Surprise! Thom Yorke has released a new solo album titled Tomorrow's Modern Boxes! Instead of sneaking it onto your iTunes, he and producer Nigel Godrich announced they'll be using a new version of BitTorrent to distribute the release. In an open letter they co-authored, they state "If it works we…
It's only appropriate that his debut album is titled Tremors, because this beautiful, intimate session from SOHN had us all aquiver. Born in South London as Christopher Taylor, he had an early interest in music, but it was the groundbreaking Radiohead release OK Computer that led him into electroni…
Saturday has turned out to be a spectacularly sunny day at the Gorge - not a rain cloud all day long! The line up Saturday of Sasquatch was absolutely stacked (as are the other 2 days, of course). But Saturday was chalk full of bands that lots of different people were excited about, bands from Seat…
Who said the Northwest can't get funky? The eight members of local group Cascadia ’10 play afro-funk music together using a variety of horns, electric guitars, percussion instruments and a sense of slow-burning soul. Formed in 2010, as their name might suggest, the members of Cascadia ’10 also play…
After 14 years together, San Fransisco band Thee Oh Sees have announced an "indefinite hiatus." They've been consistently turning out loads of fresh material over the last five years, but things recently got hectic when frontman John Dwyer decided to move from San Fan to Los Angeles. Their manager…
Few Seattle bands put on as energetic and frenetic of a live show as Kithkin. In keeping with the fantastical woodland creatures they're named for (from Magic: The Gathering), the group is even known to decorate the stages they play with fir trees and other forest paraphernalia. They are slated to …
Hey, guess who I'm going to see next week in Seattle? Just guess! You'll never - oh, wait, you totally guessed My Bloody Valentine, didn't you? Dang it. Well, it's true. Some might say I'm at least 20 years too late to be seeing this influential, semi-reclusive band for the very first time, but rep…
The Dodos have announced a new album, Carrier, which will be out on August 27th, and they've shared "Confidence" from that album. Carrier follows the loss of guitarist Christopher Reimer, who joined The Dodos in 2011. Singer Meric Long revealed that Reimer was a big musical influence for him, “seei…
2013 may not be starting off with much musical gusto, but that doesn't mean there aren't some interesting new releases to be found in stores this week. Among a small handful is the latest release from Broadcast. No, it's not exactly a new album but rather a soundtrack begun before the untimely deat…
This past weekend in Portland, a benefit concert was held for beloved local artist Scott McCaughey, who suffered a stroke back in November. As we mentioned last month here on the KEXP Blog, the two nights (Friday at the Star Theater, Saturday at the Wonder Ballroom) featured an all-star bill includ…
A native of Red Bluff, California, Margaret Glaspy moved across the country to Boston, where she cut her teeth with master classes at Berklee (regardless of whether or not she was a student at the time) and local gigs. A few years – and one set of studio sessions redoing her original, iPad-recorde…
Touring heavy records is hard. In today’s day and age, heavy-handed works of staggering genius are hardly appreciated in the album form, let alone trying to communicate that weight in a crowded room facing a loaded bar. But in these heavy times, there are those who brave the difficulties and make i…
"I feel like all 4,000 people in this room should hug right now," the mid-30s woman beside me says to me as the house lights go on after The xx show last Monday night. I nod my head in approval. I understand what she means - not hugs of comfort but hugs of recognition of community and of the beauti…
Whether you're feeling moody or in a mood to dance, you'll find what you need among this week's new releases. Topping the list of must-buys in record stores today comes from U.K. trio Daughter, who were a standout during our CMJ broadcast last year with their highly emotive and engaging performanc…
Midday show host Cheryl Waters presents a sweet collection of songs just in time for the holiday of love. Because who doesn't love great music? 1. Strand of Oaks - Plymouth 2. Zammuto - Great Equator 3. Deerhoof - Paradise Girls 4. Courtney Barnett - Pedestrian At Best 5. Gang of Four - Bro…
For the rest of the year, we'll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2016, leading up to our 2016 90.3 Top Album Countdown! Voting ends on Friday, December 9th at 6:00 PM PT, so let us know your favorites now, and tune in on Friday, December 16th to hear if your picks made the list! Anyone wh…
For the rest of the year, we'll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2016, leading up to our 2016 90.3 Top Album Countdown! Voting ends on Friday, December 9th at 6:00 PM PT, so let us know your favorites now, and tune in on Friday, December 16th to hear if your picks made the list! Anyone wh…
It's Friday night at the Showbox and there's a singer on stage waltzing through "My Favorite Things" from The Sound Of Music and at the end of her final stanza, the band behind her crash in and a Danny Brown verse recited by Spank Rock (perhaps one of the only rappers who could conceivably match Br…
Grandaddy released their first album in over a decade, Last Place, back in March and today they've shared a video for the track "Brush with the Wild." The video, directed by Aaron Beckum, follows the story of a heartbroken man who tries to throw out all the things that remind him of his ex, only to…
In the liner notes of her latest album, Ivy Tripp, Katie Crutchfield — better known by her recording alias Waxahatchee — has a photo of none other than Dolly Parton. She laughed when KEXP DJ Stevie Zoom asked her about it. "I have Dolly everywhere I go," she smiled. Like Parton, the Alabama-born Cr…
