August is off to a great start with these excellent new releases, including the sophomore smash from Seattle's own La Luz. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it, "another impressive blend of noirish surf-rock and ‘60s girl-group pop. Produced by Ty Segall, the album’s sound is a bit more raw than …
Weekend the band are much like their music: intense, a little intimidating, but you can't help but be drawn in. The dark, moody songs from their sophomore album, Jinx, were perfect in the gothic interiors of New York's Judson Memorial Church. KEXP managed to grab the guys for a quick chat after th…
A public service podcast featuring Public Service Broadcasting, the highs of Hobosexual and the lows of Lo Tom and so much more. It's Morgan playing the role of Cheryl Waters on this episode of the Music that Matters Podcast. ROLLING! 1. Cigarettes After Sex - K. 2. Drab Majesty - Cold Souls 3. Ch…
When Finn Andrews first entered the KEXP studios in 2004, he was barely 20 years of age, but his evocative songwriting was already fully-formed. Returning in 2017, The Veils leader is more refined and potent than ever on the Auckland-via-London group's fifth album Total Depravity. Embracing "…
On their third LP, Sunlit Youth, Local Natives created their darkest and densest record to date, but in this pared-down performance in the KEXP Gathering Space, they're anything but that. Agile and direct, the quintet's performance shows that the festival anthems that built their reputation outsid…
Next on the KEXP broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Icelandic art-rock band Agent Fresco. Formed in 2008, mere weeks before playing in the Icelandic battle of the bands (Músíktilraunir), at which they won best guitar, best drumming, and best bass playing. The four-piece band inc…
Nika Roza Danilova, a.k.a. Zola Jesus, is a Wisconsin native and recent Pacific Northwest transplant that has released stunning operatic albums of dark, cinematic electro-pop on the Sacred Bones and Mute record labels over the past five years. She stopped by KEXP to piece together a rare DJ set for…
DJ Kevin Cole provides a motivating mix to get you started now on achieving greatness. Featuring new music from Local Natives, Trentemøller, The Wedding Present, Anomie Bell, Manatee Commune and more. 1. Gringo Star – Get Closer2. Death By Unga Bunga – Fight!3. LVL UP – Hidden Driver4. The Weddin…
The title says it all. Join Morning Show host John Richards for an excellent new mix. 1. MICHAELBRAILEY - I Lose Myself 2. Kele - Doubt 3. Is Tropical - Crawl 4. Au.Ra - Pyramid 5. FIANCÉ - Era 6. Ephrata - Where Have You Gone? 7. The Young Evils - Renegades 8. September Girls - Melatonin 9. So …
Even though there was no explicit goal in mind when Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris started work on the songs that would eventually make up the Minneapolis group's ninth album, Paging Mr. Proust, he ended up with a set of songs that rank among the band's most gorgeous tracks. In their la…
Canadian synth-pop band TRUST have been doing some phenomenal work in the studio in the past year. When they dropped their debut LP, TRST, back in 2012, the dark, pulsing melodies and cryptic vocals drew quick comparisons to their brooding, gothic counterparts on the scene like Crystal Castles. The…
Electronic artist Will Wiesenfeld, better known by his stage name Baths, announced his new EP titled Ocean Death, which will be released on May 6, and has shared the album's title track. Don't let the first few seconds of soothing ocean sounds fool you, it quickly becomes dark and brooding. It's a…
Enjoy a "short" film about The "Tallest" Man on Earth: Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson presents an eight-minute behind-the-scenes clip on the making of his latest album Dark Bird Is Home. Directors Dan Huiting and Lauren Josephine show Matsson at home and in the studio, and the musician…
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 comes from Portland danc…
Rhythm and bass: perhaps the only two places of common space in the Venn diagram between electronic pop producer TOKiMONSTA and dark synth pop wunderkind Baths – well, those and Los Angeles, I suppose. Both Jennifer Lee and Will Weisenfeld bend and break the pop skeleton and reshape it into somethi…
It's true: KEXP is playing the new Beyoncé. Don't be too surprised, though -- KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the release, "a powerful set of expansive R&B blended with hip hop, electro-pop, reggae, blues-rock, gospel, New Orleans brass band music and more, combining a dark, decidedly non-g…
After a discography of 11 full-length albums, Seattle's own Car Seat Headrest makes their label debut on Matador Records. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "The album reworks 11 songs from his extensive Bandcamp catalog with help from a new backing band (this also marks the first time he’s recor…
Congrats to Seattle band La Luz, whose first music video from their debut, It's Alive, is currently being premiered on Entertainment Weekly's website. The Carlos Lopez-directed video for "Big Big Blood" embraces the dark side of the group's 60's surf sound with its aptly retro horror show imagery. …
Autumn calls for fuzzy sweaters and fuzzy music. Listen to Midday Veil, Blank Realm and more with fuzzy songs, feedback drenched guitars and lo-fi indie rock on this latest mix that emotes the dark days of the season. 1. Pony Boy - When Tomorrow Never Comes 2. Midday Veil - Babel 3. Ms. John Sod…
