What a great way to kick off 2015: our very first in-studio session of the year was with Canadian musical craftsmen Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. On his fourth album, Club Meds, out now on Arts & Crafts, the Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter expands into new sonic soundscapes with his band, Black…
Ian McLagan, keyboardist for the '60s UK rock band Small Faces (later, known in the '70s as the Faces), passed away today at the age of 69. In a statement released by his management, it was reported, "He died today, December 3, 2014, surrounded by family and friends in his adopted hometown of Austi…
I got my first dose of Young Fathers after I bought a t-shirt from the Anticon Record Label’s online store. To promote them, Anticon slipped a copy of Tape Two with every shipped order, resulting in widespread dissemination of the new band's developing sound. Luckily, I was one of the many to recei…
By and large, the lineup for Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit is composed of electronically-based musicians. But like its namesake, it also swings a little left of center, and on Friday, it was the artists who weren't tied down to their computers, synthesizers, or sequencers that made the str…
Earlier this year, it was reported that Sharon Jones was diagnosed with stage-one bile duct cancer, but thankfully, she is said to be "doing much better," and she and her Dap-Kings have announced a January 14th release date for their next album on Daptone Records. To celebrate, they've shared a ne…
After Red Fang had totally shredded the Bigfoot Stage, punk rock Vancouver-based duo Japandroids jumped on stage and after fairly minimal sound checking, started their sweaty and awesome set. Though the sound was a bit strange (it would later cut out during a Vampire Weekend song), their energy was…
Before legendary soul singer Sharon Jones died last year from pancreatic cancer, she recorded a final album with the Dap-Kings. Today the album has been officially announced and the lead single has been shared. The LP is called Soul Of A Woman and will be out November 17 via Daptone. The single is …
Sylvan Esso was one of 2014's biggest and most unlikely sleeper successes, and now the left-turn electronic side project from two North Carolina folk veterans has entered 2015 as one of festival season's can't miss midcard staples, and it's clear to see why. Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn's spartan …
For those lamenting beloved NYC band The Walkmen's indefinite hiatus, rejoice in the band's bassist Peter Matthew Bauer's solo album, Liberation!. Don't be offended by the title, it's not an enthusiastic goodbye to the band Bauer has dedicated 13 years of his life to. The album marks an opportune m…
Room Nine were, it seems, a pretty big deal in Seattle in the late '80s; like Diamond Fist Werny, they were another band doing their own thing — with their own lighting designer! — while it probably seemed like everyone around them was churning out noisy, grungy rock. Room Nine broke up not long af…
Up and coming sister bands Waxahatchee and Swearin’ gave us a lovely night this past Wednesday at Capitol Hill’s Chop Suey. It was a short and sweet set that the audience won’t forget any time soon as they swayed and bobbed to the piercing lyrics and layered instruments - loud in the best possible …
Today’s song, featured on The Morning Show with John Richards is “Mere Anarchy” by Moby from the upcoming album Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt on Mute Records.
Four years ago, the Tacoma artist proclaimed he was quitting the rat race of being a rapper. He made good on his promise and became one of Tacoma's most multitalented artists. Martin Douglas explores.
Martin Douglas speaks to the epochal Anacortes musician all about his stunning second LP as the Microphones and whether or not it has gotten the recognition it deserves.
This week marks 50 years since the start of this station. KEXP’s Owen Murphy has more on the first year of what was then KCMU, a student run radio station at the University of Washington.
Laura Marling has been releasing albums since she was 18. Now at the age of 30, she has released her seventh studio album, 'Song For Our Daughter.'
We could not describe The Runcast better than Steve in Santa Rosa who says, "The music was an awesome match for a rural Sonoma County morning..."
For their third album for Matador Records, Car Seat Headrest revise their 2011 opus. In doing so, they transform what was already an ambitious, weighty album into an emotionally exhausting masterpiece.
Day 2 of the Capitol Hill Block Party was packed with sun and some of the best in local music. Check out shots from the scene from photographers Eric Tra and Alley Rutzel.
Sleigh Bells have changed. I still remember the afternoon that my friend introduced me. "It's like a pep rally for gladiators", she said, laughing, pointing me to the self-titled EP, "their cover looks like Jimmy Buffett but their Myspace says they like Korn". It was a reasonable introduction, effo…
