LA-natives Allah-Las are about as LA sounding as a car ride through the desert - their sound wasn't made for riding the waves, but for steaming on the beach. Beautiful guitar notes ripple out of a haze of vocal harmonies reminiscent of The Beach Boys. It's hot music for a hot day - "We're feeling k…
David Bazan has a knack for writing dark pop songs. Control, an album he released ten years ago with his former band, Pedro the Lion, is filled with lies, adultery, murder, and some melodies that you'll want to hear over and over again, even while the lyrics give you chills. Bazan and his band perf…
Portland's Moon Duo made maybe one of their most surprising moves yet: showing up and playing a set as a trio. Alright, that's not totally true. They did play with a third member on the KEXP Stage at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, but the band is constantly taking surprising new avenues…
Punk trio Dude York has made a name for themselves in Seattle for being a guarantee for at least a half hour of overflowing joy. As "America's Band," they cannot tell a lie and totally followed through on the promise on Day One of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Even when they had techni…
KEXP DJs have had nothing but soaring praise for the latest from British band Elbow, titled The Take Off and Landing of Everything. Music Director Don Yates notes their sixth album "continues in the vein of 2011’s Build A Rocket Boys! with a subdued, downbeat set of atmospheric prog-pop featuring m…
Everyone knows the Seattle music scene is thriving. With amazing music festivals like Timber, Sasquatch, Bumbershoot and Block Party, as well as hundreds of venues and places to track records, there is no shortage of music making in the Emerald City. What you might not have known – until now – are …
When you're a band as big as Pearl Jam, do you really need to do interviews? Nah, probably not. What if you've got a new album titled Lightning Bolt, due out October 14th on their own label Monkeywrench? Well, okay, fine then.
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
Week by week, we get closer to MoPOP’s Sound Off! finals on Saturday, March 11th, which will be broadcast LIVE on KEXP's Audioasis! Now in its 16th year, this all-ages "battle of the bands" has introduced us to acts like The Lonely Forest, Naked Giants, Manatee Commune, and more.
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Mid…
Quick, imagine there's a band that formed in Berlin in the mid-'80s and named themselves after an instrumental song by Tom Waits. What do you think they sound like? Guess again. Rainbirds' hooky New Wave sound, at least on their 1987 debut album, was decidedly more conventional than their name's or…
We are heartbroken to report on the passing of Kevin Garcia, founding member and bassist for Grandaddy. Garcia suffered a massive stroke on Monday, leaving him with a brain injury described by doctors as "catastrophic." Sadly, he died from complications of his stroke on Tuesday afternoon. He was on…
On Saturday, July 16, our friends at KEX Hostel in Reykjavik are throwing the 5th annual KEXPort, a one-day festival of great Icelandic music in collaboration with KEXP. From noon until midnight, 12 bands will perform in 12 hours, proving once again that Iceland is one of the most creative and musi…
While Cullen Omori pursues a solo career with Sub Pop Records, two of his former bandmates in Smith Westerns have formed the group Whitney. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the Chicago band's debut "an excellent set of '70s-influenced folk-pop featuring a consistently strong set of beautifully a…
You'll want to "march" yourself into the record store for this month's first batch of new releases. Highlights include the latest from Wussy. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "the seventh album from this Cincinnati band led by former Ass Ponys frontman Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker is another f…
Over the years, KEXP has been watching local trio Posse evolve, from their 2012 performance at our Concerts at the Mural series to their 2014 Audioasis session in support of their self-released album Soft Opening. Today, we present the latest chapter in the young Seattle band's story as we premiere…
Seattle's own indie rockers The Cave Singers have shared "That's Why," the lead single from their upcoming album, Banshee. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, which landed the band $20,000 in one month, they will self-release the album on February 19. [Stereogum]
Next on KEXP live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was the first non-Icelandic band of this year's broadcast. Operators is the new synth-pop project from Canadian musician Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade/Divine Fits/Handsome Furs). A ray of sun after the bright but melancholy cloud of D…
This weekend, "R" stands for "rock," "roll," and Rainier Beer! Join KEXP this Saturday, October 24th for "R Day," a fundraiser for KEXP's New Home. We'll be celebrating in the Old Rainier Brewery with special musical guests, Beat Connection and The Helio Sequence. KEXP DJ Sharlese will be spinning …
KEXP is proud to sponsor the second annual Bartfest, this weekend, Friday, October 9th through Saturday, October 10th, in Spokane, Washington. Spearheaded by all-ages venue The Bartlett, partnering with their neighbors at Nyne Bar, the eastern Washington city will host 18 bands across the venues.
