The guys in Iska Dhaaf are overachievers. Not only do they write and record music together with a meticulous eye for detail, but they both maintain separate projects besides. Seattleites will recognize guitarist/vocalist Nathan Quiroga from his word slinging antics as Buffalo Madonna from Mad Rad a…
The Cure celebrate their fortieth anniversary this year. Let that soak in for a second. Then consider that the English quintet are playing three-plus hour sets with multiple encores night after night. Needless to say, Robert Smith and the current Cure lineup are doing right their legacy night after…
I'm actually feeling like a pretty bad music nerd right now, because somehow I've never heard The Dream Syndicate's debut album, The Days of Wine and Roses, which the Internet seems to agree is one of the most important albums of the 1980s (and when the Internet agrees on something, you really shou…
It's hard to live up to a name like theirs, and harder still to shine brightly for over fifteen years, but Stars have not only lost none of their shimmering allure - they've somehow turned an amorphous Canadian collective, on par and in cahoots with Broken Social Scene, into a consistently producti…
As was made our way to the mainstage for Built to Spill, slow drops of rain began to fall. The rain would never become hard or steady, instead lending the stage a golden glitter - the sun setting came in beams across the stage as Doug Martsch carefully but effortlessly lead the way through classic …
Seattle songwriter Kris Orlowski has the honesty, voice, and soul needed in a great pop folk songwriter. Since the mid-2000s, Orlowski has been on the Seattle circuit building a reputation for the highest quality songwriting with an equally talented band that seems to understand every turn and moo…
NASA thinks otherwise, but according to the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, the world will end today. Even if the Mayans couldn't rightly predict their own demise, who knows? We may have only one more day left on Earth. If that's the case, we're going out swinging! All day, KEXP DJs are playing s…
Back to school, back to work, back to record shopping. This post-Labor Day week, it's time to get off your duffs and get back out into the world. To get you motivated is a handful of fantastic new releases, many of which you'll find getting major spins on the KEXP airwaves. Among them, is the lates…
It's a short list of new releases this week, as all eyes and ears are on the SXSW festival, but there are a few key releases you'll want to pick up in stores today. First and foremost, the latest from David Bowie, whose first album in ten years is not only a surprise to all David Bowie listeners an…
Not only is he a talented musician, Ty Segall is quite an accomplished visual artist (see one of his paintings below). And later this month, he'll debut his first-ever solo exhibition in Chicago, titled Assterpiece Theater. A press release reads, "These aren’t multi-media pieces; they are painting…
It's a good day for album streams: not only can you hear the upcoming Kurt Vile release in its entirety on the KEXP Blog, you can also listen to the new one from Scottish trio CHVRCHES below, via NPR Music. The highly-anticipated sophomore release, Every Open Eye, hits the streets this Friday, Sep…
Not only has he taken his haircut, Jack White will now be re-releasing the first vinyl record ever cut by Elvis Presley himself. A press release from Third Man Records explains: "Utilizing the actual unrestored audio as it currently exists on the sole original copy of 'My Happiness' b/w. 'That's W…
Although the title of the band's new album, We All Come From The Same Place, isn't referring to a specific place, geographic location seemed to be on the minds of Allo Darlin' when they stopped by KEXP in October. The Australian/English quartet's songs shimmered with an honed precision, allowing El…
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…
When you are hurting, there's only one place that really makes it feel like everything's alright: home. When all is lost and your judgment's on the brink, going home gives you perspective. You remember where you've come from, and furthermore, just how far you've come between the last chapter and th…
Bumbershoot 2016's middle day was an interesting one. With a line management fiasco at the Key Arena the day before, police ran the line down the main drag, roping off necessary crosswalks and rerouting people trying to get their chicken burrito on at Chipotle into tree beds and bushes. And while s…
The sheer volume of great pop music coming out of the UK can be overwhelming, and that’s only what makes it Stateside. Imagine actually living there, surrounded on all sides by unending legacy and talent. That’s exactly the type of pressure cooker from which London based pop artist Oscar has emerge…
White Lung's frontwoman Mish Way is nothing less than a singular, commanding singer, but the ferocious spirit that fuels her performances is empowering, not intimidating. On the band's latest album, Deep Fantasy, Way and guitarist Kenneth William, drummer Anne-Marie Vassiliou, and bassist Hether Fo…
