The Dead have come back to life with Day of the Dead. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "This mammoth 59 song, 5 and a ½ hour long tribute to the Grateful Dead was put together and produced by The National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner as a benefit for the Red Hot organization and their fight agains…
With a festival as genre specific as Decibel, it might be easy to assume that once you’ve seen a few shows, you’ve seen them all. But it stands as a testament to both the influence of electronic music and the diversity of Decibel’s showcases that from night to night the variety can feel endless. No…
I could have sworn I had covered an album by Pacific NW industrial (Or are they? More on that below.) legends Skinny Puppy in this space before, but unless Google is lying to me, I have not. (And if Google is lying to us now, we have bigger problems than whether or not I'm writing about Skinny Pupp…
Day 2 of Capitol Hill Block Party started with more gray clouds and drizzling rain. But a packed lineup full of variety kept all gloomy feelings at bay. Local band Kinski kicked off the day with a birthday celebration and beat smiths Giraffage and Zoolab upped the energy in the late afternoon befo…
Staying in town this Memorial Day weekend? You can at least take a cultural trip around the world with the 44th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival, running May 22nd through 25th on Seattle Center grounds. You'll get to enjoy over 5,000 performers from over 65 different cultural communities, all for…
Although best known as the lead singer behind seminal Pacific Northwest bands Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service, Ben Gibbard also possesses a deep record collection, spurred by his passion for timeless pop and Krautrock gems that date back to the 60s. Expertly curating a 17-song all-vinyl …
Ever since we caught sight of Rising Mountains, their 2009 release, we've been fans of Capsula. The Bilbao by way of Buenos Aires band always thrills with their glam rock inspired riffs and pounding rhythms, reminding you as much of Sonic Youth as T.Rex and David Bowie. Their stage shows, in partic…
Yes, that is a real bill. Electronic genre-blending genius Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison) brought some of his closest associates along with him on his second trip through Seattle in support of excellent new record, Until The Quiet Comes. Thundercat has been a long time collaborator, playing all of t…
Well, Seattle, it looks like we've corrupted Flight of the Conchords. Jemaine Clement, the gap-toothed glasses-wearing half of the New Zealand duo, confessed to the audience: he ate half a banana... and just left the other half sitting backstage! WHOA. "I'm the Iggy Pop of the band," he admitted ru…
Now in its third year in Iceland, All Tomorrow's Parties returned Thursday to the former NATO U.S. Air Base Ásbrú in Keflavík. Music lovers from around the world came for the weekend's killer lineup, including Iggy Pop, Public Enemy, Belle & Sebastian, Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and lo…
Everything I've ever thought about MØ is wrong. Well, maybe not all of it – I think she put together an incredible debut LP this year with No Mythologies To Follow, and I think that hard work has put her in league with the leaders of the new wave of indie pop like Grimes, Charli XCX, and others. Bu…
KEXP celebrates Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, spotlighting artists and stories from our community and beyond.
Sleigh Bells have changed. I still remember the afternoon that my friend introduced me. "It's like a pep rally for gladiators", she said, laughing, pointing me to the self-titled EP, "their cover looks like Jimmy Buffett but their Myspace says they like Korn". It was a reasonable introduction, effo…
For almost five years now as Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ruban Nielson has been learning how to give himself away. On his eponymous debut, it was from behind the closed door of a bedroom, where we heard psychedelic funk gems muffled through the wall and wanted to know more. On 2013's II, the door cra…
Whatever your personal opinion of her may be, there is one fact that is truly undeniable: Lana Del Rey is in a league of her own. If you don't believe me, read her fantastically revealing cover piece with Fader. If you don't feel like it, listen to her albums, watch her videos, read other interview…
KEXP is counting down our listeners top voted albums of the last 50 years in conjunction with our 2022 fall fundraising drive. In conjunction, KEXP's Editorial team is presenting 'For Your Consideration' some of their all-time favorite albums and what they mean to them. Today, Albina Cabrera explor…
All hail garage rockers King Khan & the Shrines, who have shared the video for the track "Born to Die" with us today. They'll be hitting the road this spring in support of their Merge Records release Idle No More, including a June 25th stop at Neumos. [Under the Radar]
Next Tuesday, Third Man Records will release the latest in its ongoing series of live 12" LPs. The performances, this time from The Kills, The Shins, and Seasick Steve, were all recorded at Jack White's Nashville-based record store "Live-to-Acetate" with not post-production whatsoever. You can pre-…
