Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we are featuring artists p…
"I did want to rip off Yo La Tengo a little bit. I also wanted to rip off The Feelies a little bit," admits singer/guitarist Martin Frawley of Australian band Twerps. But the quirky quartet infuse those influences with their own cheeky charm, resulting in a unique style they jokingly refer to as "j…
Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, Keith McIvor, a.k.a. JD Twitch, established himself as an internationally-renowned DJ as one-half of Optimo, also the name of the dynamic duo's legendary club night where he served as a resident DJ alongside JG Wilkes. Known for their adventurous, eclectic, body-movi…
NPR Music is currently streaming the forthcoming release from local ladies THEESatisfaction. Get a sneak peek at the album EarthEE here, out February 24th via Sub Pop Records. The album features guest appearances from labelmates Shabazz Palaces, as well as Meshell Ndegeocello. Be sure to tune in t…
tUnE-yArDs — even the typography of the name seems to pop off the page like the ecstatic rhythms of the band's new album. For Nikki Nack, Merrill Garbus has traveled far, sonically and literally, expanding upon the conceit of her self-recorded debut and turning tUnE-yArDs into a communal arts tribe…
THUMPERS — not only is the name itself indicative of their sound, but the preferred spelling is all in caps. "Every time people actually do it, I feel a bit bad", confessed John Hamson Jr., one of the band's two founders, in a recent interview with KEXP. But Hamson and his cohort Marcus Pepperell m…
"Lovely" and "infectious" — mash those words together and it sounds something like Lucius. Watch and hear the band perform, and those words seem even more apt. Led by co-vocalists Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, the NYC-based five-piece blends gorgeous harmonies and lively percussion in girl group 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…
"We're not one-dimensional human beings, so why should our music be?" asked Honus Honus, the mastermind behind Philadelphia band Man Man. Their names may be repetitive (true to theme, the drummer goes by "Pow Pow"), but this experimental group is anything but, always striving to evolve their quirky…
"If you're meaning to seduce anybody, you don't announce your intention", Joe Henry joked when introducing his new song "Swayed", but nevertheless, the LA-based singer-songwriter hooked us by the heart during a recent in-studio. Undoubtedly, it's his warmth, openness and charm that has made him so …
It's never in any band's plan to break up, but it's much less anticipated for a band to reemerge as a more mature version of their past selves. But to everyone's surprise -- even their own -- The Dismemberment Plan are back with a new record, Uncanney Valley, that not only recognizes that they've g…
This month, UK electronic act Factory Floor finally release a proper full-length record. This is the London band that started almost eight years ago, bouncing around styles to dial into the pure genius that they’ve come up with now. They released mini album Talking On Cliffs in 2009 and dropped the…
The band name of Lonesome Shack came from frontman Ben Todd’s experience living in, well, a lonesome shack that he built himself in New Mexico. In it, Todd learned Mississippi Fred McDowell songs and honed his facility on stringed instruments like bass, banjo and guitar. It is impossible not to not…
Hot on the heels of the release of excellent new album Avalanche, Danish soul duo Quadron are touring the states and bringing the marvelous combination of Robin Hannibal's production and Coco O's angelic voice to the stage. While Hannibal was not on stage with Coco and the band, their tunes still c…
Sunday night, rock pioneer Nick Cave returned to Seattle in support of the excellent new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds record Push The Sky Away. Unsurprisingly, Cave played an insurmountable show in grandiose fashion. Mixing the best of Push with a dozen or more classics, Cave and his band brought …
Bands go through changes – name changes, member changes, sound transformations, covers. One of those bands that has recently changed names, members, and sound, but has survived, is Philadelphia’s Bleeding Rainbow. Starting as a duo of sludge-infused indie pop back in 2009, the band then known as Re…
Despite being recorded in December, Lavender Diamond's in-studio session was one of the warmest things that KEXP broadcast in 2012. Singer Becky Stark's voice is nothing short of radiant, buoying the Los Angeles quartet's tender, winsome sound. Across the folk pop bounce of "There's A Perfect Love …
More anthemic than brooding, Scottish band Frightened Rabbit's songs pull no punches. You don't have time to dwell on their brutally honest lyrics, usually about love and relationships, as you're pumping your fist in the air and sloshing around a pint of. This week, their latest and fourth emotiona…
The latest album from Malian songwriter and guitarist Sidi Touré, released in the US by Thrill Jockey, is called Koïma, named for a dune near his home city of Gao. "Koïma" can be translated to mean "go hear", and the dune, which sits at the edge of the Niger River, is said to be a sacred meeting p…
Robyn Hitchcock has announced that he will be releasing his 19th solo album on March 13, 2013 on Yep Roc Records. The title of the LP is Love From London and, according to Hitchcock, will be an album that "celebrates life in a culture imperiled by economic and environmental collapse." Hicthcock, …
