It's funny that while we're getting some of our brightest days right now here in Seattle, some of this week's most exciting new releases are some of the year's darkest. Buzzy new British band Savages tops this week's list with one of the best albums so far of the year. Our Music Director, Don Yates…
It's Friday night at the Showbox and there's a singer on stage waltzing through "My Favorite Things" from The Sound Of Music and at the end of her final stanza, the band behind her crash in and a Danny Brown verse recited by Spank Rock (perhaps one of the only rappers who could conceivably match Br…
We're days away from an exclusive, intimate solo performance with Bob Mould this Saturday, April 16th at KEXP's New Home Grand Opening! Should we all stop and sing the lyrics of the track "Hold On" to him, like the people in this video directed by Alicia J. Rose do? Watch the clip below. "Hold On"…
This past week, L.A. rapper Kendrick Lamar unleashed his latest, untitled unmastered, seemingly out of nowhere. The album consists of eight previously unreleased outtakes from his To Pimp A Butterfly recording sessions, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes "holds together remarkably well, comb…
Swedish singer-songwriter Alice Boman's subtle vocals and delicate instrumentals could get a response from even the chilliest of hearts. The minimalist musician, who released her second EP, EP II, this year, creates such an uncluttered sound that it disguises the fact that she is accompanied by thr…
One of the most exciting new releases of the week comes from Oakland artist Merrill Garbus, better known as tUnE-yArDs. KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes her third album as "an inventive set of visceral, rhythm-driven avant-pop with consistently strong, brightly melodic songs featuring a dens…
New York indie outfit Cymbals Eat Guitars have premiered a new video for their third single "Have a Heart," off of last year's album Pretty Years. The overtly political video, directed by Geoffray Barbier, is framed like a fake TV newsreel, featuring footage of protestors in front of Trump Tower, a…
Grammy Award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar has shared the fourth installment in the “The Heart” series, which you can stream below. ("The Heart Part 1" appeared on 2010s K. Dot Drops project, "The Heart Part 2" is on Lamar's Overly Dedicated mixtape, and "The Heart Part 3" was released as a stand-…
Not New York City. Not Los Angeles. Lush’s first U.S. show in 20 years was right here in Seattle. The honor was not lost on the hundreds of fans who lined up early outside the venue to get closer to the stage, and who swarmed the merchandise table immediately upon entering The Showbox, like ravenou…
This week's highlights include the latest from Hudson Mohawke. The Scottish producer, a.k.a. Ross Birchard, shares his sophomore full-length, and KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the release "finds him bringing a bit more restraint to his maximalist blend of various electronic styles with R&…
Seattle's Wishbeard is one of those great bands that keeps the high hat and snare drum going. This is part of what makes them eminently danceable. With etherial guitars and vocal shouts like wolves howling into the night, the drum keeps a tight, pushing rhythm highlighted by the quickly hit snares …
Immediately upon hearing Hurray for the Riff Raff, a number of important songstresses whoosh to mind: Dolly Parton, Fiona Apple, First Aid Kit, Jolie Holland and many others. What distinguishes Hurray for the Riff Raff's Alynda Lee Segarra from all these others? Perhaps it’s simply the specific loo…
If you happen to break up with someone don’t go on a drinking binge and record emotional songs with the hopes of playing them for your ex. Right? Well, usually. This equation actually worked for Stuart McLamb, however, frontman for the North Carolina-based group The Love Language. McLamb originally…
The very first band we had in during our residency at Breakglass Studios for POP Montreal was Montreal-via-Beirut duo Wake Island. Comprised of Philippe Manasseh and Nadim Maghzal, the two grew up in war-torn Beirut before coming to Montreal where they ended up meeting in college and bonding over t…
From their beginnings as Capitol Hill basement party staples to their current status as one of Seattle's most popular local bands, Tacocat have continually achieved their original goal of simply having fun, not least when they're doing it with their trademark sugar-sweet hooks and whip-smart lyr…
I hate to break it to you, but you're gonna be heading toward Record Store Day this Saturday at a deficit. Why? Because there are too many excellent new releases coming out today that you'll want to pick up right now. First and foremost: the latest from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, whose fourth album our Music…
The title says it all: Animal Collective have released a new single titled "Kinda Bonkers." Listen below, via a lyric video by animator/director Jack Kubizne. The track will be included on their upcoming EP, The Painters, a companion to last year's full-length Painting With. It'll feature three ne…
January ends on a bang as many long-awaited albums hit stores this past Friday. Cleveland's Cloud Nothings return with their fourth LP, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "their most polished and measured set to date of punkish power-pop. Produced by John Goodmanson, the album combines a dy…
“They’re a festival band”, a friend said. “That’s so true, they know exactly how to get a crowd going in less than a minute and keep ‘em going for nearly an hour; like one big party!” I said back. Though, what I really love about Run the Jewels is the ease with which one passes off the mic to the o…
Earlier this year, we got a sneak peek at the new alt-J album as the UK trio stopped by KEXP for an in-studio session. Now, the entire LP is out -- a release KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls, "their most adventurous, ranging from catchy prog-pop and solemn atmospheric folk ballads to decidedly o…
