As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of 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’s featured songs come fr…
Few band names are as apt as The Cave Singers. Not quite a folk band and definitely not your typical indie rock band, The Cave Singers seem to have hatched their sound in seclusion, as if alone amid darkness and firelight. Their songs are rustic in style but not necessarily in execution, airy but a…
When Vancouver-based band Black Mountain stepped in the studio, we got a contact high. Not necessarily from their clothing, but definitely from their heavy, sludgy, psychedelic sound. Vocalists Stephen McBean and Amber Webber trade verses over a Black Sabbath-inspired wave of droning guitar and key…
The lore of Seattle's Motopony begins not in a dense, leafy forest in the rainy Pacific Northwest (a scene which heavily inspires their music), but in a warehouse in Tacoma. Frontman Daniel Blue set the story of the now acclaimed band in motion when, at 27, he picked up his ten year-old guitar. Wit…
The final day of Upstream Music Fest & Summit finished off with a set from local favorites NAVVI, who continued their run of excellent live performances with a compelling, atmospheric set. Headlining the Hush Hush Records showcase at the Weyerhaeuser Woodshed stage, NAVVI provided an ideal soun…
With all Los Angeles' sunny stereotypes, it's easy to miss the darkness there for the light. But not Chelsea Wolfe. The SoCal singer-songwriter has carved a unique place in the music landscape with her epic "drone-metal-art-folk" style. On her recent third album, Pain Is Beauty, she takes a decided…
Our third rocking set from Iceland Airwaves at Kex Hostel was Dublin droning noise act Girl Band. This younger Irish band has no girls, nor do they sound anything like the poppy sound their name might suggest. Instead, this four piece is driven by Adam Faulkner's fast, energetic drums and loud, Dan…
Following the smoky energy of Rose Windows, the Yeti stage was taken over by Secret Canadian's Suuns. The crowd swelled as they dove into their set. At times the trio went into nearly ambient jams, reverb heavy and almost ominous. But mostly the set was rhythm heavy, the audience waving their hands…
Even with the most voracious of music fans, there's still likely a certain feel or sound that comes to mind when you see the word "jazz." Maybe it's the swing of the music or that magical feeling of seventh chords walking down a piano. For others, it might be the drone of smooth jazz or the coolnes…
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…
One of the few bands promoting a soon-to-be-released album, Parquet Courts' Sunday night set at Sasquatch was a partially a showcase for their forthcoming second album, Sunbathing Animal. (Interestingly enough, the album went up for streaming just as their set started.) Their debut, 2013's Light Up…
Known to many as the band who introduced the “post-dubstep” era, Mount Kimbie have always defied expectation. After meeting at college in London and bonding over a shared love of electronic music, the UK duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos explored the spaces around the popular dance music of 2008 …
Decibel Festival's Optical showcases serve to remove the notion that electronic music is simply made for dancing. Instead, they present an array of musicians who specialize in everything from neo-classical to drone to ambient to horror soundtracks. For its 10th anniversary, Decibel brought back bel…
A review of Fauna Shade's single "Marzipan" described their sound as "Floydian... zapping electronic wiggles." This simultaneously whimsical yet vague description fits the band perfectly: their sound bounces through all the psychedelic subgenres, with droning stoner fuzz meeting some of Tame Impala…
Friends of the station Of Monsters And Men have come a long way since KEXP filmed them playing in a living room in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2010. In fact, they've come a long way even since the station filmed them playing on a bluff at Sasquatch in 2012. KEXP was one of the earliest to discover this b…
If solo records are truly artists giving in fully to self-indulgence, Julian Casablancas has a pretty bizarre way of indulging. Some chose to pack on a slough of bloated guest appearances that ended up making it even less of a solo record than their normal band's material. Others have created a who…
It should be no surprise that several of the artists topping this week's list of new releases were making appearances at SXSW last week, but two of them were also previewing their new songs live on KEXP during our broadcast from Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. Billy Bragg and Palma Violets both gave mem…
"Everybody wants to be in a big black coat", Jeremy Greenspan sings on the title track from new Junior Boys LP, Big Black Coat (read our review, "everybody wants to have your style". Truly, few electronic bands have style like this Ontario duo. While Greenspan sings softly, Matt Didemus stands in h…
