With Ibeyi, every song is a blessing, sometimes quite literally. The Parisian born twin sisters reach deep into their French-Cuban ancestry and call upon the spirits of Santería on their debut LP, which blends Yoruban evocations with contemporary expressions of love and loss. Their music is, as the…
A true dynamic duo, Montreal’s King Khan and BBQ Show dropped by the KEXP live room to flaunt their tasty brand of retro garage and doo wop ditties. Marinated in all types of awesome sauce, this gruesome twosome wet our palates with a preview of succulent songs off their upcoming We Are The Champio…
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…
What's better than hearing local music at a local festival? One of Seattle's most definitive contemporary indie acts, The Head and the Heart, are known for playing an infectious live set. Between the hand-clapping and the harmonies, they're a hometown favorite not to be missed live. The band, signe…
Set against the illuminated backdrop of the many pallets of Chrome Satan at the Hilliard's Beer Taproom, The Faint, during their performance, looked like dance-punk dictators, rulers of some Mad Max dystopia in which beer's more valuable than gold. In case you missed it, or in case you just wanted …
NO? Why,"yes!". Serendipity gave rise to the band NO; the founding members met each other, by chance, in a Los Angeles diner and began sharing stories of their favorite musicians and disastrous relationships. Like all greats, their music has a melancholy tinge without being too sentimental. NO fron…
There's another all-brother southern rock band who might not be filling big stadiums and singing about sex on fire but could tear the roof off any coliseum with their arena-sized riffs. Hailing from rural Virginia, the Carney brothers — Van, Jennings and Lain — have produced something like ten well…
KEXP staffers aren't the only Americans to fall under the ethereal spell of Iceland: when musician John Grant played the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in 2011, he liked it so much, he decided to stay! Performing songs from the album he recorded there, his sophomore release Pale Green Ghosts, Gran…
With her otherworldly voice, it's hard to pinpoint where songwriter Cameron Mesirow, better as Glasser, is from. Upon first listen to her ethereal electronic sounds and acrobatic soprano voice, you might be inclined to guess she's from Iceland, but the L.A. artist actually just relocated to New Yor…
Next on the KEXP broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is an Icelandic/Swedish folk duo My bubba. Their earlier efforts (released under the moniker “My bubba & Mi”) are deeply rooted in southern americana and folk. The songs are sparse, allowing their pure, delicate voices and entr…
If Charms’ Facebook and Bandcamp pages are any indication, the Seattle band LOVES candy and chips. Perhaps as a result, the trio play driving rock and roll songs that feel like a sugar rush mixed with a touch of Cool Ranch. Big, boisterous songs come from this group, which has only been together fo…
Zach Yudin's music endeavors as Cayucas have been gaining some serious momentum since his band's tour with Ra Ra Riot this past February. With their full length debut, Bigfoot, out now on Secretly Canadian, and some favorable reviews from Fader and the like, Yudin is back out on the road headlining…
Few bands pack the emotional wallop of Cloud Cult. Ever the seekers, the Midwest band has always tackled the big questions, the universal, philosophical and existential one -- who are we, where do we come from, where do we go, what do we do with each other while we're here? Cloud Cult albums are li…
Probably among the most beloved hilarious trouble making tongue in cheek Canadians making the music rounds right now is Mac DeMarco - and he's all of these things plus some in his new video for "My Kind of Woman" off his recent album 2. Plus he's in drag. Sort of - and he winks like a pro every tim…
Boise isn't one of those places where you hop out of bed and say "I think we should go to Boise this weekend!" Actually, I don't think it would have ever been a destination on my list, but then low and behold Treefort Music Festival was born. So many people talked up this fledgling festival last y…
Noise-rock duo Stagnant Pools have been compared to the likes of Sonic Youth and Disappears, but they truly have a flavor all their own. Bryan and Douglass Enas are recent graduates of Indiana University that are using this exciting time in their lives to make a dream a reality. The brothers have t…
Can we say "finally!"? After nearly two years since their first KEXP performance, Pickwick will release their full-length debut on March 12. The beloved Seattle soul rockers have introduced R&B to a whole new generation with the Myths 7-inch series, including listener favorites like "Window Sil…
Crime and the City Solution are one of many Australian bands that never really got their international due. For example, I first heard of them via their appearance in Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire. My attention was further drawn to them by the involvement of Mick Harvey, whose name you might no…
Things are picking up! In the world of new releases, that is. 2013 has fully arrived, and as you head back to work, school or whatever your day-to-day, it's time to put record shopping back into your regular routine. The shelves of your favorite record shops are now being lined with anticipated new…
Covered in pink and gold paint, J GRGRY took the Mural Amphitheatre stage in Seattle Center. Under the gaze of the Space Needle with the sun beaming down on the band, it made for an electric opening for the first day of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Lead vocalist, Joe Gregory, moved ac…
