Usually, you'd want to hustle the riff raff out, but when it comes to the New Orleans band Hurray for the Riff Raff, you want them to stick around. That's why we featured them three times this year: in our studio, at our SXSW showcase at Mellow Johnny's, and during our broadcast over Labor Day week…
Though much of the latest Cymbals Eat Guitars album is about loss – of a childhood friend, of innocence, of easier days – frontman Joseph D'Agostino has turned LOSE into an emotional gain, for himself and his listeners. Often tumultuous, sometimes anthemic, always melodic, the new songs are the ban…
It's one of those touchstones of rock that if you don't have in your collection, you're likely to add immediately on first hearing. Big Star's Third never reached the commercial success it deserved upon its release, but over the years it grew into a cult favorite frequently name-checked (and cribbe…
While his previous release, Temple Beautiful, looked backwards, particularly at the storied past of San Francisco, Chuck Prophet's latest, Night Surfer (out today!), looks brazenly forward. But even if the future isn't always bright on this, his 13th album, the songs are characteristically punchy, …
You won't find a more kicked-back band than Nada Surf. Their relaxed demeanor, easy banter and effortless performances make you think they're the kind of guys you just want to hang out with. During their recent acoustic session, live on KEXP from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge, it was like the entire…
Call it rockabilly, psychobilly, punkabilly... whatever kind of "billy" you want to call it... The Reverend Horton Heat practically sets fire to the stage whenever he performs. After nearly 30 years and 11 albums, the Heat hasn't lost the spark, and still packs the house with fans of all ages and t…
It's the classic peanut butter meets chocolate kind of story. A chance meeting, or really, a shared bill, brought Amelia Meath (of the harmonizing folk trio Mountain Man) and Nick Sanborn (of psychsters Megafaun and his own electronic project, Made of Oak) together. A conversation led to the two sh…
We've recorded a lot of unique performances during Pickathon over the past few years, but there's nothing quite like lush orchestration and natural harmonies to complement the gorgeous wooded oasis that is the Bunny Glade. Two of the bigger ensembles this year were also two of the most enjoyable, i…
Seattle. 1998. The Murder City Devils, a band of Seattle's top garage punks, is playing shows with Pacific Northwestern 90s greats Pearl Jam, Built to Spill, and The Black Halos. Flash forward to 2014, and the band has gone through three albums, a deficit of one member, and most importantly, one br…
In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.
