These days, it's a lot easier to sell headlines than it is to sell records. If you write a great pop song, your best bets to sell are either to stack it so chock full of name-drops that you hardly see your own, or to dial the clickbait schtick meter up as high as it will go. But when presented with…
On October 2nd, Nathan Williams will release V, his fifth full-length effort as Wavves. Five albums deep, Williams finds himself at a bit of a crossroads. His 2013 record, Afraid of Heights, found him on a major label for the first time ever, writing bigger hooks, better sing-a-longs, and cutting t…
Listening to In A Dream, the new LP from DFA powerhouse The Juan MacLean, we're reminded that it's been a long five years since John MacLean dropped his last proper record, The Future Will Come, back in 2009. That fantastic dance record was laden with Human League-esque back and forth narration bet…
Now that we're in our New Home, the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival is in our own backyard of Seattle Center! And now that they've announced their 2016 line-up, we're even more excited: local boys Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Death Cab for Cutie, and (former Seattleite) Father John Misty are …
Northwest singer/songwriter M. Ward stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night to share two tracks from his forthcoming full-length, More Rain. Watch a replay of "Confession" and the web exclusive of "Girl From Conejo Valley" below. More Rain hits stores on March 4th via Merge, and f…
Tomorrow, not only will iconic rocker David Bowie celebrate his 69th birthday, but he releases his 25th studio album ★ (pronounced "Blackstar") via Columbia Records. Today, he shares the video for the track "Lazarus," which features the influential artist, well, hallucinating in a mental hospital.…
It's never in any band's plan to break up, but it's much less anticipated for a band to reemerge as a more mature version of their past selves. But to everyone's surprise -- even their own -- The Dismemberment Plan are back with a new record, Uncanney Valley, that not only recognizes that they've g…
Oakland's Beats Antique debuted in 2007 with their unique blend of the world fusion and electronic genres, performance art and live instruments. Muti-instrumentalist David Satori seamlessly brings a variety of world influences into the mix, from Middle Eastern styles to afro-beat. The group's dance…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz sets at coffee shops and orchestras at theaters, to a grunge shows in DIY spaces and major touring acts at any of our larger venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new; maybe you heard one song by th…
May has been a big month for Mary Lambert. In the wake of the success of "Same Love" - her 2012 collaboration with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis that served as a rallying cry to same-sex couples worldwide - the Seattle-based singer/songwriter has been writing new songs, playing a series of local show…
Joining us in the studio for a KEXP Secret Stage performance at Bumbershoot is Austin post-rock powerhouse Explosions in the Sky. Playing together for over 15 years, their sound is hugely emotive, accented with glistening guitar. It’s a unique listening experience, both cathartic and calming, comfo…
Local hip-hop heroes Shabazz Palaces have been slowly rolling out single after single from their two forthcoming albums Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines for the past couple of months. So far they've shared "Shine a Light (feat. Thaddillac)," "Since C.A.Y.A." (wh…
From his hardcore punk days to being called one of the most "important dance music figures" by AllMusic, Richard Melville Hall has led an interesting life under the moniker Moby. This Thursday, June 23rd, he'll be reading and signing from his new memoir, Porcelain, at the downtown branch of the Sea…
Before a closing performance from Twenty One Pilots, MGMT played a packed set at Sasquatch Music Festival's Main Stage, playing tracks from each of their past records, including several to be featured on the forthcoming Little Dark Age. As evidenced by past live performances, MGMT are unafraid of s…
Over the weekend, The Posies announced that bass player Joe Skyward, aka Joe Bass, sadly passed away. In 2014, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that, according to the L.A. Weekly, had metastasized and spread to his skeletal and lymphatic systems. Though Skyward left Seattle for the clear Cali…
Of the sessions we've presented so far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, the music so far has been either experimental (Kristen and Olo Walicki Kaszebe II) or re-interpretations of traditional sounds (Hańba and Sutari), but as terrific as thos…
There's one aspect to booking Man or Astro-Man? for an in-studio session that the band didn't reveal until they were on air. "We steal one thing from you guys, and if you figure out what it is, we'll give it back." Well, we don't think they took anything when they stopped by KEXP's studio in March,…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz sets at coffee shops and orchestras at theaters, to a grunge shows in DIY spaces and major touring acts at any of our larger venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new; maybe you heard one song by th…
