Today, Foals have dropped their new album, What Went Down, the follow up to 2013's impressive Holy Fire. The 10-track collection was recorded in France and produced by James Ford, who's worked with artist such as Florence and the Machine and the Arctic Monkeys. What Went Down can be streamed in it…
Last Friday saw the release of not one, but two albums from local duo Shabazz Palaces. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star "an impressive set of adventurous hip hop combining an ominous, shape-shifting sound with often heavily processed and reverbed vocals and dysto…
Today, KEXP celebrates the birthday of Stevland Hardaway Morris, better known to the world as Stevie Wonder. Wonder turns 66 years old today, and it's impressive to think he's been a musician and songwriter for 55 of those years, recording more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and racking up 25 Grammy Awa…
We're so excited to have Bob Mould joining us next month for KEXP's New Home Grand Opening on Saturday, April 16th! KEXP Music Director Don Yates observes that on Mould's latest solo album, "the former Husker Du/Sugar frontman continues his latter-day resurgence with another impressive set of anthe…
This week's batch of new releases takes us from Seattle to Saint Petersburg, Russia, as Pinkshinyultrablast return with their sophomore full-length. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes the album as "an even more impressive set of fuzzy shoegazer psych-rock, featuring a more complex and dynamic …
Beloved Brooklyn band The National are back with their seventh album. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "another masterful set of brooding rock that injects a bit more electronic experimentation along with an occasional welcome return to rock aggression. As beautifully crafted and intricately …
The most exciting new release this week is The Most Lamentable Tragedy by New Jersey band Titus Andronicus. On this 29-song, 94+-minute rock opera, frontman Patrick Stickles details his struggle with manic depression. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says the album, "features a full, grand sound to ma…
Pearl Jam have given their upcoming album, Lightening Bolt, a release date of October 15. This will be their first album since 2009's, Backspacer, and to celebrate they have shared their new single "Mind Your Manners." This song seems to be leaning much heavier toward the punk rock side of music …
The last time we saw Ólafur Arnalds was at 2010's Iceland Airwaves where he played our Hostel KEXP. In that show, he demonstrated his continued desire to engage in experimental recording practices by asking the audience to help him sing a loop for a song. Since his first album, Found Songs, back i…
Summer Cannibals are a band which announces their presence. Since the release of 2016's Full of It record, released on Kill Rock Stars, the band has fine-tuned an impressive live show, as evidenced by their set today at Little London Plane, as part of Day 3 of our Upstream Fest & Summit coverag…
After 17 years of existence, The Helio Sequence could easily kick back in comfort as a fixture in the Pacific Northwest music scene with their successful signature indie-rock sound. Instead, the duo has been ushered into a new, full-grown style on their fifth full-length album, 2012's Negotiations,…
Twins Kim and Kelley Deal celebrate their 54th birthday today, which got us thinking about twins in bands. It's no wonder it works so well: researchers have found that twin babies interact in the womb, so they're collaborating from even before birth. Twins have also been known to exhibit a sensitiv…
What a great way to kick off 2015: our very first in-studio session of the year was with Canadian musical craftsmen Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. On his fourth album, Club Meds, out now on Arts & Crafts, the Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter expands into new sonic soundscapes with his band, Black…
On August 12, The Oh Sees' will drop A Weird Exit, their TENTH studio album. Very impressive. The first taste of the album, "The Axis," is a psychedelic track that will take you on a 6-minute ride to the 1970s. Be sure to catch them at Oregon's Pickathon festival on August 6 and then in Seattle at…
This week's highlights include the latest from Hudson Mohawke. The Scottish producer, a.k.a. Ross Birchard, shares his sophomore full-length, and KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the release "finds him bringing a bit more restraint to his maximalist blend of various electronic styles with R&…
If you had told the DJs at KCMU 25-plus years ago, as they listened to the debut album by the New Jersey rapper known as Queen Latifah, that in 2015 her name would the second thing suggested by Google when you type in "Queen" (just under "Queen Elizabeth"), they would have said "what's Google?" But…
The collaboration between Hamilton, Ontario musicians Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus, Junior Boys have been KEXP favorites for over a decade now with their sophisticated spin on slinky, emotional synth-pop. Showing no signs of slowing down, the duo have had a productive and successful 2016, rele…
Earlier this year, we got a sneak peek at the new alt-J album as the UK trio stopped by KEXP for an in-studio session. Now, the entire LP is out -- a release KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "their most adventurous, ranging from catchy prog-pop and solemn atmospheric folk ballads to decidedly o…
All week long on the KEXP Blog (here and here), we've been celebrating the release of Israel Nash's latest, Israel Nash’s Silver Season. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "another impressive set of psych-tinged folk-rock reminiscent of Neil Young, featuring a warm, ‘70s-steeped sound with expr…
This Sunday, February 26th, not only can you hear new music from beloved local band Pickwick, but it will be for a great cause! Over at The Crocodile, Galen Disston and crew will perform tracks from their highly-anticipated upcoming LP LoveJoys. And, also on this impressive bill are Beat Connection…
