Opening our final day of the KEXP broadcast live from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves is singer-songwriter John Grant. Though he is currently based in Iceland, he is one of only two American acts featured on this year's broadcast. Grant first gained notoriety as the lead singer of Denver-based shoeg…
If current trends continue, Thurston Moore will evoke the true spirit of rock and roll musicianship and artistry until the day of his death. 35 years into his career, he and his band of extravagantly talented musicians in Chelsea Light Moving are making hard and heavy rock with just as edge and dem…
When every member of a band comes from other (and sometimes more commercially successful) bands, it's usually a sign that the members are either doing it as a lark or following a true passion. In the case of Portland, OR's Black Prairie, the five bandmates seem truly to be loving what they do. Comp…
After all the speculation last month about a Postal Service reunion, it looks like the whole thing has been confirmed by an update earlier today to the band's website which revealed simply the image above with the band name and year. Ben Gibbard has been very clear that there is no likelihood of a…
"We're here for a rock n roll good time", Ryan Devlin chuckles as Hounds of the Wild Hunt finish another total jam. He points to the Tractor Tavern door. "If you aren't here for a rock n roll good time, you best just turn right around." Tonight, the Hounds open up for the infamous Nashville rock ba…
Topping this week's list of new releases is the third album by Chicago band Smith Westerns. While the band's 2011 release, Dye It Blonde, drew tons of comparisons (and a tiny bit of flak) for its fuzzy glam nods to Nuggets-era gems, their new release finds the band aiming for what our Music Directo…
The music of Explosions in the Sky has always lived up to the expectations set by the band’s evocative name, and on their seventh studio album, The Wilderness, the Austin, Texas outfit continues to create singular, cathartic, and often breathtaking instrumental compositions. Joining host Troy Nelso…
Heads Up on the dance floor! LA band Warpaint sound the drums on their rhythmically driven third LP by infusing their typically broody post-punk with more hypnotic dub and funk grooves. The battle-ready four-piece charged the KEXP live room to perform their first single, "New Song", and three other…
Only in its second year, the 2017 Seagaze Festival continues to lift their heads to spotlight some of the Northwest's finest shoegaze, post punk, and psychrock bands this Thursday, April 20th through Sunday, April 23rd at the LoFi Performance Gallery.
It may be the shortest month, but February has had no shortage of great new releases. Highlights this week include the latest from Dirty Projectors. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "the eighth album from the now LA-based solo project of band leader David Longstreth is a powerful set of avant e…
Formed after the disastrous 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Port-au-Prince band Lakou Misik combines the diverse talents of elder and younger musicians and of modern and traditional styles into a unified message of hope, strength, and pride for listeners at home and beyond. The 9-member multigenerational…
It's hard to imagine, in the social media age, a band who've managed to maintain complete anonymity. But, since 1969, that's exactly what The Residents have achieved. This influential, avant garde group has released over 60 albums, gone on world tours, and released numerous music videos, all withou…
It's important to note that The Replacements reunion could've been a disaster, and not the kind of shambolic splendor that the Minnesota legends used to thrive off of. When they were perpetually drunk underdogs tossing out half-assed covers and barely recognizable versions of their own material, th…
Australian shoegaze outfit Flyying Colours' latest offering "Running Late" is a bright combination of hazy instrumentals and stunning vocal harmonies from Gemma O'Connor and Brodie Brümmer. The band's brilliantly titled upcoming LP, ROYGBIV drops on May 12 via Shelflife Records. [Stereogum]
President Bongo, The cheeky alias of Reykjavik-based DJ/producer Stephan Stephensen, is one of the founding members of veteran electronic group GusGus. With nine studio albums to date, GusGus' iconic sound has shifted from the influential 4AD label and now finds a home on revered German label Kompa…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Midday …
As we mentioned in today's Music News round-up, Prince has returned with not one, but two new albums this week: a solo album titled Art Official Age, and one with his band 3rdEyeGirl called PlectrumElectrum.
