Greta Morgan went into an “intense headspace” for her latest album as Springtime Carnivore, and the result was Midnight Room, her most finessed and melodic set of songs to date. Morgan returns to the KEXP studios for a semi-acoustic session featuring four Midnight Room tracks and a conversation wi…
There's a great scene in Richard Linklater's film Boyhood where Mason Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) is about 10 or 11 years old and is in Houston sleeping over at his dad's place when he asks him this great question. "Dad, there's no, like, real magic in the world is there?" Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke) asks him…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Mid…
With one more day of paradise ahead of them, Pickathon attendees spend the day diversifying their interests. Sure, there is plenty of incredible music to take part in later on, but throughout the experience, it's the culture of Pickathon that dominates, winning over those who don't regularly partic…
It’s Sunday night, July 6, 2014, and I’m front and center at the Paramount Theater waiting for New Order to hit the stage. The lights are dim as techs move back and forth across the stage, checking guitars and synthesizers and making sure everything’s in its right place. Meanwhile, the tour DJ play…
To know Kanye West is to love him, but to be in an endless mosh pit fifteen feet under him is something even more. It's limitless devotion to the church of Yeezus. It's agreeing wholeheartedly when Ye compares himself to Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, or, most notably, God. And in turn, much like I Am fe…
Dan Bejar is releasing his 12th solo album as Destroyer on October 20 via Merge, ken, and today he shared the lead single, "Sky's Grey," a genial jam that makes the bold claim, “I’ve been workin’ on the new Oliver Twist!” Bejar describes the name for his new album like this, "Sometime last year, I …
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…
Describing My Morning Jacket's live show is almost as difficult as describing their music. While tagging it with a reductive broad stroke isn't that hard ("rock music"), listing out the individual elements that play into the band's style can come off as too disparate to make it their music seem com…
Portland quartet Summer Cannibals are hungry for more, returning with their sophomore release Show Us Your Mind, self-released via their own New Moss Records on March 3rd. Recorded and mixed by the famed Larry Crane at Jackpot Recording Studios, the album features the sharp Northwest punk-pop sound…
At KEXP, we like to brag a little bit that we were among the first radio stations to express undying love for HAERTS. After "Wings" dropped at the beginning of 2013 and we put it on repeat for weeks, we knew we had to grab them later in the year at CMJ. But just a few weeks ago, HAERTS finally emba…
There's nothing pretty about Girl Band. In fact, the Dublin-based four-piece play some of the most abrasive pop songs you're likely to hear. But it hadn't always been that way. Singer Dara Kiely and guitarist Alan Duggan had played together in more conventionally "indie" type bands before hitting u…
It's going to take a little practice, but you'll be saying the name Ásgeir like a true Icelander soon enough. When we first introduced the young singer-songwriter to Seattle audiences two years ago, we knew his ethereal falsetto and captivating songs would appeal to KEXP listeners even if his songs…
Foals frontman Yannis Phillipakis has 5+ water bottles put out for him every set, and he drinks maybe one of them during the Oxford quintet's set. That's because he kicks or sprays them on the audience, typically while taking a brief break from wailing on guitar or crowdsurfing in the audience. It …
A rubber band is the perfect picture to fit Swedish electronic outfit Little Dragon. Up to this point, the band has been carving a unique sound that occupies a haunting modern space somewhere between historical influences like Massive Attack and Bjork. After singer Yukumi Nagano made an appearance …
Next on the KEXP Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from KEX Hostel in Reykjavik was spectacular Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini. Even if you do not know her name, you are still very likely familiar with some of her work. Torrini has participated in a wide variety of projects, including writing and …
It's no surprise Portugal. The Man broke into "Dayman" midway into their set during their Triple Door performance for KEXP last month. Not only has the band been playing their own gorgeous rendition of the song, taken from a classic episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, during shows and hav…
You'll never hear the sound of yearning like you will through the sonic lens of Daughn Gibson. The one-time trucker from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, is a new signee to Sub Pop, and this week, he releases his second LP, Me Moan, his first for the label. Gibson is a curiosity - his Sub Pop bio reads like…
KEXP is proud to support Pickathon and happy to announce the release of this year's daily schedule. The three-day festival at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, OR (very close to Portland), on August 2-4, includes performances by over 45 artists on 7 stages, but one of its most unique features is that…
Watching these videos you might be thinking: political outrage hasn't seen this much ferocity in music since Rage Against the Machine disbanded a dozen years ago. The fact is, Raymond "Boots" Riley and his band The Coup have been making socially outspoken jams for just as long and have turned out e…
