — sometimes things got bloody. The band will self-release th…
Pulling this album from my digital pile of photos brought up an interesting (to me, anyway) bit of synchronicity. The last time I posted about the Smiths, I wasn't yet a father - being an adoptive dad, I didn't even know that I would have a son in a matter of weeks. Now I have a boy who will turn …
This week, as we continue to post KEXP DJs’ Top 10 Albums of 2015 lists, we also want to share the favorites of KEXP's staff, volunteers and interns, the many many dedicated people who work behind the scenes at KEXP, and who are all passionate music fans themselves. Yesterday, we shared Part 1, whi…
You'd be forgiven for asking why Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and the Felice Brothers were playing the Moore this September. They were on a brief, West Coast-only jaunt, none of them have records out this year, and because of it, there was barely any publicity for the show. But even for those who walked …
The DJ comments on this LP call us back to a dark time when not every album was available everywhere in the world instantly upon its release. Many well-loved bands could only be heard by spending way too much money on physical objects that had been transported in small batches from another country …
KEXP and Goodwill have been teaming up all month in celebration of Earth Day. The result has been an April focused on recycling and reuse. KEXP DJ's even played a full day of tracks that had been "recycled" (remixed, covered or sampled). The month long partnership is culminating in a special night …
Spring is springing with excellent new releases, including the highly-anticipated debut (of sorts!) from Melbourne, Australia artist Courtney Barnett. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the release, "a masterful set that improves upon her promising early releases with even sharper songwriting and …
No other group in Seattle has the reach of THEESatisfaction. In creating their unique psychedelic hip hop stylings, local duo Cat and Stas reach as high among the stars as low within the roots below, and place their feet years beyond as eons ago. In fact, critics can't help but describe their new a…
Few bands generate as much excitement among KEXP listeners as alt-J. We followed their stratospheric rise from the beginning and even helped stoke the fire of the early buzz by which they burned brightly. The anticipation of their sophomore album was almost unbearable, though, particularly followin…
It's always a good time to celebrate Lucinda Williams, but now is an even better time than usual: She just released a new album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, which seems to be universally adored and is currently in rotation here at KEXP (she's still got her spot in M). This album has a loc…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
Dude York, the power trio from Seattle, play music that rocks, music that makes you move, music you've never quite heard before. They are an amalgamation of musical inspirations and this has never been more evident than on their new record, Dehumanize. KEXP caught up with drummer Andrew Hall to tal…
One song from The Clash is hardly ever enough. That's what DJ John Richards admitted to himself last year on this day when one Clash song became two, and then became the rest of The Morning Show on KEXP, and thus International Clash Day was born. And there's no better band to honor worldwide than t…
When you hear a band is from Nashville, most likely you think of big coiffed hair, thick acoustic guitar sounds and gallon-sized hats. Well, Wild Cub, borne out of the Tennessee music hotbed, sounds more like they were from Northern California, or even the Pacific Northwest, than from the same plac…
