The boozy blues of obsession and regret never sounded so good... at least not in the last 16 years. It's been that long since The Afghan Whigs released an album and its members turned their attention elsewhere. Yet, while other 90's bands are now cashing in on their notoriety with 20- and 25-year a…
It’s always interesting when you learn about an artist’s path to recognition – and it’s even more captivating when it involves details and arcs you’d never expect. This is the intriguing life of singer-songwriter Laura Veirs: she was raised in Colorado in the 70s, where she studied geology and Mand…
Since Kim Deal left, iconic band The Pixies have had a public struggle trying to replace her. And in a recent interview with Brooklyn Vegan, drummer David Lovering acknowledges that Deal is irreplaceable: "Basically, no-one can replace Kim Deal. It would be impossible to do." Kim Shattuck of the M…
Phantogram can't help but fire up your passion. The upstate New York electro pop duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter came on strong with their seductive self-titled EP back in 2009, which they followed with two increasingly alluring LPs quickly in the next two years, but then left us hot and bothe…
A few years ago, "chill wave" seemed all anyone could talk about, and Washed Out was among the first on the scene with the ubiquitous single "Feel It All Around". But while the fad died out, the Georgia-based bedroom composer Ernest Greene developed the his free-floating sound into a full live proj…
Although it might shift to include Sasquatch and Governor’s Ball next year, there are essentially four music festivals that form the festival season narrative in 2013. Typically, Coachella sets the bar for the rest of the year in April, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza try and outdo it through sheer size …
Robert Glasper was exposed to music at a young age. His mother brought him as a boy out to her jazz and blues gigs, and he also learned much about music in church, where he began to sing and mix gospel and jazz harmonies. Since those humble but enriching beginnings, Glasper has built a strong caree…
<pOn any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic…
Although it began as an anonymous solo project, Arthur Ashin's Autre Ne Veut has emerged as one of the leaders of the current electronic and indie-tinged R&B explosion. Now that the project has evolved into an entity outside of his bedroom, Ashin's live takes on the songs from Anxiety, his seco…
Afrobeat, trance, indie rock: these are just some of the words tossed around when talking about Pollens, among the more composed acts doing the rounds in Seattle currently. And while those words do describe the band, to a degree, they fail to include the constant smiles, the deep dips in vocals, th…
Trends come and go quickly in music. Something can be hot one day and out the next, while some things take hold and never let go. The latter can be sincerely said of The Zombies enduring jazz-infused psychedelia, especially their handful of American hits and acclaimed album Odessey and Oracle. Al…
Montreal's Suuns make a particular kind of low-drone heavy but never "drone music" - they walk the fine line between being experimental and being simply loud rock music. There's never really been the kind of rock n roll vibes you get from other bands walking that line, but instead an industrial syn…
Brooklyn-based band Antibalas, which is Spanish for "bulletproof", released their fifth studio album last August. This release really launched them on a sizable worldwide tour and lucky for us they happened to make a stop in Seattle. Founded in the late 90s, Antibalas has never strayed from their s…
Closing out the KEXP stage on Sunday night, you couldn't have asked for a better send off than Smokey Brights. The Seattle rock outfit wasted no time jumping right into what they do best: blaring killer guitar riffs and belting out infectious melodies that are sure to get people up and moving. This…
"Only 340 more songs to go," said Icelandic soul singer Júníus Meyvant, hiding a sly grin under a thick red beard at the start of his set at the KEXP Gathering Space Stage on Saturday evening. Fans on the concrete floor in front of him, sitting like children arranged around a teacher, chuckled. Tho…
Alt-J have shared an incredibly cinematic video for "Pleader," off their latest album Relaxer, released back in June. Directed by Isaiah Seret, the exact plot is difficult to derive but according to the band: "When we set out to make a video for 'Pleader,' Joe sent the following one-line brief to d…
Beach Slang either have terrible luck or are possibly not very good at locking up their equipment. The band announced today that they were, once again, robbed. The unfortunate event happened right here, in Seattle, after their November 11 show at Chop Suey. Their brief statement on Facebook reads: …
Angel Olsen is releasing a collection of outtakes and rarities called Phases this Friday, November 10 via Jagjaguwar. Today she's given us the previously unreleased song "Sans," which was written in between Burn Your Fire For No Witness and My Woman. Olsen called the song, "something short and simp…
When given the chance to introduce himself, Scott Teske of the Seattle Rock Orchestra had a pretty straightforward agenda at Monday night's Neumos show. "We just like music", he laughed, jostling his bass, "and we like this crazy collaborations". Crazy collaboration does not begin to describe the m…
