photo by Alex Crick In case you were otherwise occupied on Record Store Day, the powers of YouTube are here to save the day. Luckily, the new single from LA indie rockers Best Coast was uploaded for the world's unlimited listening pleasure. The beachy "Fear Of My Identity" showcases Bethany Cosentino's lovely voice and has an instantly addictive chorus. Take a listen to the coming of age number below. [ CoS ] [...]
We hope you had a successful and fruitful Record Store Day this past Saturday and that you've added many cherished discs to your vinyl collection. This growing movement has been a needed boon for ailing record stores as much as it's been a treasure trove for music fans worldwide. We'd love to hear what your highlights of the day were, but we're also eager to remind you that Record Store Day isn't meant to be merely one three-hundred-sixty-fifth of the year. Record Store Day should be any day or every day, and each Tuesday of the week, there are more [...]
photo by Dave Lichterman 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 Morning Show with John Richards, is “Two Times’” by AM & Shawn Lee , from the 2013 album La Musique Numerique on Park the Van . AM & Shawn Lee - Two Times ( MP3 ) [...]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds also participated in Record Store day this weekend - they've released a previously unheard song, "Animal X," from the studio session for Push The Sky Away . Somethings screeching in the background, while Nick Cave's signature almost spoken vocals grate over the top. [ Pitchfork ] Earlier today the prolific folk guitarist and singer Richie Havens passed away. Havens was known for opening Woodstock '69, as well as for the massive amount of music he created during his [...]
Proposed Earth Day Flag Preceding the mass media's adoption of the "green" movement by almost forty years, Earth Day celebrates and demonstrates support for environmental protection. Now in its 43rd year, the initially proposed date for the internationally-observed holiday was March 21 - the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere - but the established date was chosen when Senator Gaylord Nelson - who later won the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work - held an environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. Although there's no officially designated Earth Day Anthem, we've compiled [...]
James Blake returns to Seattle / photo by Dave Lichterman This week we have a great list of shows to tell you about. Starting the week with 3 great shows at Neptune Theatre with Sparks on Monday night, James Blake on Tuesday night, and Purity Ring o n Wednesday night. Marnie Stern, SISU, and Heavy Petting are also at Barboza. On Thursday, The Thermals, Wimps, and La Luz are at Neumos, Kithkin, Constant Lovers, Pleasure Boaters, and Edie Sedgwick are at Chop Suey, and Rodriguez is [...]
photo by Liz Devine As you read this, Pickathon is gearing up for the first weekend of August (2nd-4th). Staff and volunteers are already out in the field clearing brush, blazing trails and building stages for the 15th Anniversary of the festival on Pendarvis Farm outside of Portland. This year's lineup aims to be its most diverse yet, including both the rootsy and the rockers, and featuring Feist , Andrew Bird , Divine Fits , The Devil Makes Three , and, just announced, Ty Segall . Among the other [...]
photo by Dave Lichterman 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 Morning Show with John Richards, is "Treadin'" by Grynch & Budo , a 2013 single on Fin Records . Grynch & Budo - Treadin' ( MP3 ) As [...]
Oklahoma psychedelic freaks The Flaming Lips have never been ones to abide by the norm. But now, we really know there is zero method to their madness. This week, they released patiently awaited, heavily marketed new LP The Terror , along with a previously unmentioned split EP with Oklahoma band Horse Thief featuring a single from each, along with that single covered by the other band. But really, this is just par for the course for the Flaming Lips, the band that put out countless EPs in 2011 on colored vinyl and inside gummy candy, [...]
photo by Greg Stonebraker ( view set ) How is walking through the woods on a foggy, chilly late spring day similar to strolling past the closed fun houses and ferris wheels on a boardwalk at the end of summer? You could just as easily listen to the melancholic surf bee-bop of Seattle's La Luz in both of the situations. What started at as a side project for Shana and Marianne after touring for The Curious Mystery has now rapidly become one of the smoothest sounding, Ronnettes-influenced bands around. They released their debut cassette, [...]
