10:15 on a Thursday morning, and today happens to be the birthday of Robert Smith, godfather of goth (even though he hates that term) and legendary frontman of The Cure. It's hard to believe, but The Cure will be here Memorial Day weekend, headlining the 2016 Sasquatch! Music Festival. Throughout h…
Portland synth pop legends STRFKR are no strangers to KEXP, but they came through the studio once again after returning stateside from a quick jaunt over to Japan and played a quick set that included cuts spanning their whole career. Their sound has often been difficult to define: at times straight…
Dazzling D.C. duo GEMS stopped by KEXP’s new home, filling our cavernous live room with their spacious and glimmering dream pop. Singer/keyboardist Lindsay Pitts and singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Clifford John Usher released their debut LP, Kill the One You Love, after writing together for …
Rounding out the first night of of KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel is Icelandic punk band Fufanu. The band began life as techno outfit Captain Fufanu, but after the theft of the computer containing their record, they cut “Captain” from their name and jumped into a completely …
There are infinite ways in which musicians reveal their talent, and fans need only listen to the first track of Ad Infinitum, the fourth album by Seattle's own Telekinesis, to realize what we now have on our airwaves is a truly stand-out record. Combine several years of early, steady, success with …
Kristian Matsson, better known as The Tallest Man on Earth, doesn’t need much for an introduction. The Swedish born singer-songwriter rocks a style so unique and unmatchable that most who’ve heard him once could recognize his sound anywhere. Blogs often attribute that unmistakable quality to his vo…
As DJ Cheryl Waters points out, Surfer Blood may not be the same "pen of puppies" they were in 2009, but on their newest release, 1000 Palms, they go back to their DIY roots. No longer with a major label looking over their shoulder and now with years of touring experience under their belt, the Flor…
It's been four long years, but folk-rock band Beirut will return with their fourth album, titled No No No, on September 11th via 4AD. Founding member and frontman Zach Condon reveals in a press release that the past years of touring and a messy divorce resulted in his hospitalization in Australia …
Everyone's recovering from the long Memorial Day weekend, including the music industry, but there are still some excellent new releases awake today. One of the highlights is the third full-length from Portland band Unknown Mortal Orchestra. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "an adventurous, im…
I love this record. Barna Howard is my new favorite artist. His previous, acoustic self-titled debut, which I played some last year, only hinted at this Missouri native, now Portland based artist's easy songwriting skills. His latest, Quite A Feelin', is already in the running for my album of the y…
San Francisco’s Moon Duo once again light up the KEXP live room as they launch into their special psychedelic blend of astronomically awesome audio that is bound to elevate your mind into an altered consciousness. Casting some light on their newly released LP, Shadow of the Sun, the duo have built …
Not surprisingly, a country known for its epic landscapes like Iceland also produces similarly cinematic music, like that of Kiasmos. The breathtaking sound of this new duo, featuring composer Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen (also of Bloodgroup), was the perfect intro for the first day of KEXP's…
The otherworldliness of Iceland's landscape is never lost on those who live or travel there. Not just a land of fire and ice, it is also a land of light and dark, starkness and majesty, community and isolation. The only thing that isn't a wonder about Iceland is how artists of all kinds echo its un…
Our second live Iceland Airwaves show of the day at Kex Hostel was friend of the station and amiable funny man Júníus Meyvant. This lanky ginger haired songster is a bit of an enigma, with no album and scant online presence. Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson, his given name, began performing music a bit la…
It's not like Conor Oberst needs much help sounding great. The Omaha, NE, native has been writing and performing with various projects, most notably with Bright Eyes, since his early teens, and he is a co-founder of not one but two independent labels: Saddle Creek and Team Love. In other words, we …
It started as part-joke, part-challenge. The Austin-based band Brownout were exploring different themes during an extended club residency, and one night they chose to cover Black Sabbath, as many of their members of the grew up listening to the godfathers of darkness. Almost immediately, the 8-piec…
In an industry where auto-tune is often synonymous with lack of talent, the vocals of Channy Leaneagh, frontwoman of Minneapolis electro-pop group Poliça, are boldly filtered through reverb and auto-tune on each of their albums. But the use of these tools is an overt stylistic choice for Leaneagh a…
It's been three long years, but Bon Iver is back with a single for the new Zach Braff film, Wish I Was Here. (The soundtrack also boasts a new song from The Shins, as reported on last month.) You can stream the haunting track "Heavenly Father" via NPR Music. The soundtrack will be out digitally an…
The boozy blues of obsession and regret never sounded so good... at least not in the last 16 years. It's been that long since The Afghan Whigs released an album and its members turned their attention elsewhere. Yet, while other 90's bands are now cashing in on their notoriety with 20- and 25-year a…
"It happens to be the most played album on the Afternoon Show this year", Kevin Cole gushed about Sun Structures, the shimmering debut by Temples. The young UK group has been touted by Brit pop luminaries no less than Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher, and though they may not yet be Top of the Pops, T…
