Interweaving a patchwork of influences, from '60s psych to outsider folk, Boston band Quilt blanketed the KEXP studios with songs from their latest album, Held in Splendor, out now on Mexican Summer. Stitched together with their unique three-part-harmonies, the ambitious young band explained to DJ …
Bob Casale, founding member and guitarist of influential new wave band Devo, sadly passed away on Monday at the age of 61 from health complications that led to heart failure. His brother and bandmate, Gerald Casale, left this statement on the band's Facebook page: "As an original member of Devo, Bo…
After seven years together, Vivian Girls are calling it quits. They wrote on their Facebook page, "It's been a long and crazy journey in the seven years since, and we feel as though the time has finally come to let our band rest in peace. It's been an experience that we'll look back on and cherish…
We're excited to announce that Arcade Fire have announced North American dates for their Reflektor tour, including a stop at the Gorge Amphitheatre on Friday, August 8th. Mark your calendars: tickets for the general public go on sale starting Friday, November 22nd.Earlier today, we reported that th…
"Nothing is more dangerous than a man," Hutch's guitar declared as The Thermals blazed through an incendiary set live at KEXP. The songs on the Portland band's latest album, Desperate Ground, carry the same message: guns kill, people kill, wars kill. In the studio, the trio (Hutch, Kathy and Westin…
February 1986. Four scrappy dudes from Minneapolis -- Paul Westerberg, Bob Stinson, his brother Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars -- took the stage at Maxwell's, the now legendary (and defunct) Hoboken venue. It was a memorable show for the now legendary (and defunct) band The Replacements. They had ju…
Mark E. Smith, leader of influential UK post-punk band The Fall, passed away this morning at home at the age of 60. His manager Pam Van Damned states, "A more detailed statement will follow in the next few days. In the meantime, Pam & Mark’s family request privacy at this sad time." The band ca…
Even for a band that’s made a career out of reinterpreting styles from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond, Dr. Dog’s latest release, Psychedelic Swamp, (ANTI- Records), is more meta you might think. The album is a rehashing of their first unreleased demo, originally recorded in 2000, and as such, it mak…
It's hard to believe that next month will be the one year anniverary of Scottish electronic band CHVRCHES releasing their first LP. At this point, it seems like the trio has been dominating indie and pop airwaves for ages. Every track on The Bones of What You Believe oozes with pristine pop majesty…
Though it's the first album released solely under his own name, there is a strong argument to be made that Everyday Robots is not the official solo debut of English legend Damon Albarn. That could be the soundtrack to the 1999 film Ravenous, which was the first music outside of his then-main band B…
In 1998, Old Crow Medicine Show were busking in front of Pike Place Market. In 2014, they're headlining the 2,800-capacity Paramount Theatre. Along the way, the Nashville, Tennessee-based group became one of the primary figures in the 2000s roots music revival, bringing the same energy from their b…
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…
Two Seattle bands top this week's list of new releases. Since 2011's full-length No Witch, The Cave Singers added Blood Brothers/Past Lives/Fleet Foxes (among others) member Morgan Henderson to their lineup and teamed up with Fleet Foxes producer Phil Ek for their fourth LP Naomi out on Jagjaguwar.…
Anacortes: gateway to the Washington's San Juan Islands. Home to artists like Karl Blau, Phil Elverum and The Lonely Forest. Soon to be know for another new band, BellaMaine. The young indie rock group, led by married duo Nick and Julianne Thompson, immediately caught the attention of KEXP's Mornin…
We rounded out day two of our Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel with Icelandic punk band Hórmónar. Like many of our favorite Icelandic acts, Hórmónar were the winners of last year’s Músíktilraunir or “Music Experiments,” Iceland’s youth-focused battle of the bands (other winners inclu…
On their forthcoming fifth full-length Always Ascending, Scottish band Franz Ferdinand reach new heights. Frontman Alex Kapranos talks to KEXP about the lyrical influences on the new release.
Arcade Fire teams up with Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Blood Orange drops two new songs, plus tracks from of Montreal and Titus Andronicus all in today's music news round-up.
Today, we kick off sharing our discoveries from the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes, France, where last December we captured twelve exclusive sessions. This week’s feature is of psychedelic girl-group inspired band Gloria.
The Philadelphia band's new album drops this Friday, April 27 via Thirty Tigers.
