From J Dilla to J Mascis, there is something for everyone this week in new releases! While the Dilla self-releases his 40-track The King of Beats’ Ma Dukes Yancey Collector’s Edition Box Set, Mascis shares his latest solo release, which KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes as "another strong a…
Be prepared to swoon. Arctic Monkeys have shared a new song, "Why Do You Only Call Me When You're High?" from their upcoming album, AM, due September 10 from Domino Records. Alex Turner's simple, straightforward lyrics on this bluesy ballad about bad relationship communication are guaranteed to ge…
The National has finally officially released "Demons" - a track from their upcoming album Trouble Will Find Me. Where the album artwork suggests a kind of duality of the self - a girls head looks at itself in a mirror - the song is similarly moody and heavy like much of their previous material. "I …
Humming computer drawn lines mimic the synth and steady vocals in Liars' video for "The Exact Color of Doubt" off their 2012 album WIXIW. 3-d faces appear distorted and shimmering, floating in a black background throughout the song, while the lyrics confess "I'll always be your friend" - it's a bea…
Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring has released a new song called "Asido" today, on the five year anniversary of their debut LP Shrines. It premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 and comes with a lyric video that was written and directed by frontwoman Megan James. In a statement, James said of the track…
2016 is off to a slow start for music, so we've combined the past two weeks of new releases. One undeniable highlight is the final album from the late, legendary David Bowie, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it his first No. 1 album ever. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes…
Christopher Owens is in love with himself. Chrissybaby Forever, his third solo album, finds the former Girls frontman getting back to basics by writing and recording almost entirely alone. Aided by engineer J.J. Wiesler, Owens performed all instruments, only calling in a few friends for backups. As…
This week in new releases, we hear from several artists who've been dormant for a while. Sufjan Stevens returns with his majestic new album, Carrie & Lowell, named after his mother and stepfather and partly inspired by his mother’s death. Several KEXP DJs have already hailed it as a contender f…
KEXP Music Director Don Yates has declared the debut release from Ibeyi as his "Pick of the Week." He notes, "the debut album from the young Paris-based French-Cuban twin-sister duo of Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Diaz (who are also both daughters of the acclaimed Cuban percussionist Miguel “Anga” Diaz) i…
This Valentine's Day week, it's appropriate that Father John Misty releases his sophomore full-length, I Love You, Honeybear. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the release, "a masterful, more fully realized set of sophisticated ‘70s-steeped pop. With Jonathan Wilson again enlisted as producer, th…
Pop-soul magician Autre Ne Veut debuted his album, Anxiety, last week on Pitchfork Advance and now you can watch this beautiful karaoke inspired video for "Play by Play." The video, produced by LEGS, starts in a small room with one TV before turning into a collage of many screens for the songs chil…
Bob Mould occupies an important role in the history of American rock, having been behind seminal groups like Hüsker Dü and Sugar and then pursuing a lengthy and varied solo career. So his appearance at our Grand Opening was particularly exciting for rock veterans and the grunge sector. He eschewed …
The National's Matt Berninger and Ramona Falls' Brent Knopf have joined forces on a new LP under the name EL VY (pronounced like the plural of Elvis). They've shared the lyric video for the title track from their upcoming album Return to the Moon. The LP drops on October 30. [Pitchfork]
Best Coast will drop their new album California Nights on May 5. They've shared the lyric video for album track "Heaven Sent." This spring the band heads out on a North American tour, which will bring them to The Showbox on June 4. [CoS]
Following yesterday's hypnotic in-studio session on The Midday Show on KEXP, local ladies THEESatisfaction release their sophomore album EarthEE today via Sub Pop. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes it as an "entrancing blend of Afro-futurist hip hop, cosmic R&B, psychedelic funk and astra…
Today, indie rock duo The Raveonettes pulled a Beyonce and surprise released their album Pe'ahi,named after a surfing spot in Maui. The opening track "Endless Sleeper" according to Sune Rose Wagner refers to "a horrific near-drowning experience I had in Hawaii some years ago. It’s about taking ris…
"Hey, baby, it's the 4th of July!" Digging a little deeper into the lyrics for this X song about fading love - promoted via the giant sticker on this copy of See How We Are - perhaps it's not the most appropriate tune to be cranking in honor of our nation's birthday, but that sort of incongruity di…
Mozambique-born artist Samito moved to Montreal over a decade ago with the intention of pursuing a career in music in the vibrant Montreal scene. He recently released his first full-length self-titled album last May, a very groovy set of African/Tropicalia/Electronic flavored songs with lyrics in P…
After an elaborate ad campaign for Arcade Fire's new single "Creature Comfort" that included a fictitious cereal ad for Creature Comfort Cereal and then placing said cereal boxes around Dublin for a game of Find The Cereal and Get Into the Afterparty, they finally released the actual song along wit…
As the days get shorter, so do our lists of new releases, but don't give up on 2013 just yet. You may need to revise your own Top Ten list of 2013 after you consider some of the new releases hitting record store shelves today. A definite contender: Purgatory/Paradise by Throwing Muses, their first …