Happy Weed Day, everyone! Though the origins of "4203 aren't quite the stuff of legend (it was not actually police code for marijuana use in progress), it certainly has become the rallying cry of pot smokers and is celebrated daily without anyone's help. But the day 4/20 is likely to raise more blunts, and hopefully more awareness, now given Washington State's more relaxed laws on marijuana possession, use and even purchasing. Of course, not everyone will spend today burning into a peaceful bliss, but you can all enjoy this special "I Got High" video playlist in honor of [...]
all photos by Brittany Brassell London post-punk band Savages made an explosive entrance onto the American scene last year at CMJ (and then this year at SXSW) and have quickly become one of the most anticipated new acts of year. And after witnessing them live for the first time on Seattle soil, all this writer can say is this: not one word of the hype as been exaggerated. Savages is the band to witness this year. Savages' debut LP, Silence Yourself , doesn't come out until May 7, but through a [...]
photos by Morgen Schuler Although they've been local stars for some time now, Ravenna Woods just stepped it up a notch. The trio of singer/guitarist Chris Cunningham, drummer Matt Badger, percussionist Brantley Duke, are now joined by keyboardist Sam Miller for their forthcoming release, adding another layer to their already deep and insistent folk sound. Proving that all music played with acoustic instruments doesn't have to be lethargic, the now-quartet are sharper than ever. With two percussionists and two leading melodic instruments in the fold, Cunningham's echoing vocals recall the fury of modern folk [...]
With their shifting, phased-out sound, local urban poets and Cloud Nice members Kingdom Crumbs have become of the 2062s leading hip hop groups. (In a recent Stranger piece, our own Larry Mizell, Jr. called the group "hands-down full-stop one of the very very best groups our town has.") The Seattle quartet meld Dungeon Family's eclectic, synthesized beats and the sharp groove of '90s West Coast G-Funk into a spacious, heady storm over which the four unique emcees - Tay Sean, Mikey Nice, Jerm D, and Jarv Dee - drop lines that are distinctly Seattle: intriguing and hazy verses [...]
Tickets are now on sale for the annual Noise For the Needy music festival taking place in Ballard on June 20th - 23rd . Get your tickets on the festival's website, noisefortheneedy.org , and get ready to see great Seattle bands performing in favorite Ballard venues like the Tractor Tavern, the Sunset, and Conor Byrne. This year NFTN will also be debuting the new Ballard Party Lot -- a brand-new 500-person outdoor venue located behind Hattie's, which will offer food and a full bar. This year's bill includes Said The Whale, Battleme, [...]
If you haven't already heard of the riff heavy, eternally energetic, best stage banter you might ever hear (seriously) Dude York , then we're not sure where you've been. Not only have they been on our own Audioasis recently , but they have been dropping bomb after bomb of incredible EP's since their first, Gangs of Dude York , back in 2011. They're almost unclassifiable - their brand of rock lies somewhere between the somewhat sarcastically tag "Teenpop" from their Bandcamp, pure power pop but still sincere punk, and that kind of freak [...]
Tomorrow, Saturday, April 20th, is Record Store Day . Across the nation, droves of rabid music fans will swarm the remaining brick and mortar music retailers, drawn by the lure of in-store performances, special sales and, most importantly, limited-edition collectibles too numerous to count. My head swims as I survey the list of myriad goodies minted exclusively for RSD 2013 . What's on my wish list? One of everything. But that's just not practical. Tough decisions have to be made. Seriously, you'd think I was auditioning for a remake of Sophie's [...]
Named after a race of diminutive creatures in Magic: The Gathering , Kithkin 's energetic, uplifting indie rock is the type of music that gets the cops called over to house shows (in the best way possible). Although the band's aesthetic is clearly a fantastical one - the self-described "Cascadian youth tribe"'s Facebook page lists their members as Spirit Treader, Tin Woodsman, Bigfoot Wallace, and Shredder - but aside from the vivid lyrical images that "Tin Woodsman" paints, the Seattle quartet's Cascadian youth tribe's music carries hallmarks of '80s D.I.Y. punk, raucous early 2000s indie rock, [...]
photo by Christopher Nelson Last night, Phoenix stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote their new album Bankrupt! (out April 23 via Glassnote). They began the set with their hit "Entertainment" and followed it up with three new songs, "Trying To Be Cool", "Drakkar Noir", and "Chloroform". Check them all out below. [ Stereogum ] With the release of their [...]
Afrobeat, trance, indie rock: these are just some of the words tossed around when talking about Pollens , among the more composed acts doing the rounds in Seattle currently. And while those words do describe the band, to a degree, they fail to include the constant smiles, the deep dips in vocals, the complex layering of rhythms and even the ideas that Pollens has been able to capture over only two short EPs. Their first, named just EP , came out in 2011, back when Pollens was just a duo. But that work captures perfectly their ascendance to [...]
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