Brooklyn-bred band Grizzly Bear return with their fifth LP, a release KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls "an adventurous set of densely layered and intricately arranged prog-pop, featuring a punchier, more beat-driven sound to more forcefully drive home the band's dark, imagistic lyrics of decay a…
The Replacements may have broken up 25 years ago (and then gotten back together, and broken up again), but their influence grows larger every year. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy once declared that everything his band does is based on The Replacements. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day calls them his favorite…
Anticipation for physical copies of the new album by Car Seat Headrest will have to last a bit longer. The CDs and LPs of Teens Of Denial, originally due in stores on May 20, were recalled due to a misunderstanding, of sorts. The track "Just What I Needed / Not Just What I Needed", containing parts…
It's hard to pick just a few highlights this week, as there's tons of great new albums in shops now. Seattle-based project Hibou (led by Peter Michel) releases their debut self-titled full-length on beloved local label Barsuk Records. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the long-awaited album, "an …
Unlike a lot of teenagers out there, 19-year-old Bridie Monds-Watson, a.k.a. SOAK, seems to handle success with a modest and casual confidence. Her career has taken off rather quickly, from writing songs in the basement of her home in Derry, Northern Ireland, to flying from country to country perfo…
It’s time to blast off to 1992... in 2015! Cairo’s EXPO 92 mini-festival takes place this Thursday through Saturday at the Capitol Hill all-ages venue and vintage store, showcasing exciting and vital local talent. Now in its seventh year, EXPO’s three day lineup is as much an opportunity to let you…
It's gusting something fierce out in the dark Reykjavik night. But it's warm and cozy here in Kex Hostel as our live broadcast continues. Our fourth Iceland Airwaves act of the day was rock trio Kimono, heavy, loud, and a bit dark. They formed in 2001 as an instrumental post-rock band, but have evo…
Our second act of the day here at Kex Hostel was Sóley, one of our favorites in Iceland. Maybe you caught her unique live loops and beautiful singing at our Reykjavik Calling show at Neumo's back in October. Or perhaps you've watched one of the many times we've recorded sessions with her, either at…
Earlier this month, KEXP returned to the magical space of the Bunny Glade during Pickathon 2014 to capture intimate acoustic sessions in this wooded oasis. Each of the 17 exclusive performances were special, but one of the most endearing moments for sure took place during Valerie June's set when a …
Last year, local label Barsuk Records celebrated its 15th anniversary, and to celebrate we invited three of their artists to the KEXP studios: Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws, Jesse Sykes, and The Long Winters frontman John Roderick. All three of these artists were celebrating the 10th anniversary …
You might call it Flying Nun 2.0, for the venerable New Zealand label recently began signing new Kiwi acts after a long hiatus. Considering Flying Nun signed and released many of its country's most celebrated acts including The Clean, The Bats, Bailter Space, The Verlaines and The Chills, any newco…
Right around the time they were selling out two shows at Seattle's Neptune Theatre, Local Natives took an afternoon to treat KEXP VIP Club members to a special, stripped down show at The Triple Door. Though it's hard to call anything these Californians do "stripped down", they at least stuck to mai…
With their shifting, phased-out sound, local urban poets and Cloud Nice members Kingdom Crumbs have become of the 206's leading hip hop groups. (In a recent Stranger piece, our own Larry Mizell, Jr. called the group "hands-down full-stop one of the very very best groups our town has.") The Seattle …
El Sonido host DJ Chilly compiles a mixtape featuring a variety of rock ‘n' roll en Español favorites from around the globe. Ahora somos nuevos creadores de rocanrol, tranquilos, todo va a estar más o menos bien. 1. AJ Dávila - Salvajes 2. Los Punsetes - Me Gusta Que Me Pegues 3. 60 Tigres …
Today's Song of the Day — as chosen by DJ Gabriel Teodros and special guest, indigenous art-ivist Calina Lawrence, as part of KEXP’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day programming — is "Land Back (feat. Boogey the Beat & Northern Voice)" by A Tribe Called Red, a 2020 self-released single.
I've covered a lot of obscure bands in the (gulp) 9 years I've been doing this series, but The Invisible really takes the cake. Interestingly, their album Dystopia seems to be available on all the usual internet music services, but the only smidge of information I can find on them is a discogs list…
Our girl Grimes always does the unexpected, and that's just part of the reason why we love her. Today, she has released not one, not two, but SEVEN new videos for tracks from her latest LP, Art Angels. The clips were created by Grimes, her brother, Mac Boucher, and her best friend, HANA, during a …
West coast rapper Tyler, The Creator shares his fourth LP, which boasts the FCC-unfriendly title Scum Fuck Flower Boy. (A representative for TTC says the "official title" is just Flower Boy.) The album features guest appearances by Frank Ocean, ASAP Rocky, Anna of the North, Lil Wayne, Jaden Smith,…
This Friday, Radiohead are releasing OKNOTOK, a deluxe reissue of their iconic 1997 album OK Computer in honor of its 20th anniversary. The album includes a remastered version of the original album, eight B-sides, a hardcover book, and three previously unreleased tracks: "I Promise," "Lift," and "M…
April ended strong with new releases from some of our favorite artists. It's been five years since the last album from Feist, and the Canadian songstress returns with what KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls "a powerful set of dark, intimate folk-rock. Recorded mostly live, the album features a sta…
