This morning, it was reported that Oscar-winning film director Jonathan Demme had passed away at the age of 73, due to complications from esophageal cancer. His lengthy filmology includes blockbusters like Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Direct…
Minneapolis must have been a magical place in the '80s with bands like Hüsker Dü breaking through the mainstream, and venues like First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry helping hone these rising new stars. A little bit of that magic was in the KEXP studios this day as Hüsker Dü's former frontman, Bo…
A name change and an absence from the Sasquatch! Music Festival app will definitely effect the number of people at a show. But if the crowd at Preoccupations was any reflection of their controversial previous name, their show on the Yeti stage Saturday night was surely a reflection of their promisi…
So far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, we've heard the inventive, experimental, electronic, traditional, and emotive sounds of contemporary Polish bands, but you might still be wondering, can they rock? The Stubs are here to say, hell yes! O…
While we'd naturally prefer you to keep listening to KEXP, there's several great full album streams out today, too. Yo La Tengo share their forthcoming full-length, Stuff Like That There, which hits stores August 28th via Matador Records (stream here). Much like the band's 1990 release Fakebook, t…
There's always drama with Tame Impala, according to frontman and band mastermind Kevin Parker, but this time, it's only relative to the backstage amenities: the refrigerator holding their beer is leaking. But considering that Parker and his bandmates have their light show and all of their gear – wh…
Sunday afternoon was a triumphant moment for Strand of Oaks' Timothy Showalter. "The Pacific Northwest has been so good to this band," the long-haired frontman sincerely stated. "We love being here so much." He wasn't kidding. Showalter wore a glowing grin through almost of all of the set, which is…
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…
When's the last time you listened to a record and thought to yourself, "Wow, that's a sound you don't hear every day". Calgary based post-punk quartet Viet Cong (featuring members of now-defunct Calgary act Women) drop their self-titled first LP this week on Jagjaguwar, and it's one of those record…
It's difficult to imagine Iska Dhaaf as only a two-piece, even when they're right in front of you. The sound of their full-bodied post-punk is supported by Benjamin Verdoes' (Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band) unique ability to simultaneously play the keyboard and drums. It takes a talented musician to …
Well, can't say we saw that one coming! In the next phase of the ever-evolving state that has come to define them, experimental indie rock chameleons Liars come to us now as... a synth pop band?! Well, perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration. But still, on new record Mess, we find Liars a far cry a…
Our broadcast during Iceland Airwaves isn't always about the Iceland bands. While we do enjoy spotlighting groups that KEXP listeners might not otherwise hear, we also love to share with our Nordic friends some of our own favorites, like NYC's Caveman, whose lush, dreamy indie pop sound translates …
Though her first band, brother-sister duo The Fiery Furnaces, caught a lot of well-deserved internet buzz, Eleanor Friedberger has truly found her voice alone. Over two albums - Last Summer, 2011's acclaimed solo debut, and the recent Personal Record, sure to be a favorite on critics' year-end list…
Next on KEXP live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was an insane set from Icelandic band Grísalappalísa. The band, whose name means "pig-legged Lisa," plays raucus music that genre-jumps like nothing I've ever seen before. Vocalists Gunnar Ragnarsson and Baldur Baldursson scream and grunt, with …
Following their 1995 debut, Memphis garage punk band Oblivians released two more albums in quick succession and then practically disappeared for the next twelve years. But they didn't quite slip into, well, oblivion. Band members Greg Oblivian, Jack Oblivian and Eric Oblivian -- a.k.a. Greg Cartwri…
Sunday at festivals is always entertaining - there are those festival goers who haven't slept the whole time, there are those who just came for the "chill day," and there are those who are so exhausted they no longer care about anything ("Who are the Flaming Lips?" I overheard). And of course, ther…
If volume is your only musical qualifier, then there is probably only one band on your best of 2013 list. San Francisco metal duo Deafheaven dropped Sunbather last month, a seven track sonic masterpiece that relentlessly pulls at your heartstrings and threatens hearing damage for 60 minutes. The al…
Unlike the two-year trickle of press quotes and leaks that preceded their last album, The Strokes have taken a rather quiet approach to publicity behind their forthcoming fifth album, Comedown Machine (out 3/26 through RCA). However, after some coaxing from BBC Radio 1 personality Zane Lowe, bassis…
You may remember way back in December when we all were treated to the news that Bonnie "Prince" Billy was releasing his own fragrance (a mix of tobacco and Egyptian Jasmine, combined with the ancient wood of the Assam oud) -- and Sanae Intoxicants, the company releasing it, encouraged fans and cust…
One of the many reasons KEXP went to Montreal was at the recommendation of our friend Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), so when we had our plan in place to record at Breakglass Studios during the POP Montreal Festival, naturally we asked Dan if he had any local bands that he would recommend th…
