From their very first single, "Found Love in a Graveyard," London by way of Glasgow band Veronica Falls set the tone of their future releases: their sunny take on gloomy topics makes for happy listening in the darkened Northwest, that's for sure. Their 2011 self-titled debut channeled everyone from…
In honor of Record Store Day (April 18), Blitzen Trapper are putting out a special live cover album of Neil Young's 1972 classic Harvest. They've shared "Heart of Gold," the first single off the clevery titled, Live Harvest. Listen below. [Stereogum]
Amidst the dour lyrical sentiments and ill-fitting raincoats of the '80s UK indie scene, South London quintet The Woodentops injected much-needed bursts of optimism. While Morrissey pissed and moaned about every insurmountable obstacle life pitched in his path, The Woodentops' frontman Rolo McGinty…
Future Islands has certainly blown up over the last year, as evidenced by the large crowd they drew to their main stage set at Sasquatch. This Baltimore, Maryland band is one of those rare groups whose breakthrough success essentially comes down to one single performance. In their case, it was thei…
For a song that was supposed to be a joke, Alt-J are really running with the track "Left Hand Free." The UK trio have made yet another video for the single, this time portraying a debaucherous lifestyle, with quite the twist ending. Check it out below, and watch them perform the track LIVE in the …
Leather-clad bad boys, Drowners, rushed over to the KEXP studio for a live session so great, it left us all gasping for air. Taking their name from a Suede song, the group cites influence from one of the greatest Brit-pop supergroups, often reaching the high bar of their namesake. Perhaps its the c…
Dave Harrington (of electronic duo Darkside with Nicolas Jaar) got his hands on a track by The Antlers. Stream his remix of the single "Director," which appears on the Brooklyn band's most recent release, Familiars, out now on Anti-. The Antlers also just released their live album, The Antlers in …
"Are you digging our laid-back vibe?" Band of Horses band leader Ben Bridwell asked the audience during their recent concert at Seattle's Moore Theatre. Following their recently released live recording, Acoustic at the Ryman, Bridwell and co. chose to perform very loose, rootsy interpretations from…
Portland composer and vocalist Natasha Kmeto dropped by and dropped jaws with her magnificent multitasking performance for KEXP's Audioasis. Surreal and vocally symphonic, Kmeto's songs stretch the boundaries of both contemporary pop, IDM and EDM with percussively intriguing compositions that slide…
During our CMJ broadcast last month, KEXP was excited to host a performance from New York's own HAERTS, a band clearly on the brink of something big. With just a couple of singles and one EP to their charmingly-misspelled name, we felt fortunate to share some of their unreleased tracks with the wor…
You can't live in Seattle and not have heard of the O.K. Hotel. In the late '80s, Steve Freeborn and Tia Mathies transformed the now-legendary building, located under the viaduct in Pioneer Square, into a music venue, fine arts gallery, and cafe. In fact, in the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles, it'…
This upcoming Record Store Day, April 19th, Jack White will be recording, pressing and releasing the limited edition version of his next single, a live rendition of the title track from his upcoming LP Lazaretto. The entire process will take place at Third Man Records, White's own independent recor…
I have to remind myself every single year, every time I look at the lineup, every time I hit a single event and walk into work dog tired the next day - Seattle is so lucky to play home to the visionaries that put on Decibel Festival year after year. There are so many electronic music festivals in t…
Electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco will drop their fourth studio album on September 9. The entirety of Whorl was recorded live in front of an audience of 900. The purely instrumental, lead single "Tangents" kicks off with powerful percussions that bleed into an ultramodern mix. [CoS]
To call James Blake's second LP "greatly anticipated" may be a bit of an overstatement, but only because it's been hardly two months that we've even known that a new album would be available some time this year. Despite the short time to process the news, fans certainly were eager to hear what the …
A review of Fauna Shade's single "Marzipan" described their sound as "Floydian... zapping electronic wiggles." This simultaneously whimsical yet vague description fits the band perfectly: their sound bounces through all the psychedelic subgenres, with droning stoner fuzz meeting some of Tame Impala…
From pin dropping to firewatching, Brandi Carlile has lately shown a lot of range. On the heels of her unamplified Pin Drop Tour, the Northwest roots rock troubadour has released her fifth and and most rocking LP. The Firewatcher's Daughter is the first since the birth of her own daughter, but this…
Before performing at Capitol Hill’s Neumos, California-based band Rogue Wave stopped by KEXP for an energetic live in-studio. The four-piece played three songs from their new album, Nightingale Floors, released in June (their fifth studio record), as well as a tune from Out of the Shadow. The band’…
LA garage pop outfit Bleached have been rising strong on the scene in the last year with a number of fantastic singles and well known strong live presence. The band mixes West Coast surf tendencies with the gorgeous melodic punk of bands like Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls, delivered through tight …
