Brix Smith seems to have led a fascinating existence. Perhaps having been a member of the Fall isn't a huge claim to fame (not many bands have Wikipedia pages specifically dedicated to listing their past members, after all). But how many people can say they've played with the Fall, the Bangles, and…
Irish songwriter Dolores O'Riordan, most famously of The Cranberries, has passed away at the age of 46. A statement from her publicist says that O'Riordan was in London for a recording session, but not further details are available at this time. O'Riordan was born and raised in Limerick, Ireland, a…
Toronto artist Katie Stelmanis, better known as Austra, shares the new video for the track "Hulluu" from her latest EP, Habitat. Directed by Zeesy Powers, the video features Canadian dancer Emily Law. In a press release, Stelmanis says, "I knew that I wanted the video for 'Hulluu' to focus on move…
Can you believe it's been eight years since DJ Cheryl Waters first kicked off her now-annual Canada Day show? Even our friends at the Canadian consulate are tuning in, like Consulate General James K. Hill (right) who stopped by the station to chat with Cheryl about the Great White North! “There is …
Katie Kate stormed Hilliard's Beer Taproom with a performance so stunning, even the children attending were floored. Alongside a live drummer and beat-maker, Katie Kate showed everyone in the audience what she was truly made of. Even if hard beats and surprising rhyme aren't your cup of tea, there…
I have a confession to make: Not unlike some KCMU DJs circa 1986, I am woefully ignorant of the career and voluminous musical output of Wanda Jackson, also known as the Queen of Rockabilly - or just the Queen of Rock. (Obviously I haven't been reading the KEXP blog enough, or this DJ El Toro review…
Northwest artist/musician Geneviève Castrée lost her battle with pancreatic cancer this past Saturday. Castrée recorded music under the names Woelv and Ô Paon for local labels K, Marriage Records, and her spouse's label, P.W. Elverum & Sun. She was an accomplished artist, releasing her debut g…
"Wait, they're here?" That's how most people reacted when they heard Ex Hex were playing, mishearing their name for that of the nocturnal London trio. But that confusion soon turned to either pleasant surprise or completely expected enjoyment as Mary Timony spent an hour unleashing riff after riff …
“How much is your 15 year old self flipping out right now?” That’s the text I got from Brittany right after we saw the date go up. She Wants Revenge, celebrating the 10th birthday of their 2006 debut by playing the album in its entirety at the Showbox. Wait, 10 years? Has it already been that long?…
Charlotte Gainsbourg has announced that she will release her first album in seven years in November. Called Rest, Gainsbourg has released the album's title track as well as a teaser for its accompanying music video, which she directed herself. In a statement, Gainsbourg says that Lars Von Trier, he…
Angela Conway, the force behind A.C. Marias, doesn't seem to have been particularly prolific as an artist, but what she lacked in quantity she more than made up for in quality - as evidenced by the KCMU gang's high regard for One of Our Girls, the sole A.C. Marias full-length. Conway collaborated e…
Indie veterans Yo La Tengo have announced a new album slated for release in March called There's a Riot Going On. In a press release written by writer and critic Luc Santé, the album title is an intentional nod to Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 album of the same name, as well as a remark on the cu…
There's a moment on "Every Time the Sun Comes Up", the closing track on Are We There, the fourth studio album by Sharon Van Etten, when the New Jersey songwriter nonchalantly declares "I wash your dishes, but I still shit in your bathroom". For obvious reasons, it's a line that immediately stands o…
"If you ever woke up in a bed without somebody, and you didn't know the bed or the room or the city, this song might be for you," says guitarist and vocalist Brad Barr of the new song we're premiering today by The Barr Brothers. Any discomfort, though, is less than temporary. "Even the Darkness Has…
As we waited at the Paramount Theatre for the Father John Misty show to begin, a fellow show-goer said to me, "Sometimes he walks around the crowd during the opener. He followed me on Twitter today and I literally died, so I'm gonna say hi to him if I can find him." I wondered in my head how this g…
I have no idea what this album from 1959 was doing being added to the KCMU library in 1990, but I'm sure glad it was - and it seems like I would have been in good company at the time. Tom Lehrer is (and let me just jump in for a second to say how happy it makes me to type that "is," having establis…
"I'm just going to test out the sampler." That's what Chaos Chaos drummer Chloe Saavedra says right before she fills the room with a loud piercing tone. ("That's why I always wear earplugs around Chloe," remarks her sister and bandmate Asy Saavedra.) Fortunately for John Richards, the crew, and any…
For many years, the mantle of "most consistently stellar artist" seemed to be squarely on the shoulders of Spoon, but there's an argument for it to be moved over, if it hasn't already shifted, to Laura Marling. Six very good-to-great albums that each built on its predecessor will do that, though. I…
Courtney Barnett brings us the dark, somber video for the track "Kim's Caravan" off her latest Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. She says the song was inspired by her concerns for the Great Barrier Reef, and describes the tune as "an apocalyptic tale of our world painted black w…
Fans of The Joy Formidable are used to seeing guitarist and vocalist Ritzy Bryan thrashing about wild-eyed on stage, practically destroying her guitar, her amps and the audience's ears. She and bassist/vocalist Rhydian Dafydd and percussionist Matthew James Thomas always seem to keep it together, …
