It's been hard for us to forget the beautiful and intimate session we had with Ólafur Arnalds during our Iceland Airwaves broadcast last year at KEX Hostel. This year, when we saw that the young Icelandic composer and songwriter would be performing at SXSW, we wanted to get him live on air again, n…
I have covered Soul Asylum in this space a couple of times before, but it's been almost exactly four years since the last time. I have had four years to dig back into the earlier, and I presume cooler, albums by this long-running Minneapolis alt-rock mainstay (They still exist! They put out a new a…
It's mind-boggling how a place so small can create so much terrific music. This year, as I was compiling my list of top Icelandic releases, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd find as many great albums as last year and the year before. Would I find ten? Twenty? Actually, as it turns out, a lot more! …
Even without all Black Flag related nonsense that’s been happening on and off for two years, Keith Morris has recently enjoyed a compelling and visceral return to the spotlight. He hosted his own punk station on the new Grand Theft Auto game and has returned to present tense conversation for all th…
With the passing of Prince earlier this year, his musical vaults have been excavated and gems are being found within. Today, NPG Records and Warner Bros. Records are teaming up to share Prince 4Ever, a collection of hits, packaged with a 12-page booklet of never-before-seen photos by photographer …
It's been four years since Coexist, but London trio The xx re-emerge with a new song today, and lots of good news. Stream the single "On Hold" below, which features a pretty sweet sample of the 1981 Hall & Oates hit "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)." It's just a taste of their highly-anticipat…
Yo La Tengo have premiered a new video for their song "I'll Be Around" (which, by the way, is their first new video in 16 years), and it features Mac McCaughn, founder of Superchunk and the Merge record label, singing the song and picking at a guitar in a woodsy field somewhere. The video is also …
The last time they were at the Paramount Theatre, Sigur Rós were touring behind their just-released sixth album Valtari, their final LP with founding member Kjartan Sveinsson, who declined to tour with them that year and would fully quit the band not long after. That album remains the most mellow i…
Durham, NC duo Sylvan Esso (aka Mountain Man’s Amelia Meath and Megafaun’s Nick Sanborn) share a fun new track today, "Kick Jump Twist," the b-side to "Radio" which came out earlier this year. As the title implies, it's a fun, energetic single -- check it out below. Both tracks are out today on a …
Have you ever wondered how to prove your undying loyalty to your favorite band? If the answer is year, The Kills have got you covered. Last month, the band asked fans for 15 participants to get tattoos of symbols inspired by each song for their album Ash & Ice. The call was easily answered and…
As we reported last month, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ frontwoman Karen O is releasing her solo debut album this year, and today we've got the first single to share. Stream the dreamy, underwater video for "Rapt" below, a track off Crush Songs, out September 9th via Julian Casablancas’ label Cult Records. [S…
Elusive electronic duo Boards of Canada are set to release their first album, Tomorrow's Harvest, in eight years on June 5th. After having to track down specific six digit codes throughout the internet and on a record store day vinyl release to reach the online video announcement of the LP, the ba…
DJ Kevin Cole brings new sounds for the New Year including tracks from Laura Marling and Dirty Projectors, debuts from Big Surr, Del Paxton, and Real Numbers, politically charged songs from Little Scream and Emel, plus more. Power to the people! 1. Split Single - Untry Love2. Big Surr - At The Bi-…
It's hard to believe that That's It!, the new album by Preservation Hall Jazz Band, is their first record of all new material, not just because they've had a prolific 50 year history already, but also because the songs fit so seamlessly into the rest of the New Orleans traditionalists' catalog. Ban…
Through 2023, KEXP is celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop. Each week, we'll celebrate a different year in hip-hop with a deep dive into a particular song released that year.
Over the years, Joseph Arthur has been such a frequent guest at KEXP that we consider him family, so it's no surprise to us he's taken the idea as the theme of his latest album, The Family, on which he entwines fact and fiction to explore these universal ties. For Joseph, the new LP also represents…
He might look like a tough guy in the photo above, but 28 year old Swedish singer-songwriter Linus Lutti performs under the disarming moniker Little Children and creates lush, calming pop in the vein of Junip and Nick Drake. The songs on his recently released EP, In Hau, tend to be somber without s…
Unlike the two-year trickle of press quotes and leaks that preceded their last album, The Strokes have taken a rather quiet approach to publicity behind their forthcoming fifth album, Comedown Machine (out 3/26 through RCA). However, after some coaxing from BBC Radio 1 personality Zane Lowe, bassis…
It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll first topped the UK charts as Orbital. Back then, raves were all the rage, but the duo never settled for mere mind-numbing dance numbers and constantly pushed their listeners with experimental loops and political ran…
