We should consider ourselves lucky to call Prism Tats "local", however briefly. Though Garett van der Spek hails from Durban, South Africa, he conceived this solo project after moving to Seattle. The Emerald City is in fact where he also formed the duo Koko and the Sweetmeats with his then sweethea…
Could there be a better symbol of KEXP's rebirthing in our new home than the "Baby Big Man" that is Ty Segall? Donning a creepy torn-up baby mask and wielding an adult-sized umbilical chord, the KEXP listener- and DJ-favorite artist christened the new KEXP live room with our first ever live broadca…
So far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, we've heard the inventive, experimental, electronic, traditional, and emotive sounds of contemporary Polish bands, but you might still be wondering, can they rock? The Stubs are here to say, hell yes! O…
"Music" and "space" form an undeniable symbiosis. We use each word to describe the other all the time, yet in truth, the one cannot exist in the other. The only sound of the spheres is in our minds. But what great imaginations we have. Over the years, many sonic explorers have reached far into the …
If there's another performer who has received two standing ovations for a single song at the Moore, Jason Isbell should call them and see if they'll go for best two out of three, because chances are that he'll win. The revitalized Southern songwriter is at a career high at the moment, and no other …
The Twilight Sad have always specialized in making the darker side of humanity seem so grandiose and alluring, but they've never made gloom quite so emotive and magnetic as they do on their fourth album, Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave. When the Scottish band brought six cuts from…
Since we're celebrating Sub Pop 25th Anniversary, a.k.a. Silver Jubilee, this week, it's fitting that one of their new signees should top this week's list of new releases. Though the term does define him, Daughn Gibson is unlikely to be called a "singer-songwriter", at least not in the traditional …
I might not have gotten on the Odd Future bandwagon back when it began, but that doesn't mean I was going to miss Earl Sweatshirt this year at Sasquatch. He took stage simply - his black Supreme sweatshirt (hood up of course), OF DJ Syd backing him up close behind. Lucky for the audience ("Hey Coac…
There is a place where the sounds and sights of summer are always abounding and where you can sing about the beach all year long. That place, according to Zach Yudin, is Cayucos, California. His project Cayucas (formerly called Oregon Bike Trails) is an unapologetic love letter to the feeling given…
Named after a race of diminutive creatures in Magic: The Gathering, Kithkin's energetic, uplifting indie rock is the type of music that gets the cops called over to house shows (in the best way possible). Although the band's aesthetic is clearly a fantastical one - the self-described "Cascadian you…
It's not easy for bands to pull of a daytime performance in bright sunlight. Most are used to dark clubs and nocturnal crowds, but the warm desert tones of LA's Allah-Las made for a perfect Austin afternoon on the first day of our broadcast this year from Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop during SXSW. Thou…
Thirty minutes. That's all the time Seattle reggae champs Kore Ionz had to win over a crowd at the Mural Amphitheatre on the first afternoon of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Frontman Daniel Pak, shirtless in the hot sun with a red, green, and yellow strap running across his chest (that…
A very cool piece of Northwest history has emerged today. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has shared a recording of their very first show in Bellingham at a house venue called the Pacer House from November 22, 1997. Gibbard's friend Trevor Adams had the foresight to record the gig on his dictap…
One of the many reasons KEXP went to Montreal was at the recommendation of our friend Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), so when we had our plan in place to record at Breakglass Studios during the POP Montreal Festival, naturally we asked Dan if he had any local bands that he would recommend th…
Tune-Yards have returned with a brand new song that comes alongside an announcement that they'll be following up 2014's Nikki Nack with a brand new album called I can feel you creep into my private life, due January 19th via 4AD. The LP is produced by longtime collaborator Nate Brenner, who is now …
Hamilton Leithauser recently shared a new song with folk chanteuse Angel Olsen called "Heartstruck (Wild Hunger)" and today that song has an official video. Directed by Peter and Nick Simonite and created by Austin based full-service creative company Preacher, the video follows Leithauser as a wand…
Chelsea Wolfe is releasing a new album called Hiss Spun on September 22 via Sargent House. In collaboration with Converge's Kurt Ballou and Queens Of The Stone Age's Troy Van Leeuwen, she's delving deeper into metal influences on the new album. She's previously shared "16 Psyche" and "Vex" and toda…
It's always inspiring to see bands releasing new and interesting music thirty years into their careers. (I'll be honest and admit I haven't heard 2015's Stuff Like That There - I'll blame that on the fact that it was released one month before my son was born - but I'm just assuming it was new and i…
Church took place on Sunday at Sasquatch, and Paul Janeway was the officiant, worship leader, and pastor. St. Paul, as he's otherwise known, was a man possessed led by the Spirit from the second he set on stage with his equally as fiery bandmates in St. Paul & The Broken Bones. From The City, t…
