Friday on My Mind: Best of the Morning Show 2013

It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News.

As the year draws to the close, it’s a time for reflection on a lot, but for us music geeks, it’s a time to look at the year in music in particular. We recently heard how all of the KEXP listeners ranked releases from 2013 and now this week, which is what we focused on last week. This week, we’re looking at more of the releases from 2013, but in particular, releases that received a lot of love during the Morning Show throughout the year. Foals - My Number

Since their formation in 2005, Foals have become a favorite of KEXP listeners. Their 2013 full length, Holy Fire was a favorite of many within the KEXP community. The album, which is the band’s third full length, was produced by Flood and Alan Moulder who have worked a large number of legendary artists including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins and the recording sessions took place at Flood and Moulder’s Assault & Battery studios in Willesden, North West London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRR_pvZcu-o

Telekinesis - Empathetic People

In 2013, 26-year old Michael Benjamin Lerner, a.k.a. Telekinesis, released his third album, Dormarion. The album clocks in at 35 minutes, making it the longest Telekinesis record by approximately 150 seconds. Lerner wrote the 12 songs that make up Dormarion during the early months of 2012 while at his West Seattle home and as well at his family’s house in the San Juan Islands. He originally intended to record the album on his own, but ended up taking a summer road trip to Austin where he spent two weeks recording with Spoon drummer Jim Eno in his Public Hi-Fi studio. Make sure to catch Telekinesis live on Thursday January 9th at Neumos as a part of the 10th anniversary celebrations taking place in honor of the Seattle music venue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXU67pdS6C4

BellaMaine - Three Years (Live on KEXP)

One of the other top albums of the Morning Show this year is yet another local act, BellaMaine. Led by married couple, Nick and Julianne Thompson, and hailing from Anacortes, Washington, BellaMaine released a strong EP during 2013. An Anxious Mind was produced by John Goodmanson who has also worked with Nada Surf, Blonde Redhead, and Death Cab for Cutie to name a few. Here is their KEXP in studio performance of “Three Years” from their session during the Morning Show on January 18th of this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ddxdAi6NEQ

Honorable Mentions:

Palma Violets - Best of Friends

Palma Violets debut album, 180, was released via the legendary label Rough Trade this past March. “Best Of Friends” was released as a single last Fall prior to the album’s official release. Palma Violets were so young and new of a band that they had absolutely no experience working in a recording studio, but their lack of recording experience can be considered an asset since part of the appeal of their debut album its raw and energetic intensity. Here is the official video for "Best of Friends", the first single off of the album...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poFXWUTEs1k

Wavves - Demon to Lean On

L.A. band Wavves' fourth album, Afraid Of Heights, released this year on the Mom + Pop and Warner Bros. labels, was the result of more than a year of writing and recording. Afraid Of Heights was created without label involvement. Wavves, which is now a duo consisting of guitarist Nathan Williams and bassist Stephen Pope, worked with producer John Hill who has also worked with M.I.A., Santigold, Nas and the Wu-Tang Clan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG8HCFQa3OQ