Live on KEXP
Episodes
Loma
13 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The spaced-out, desert-breathing songs on Loma's self-titled debut showcase a band whose strength lies in capturing a shadowy mystique. Playing s...
Hot Snakes
11 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Not many artists - if any - besides Hot Snakes can say they've blown the power during a KEXP session and the ferocious energy that both powers th...
Hinds
06 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The sun-soaked punk of Hinds has only gotten sharper since their 2016 debut, and their garage-baked rock sounds more thrilling than ever in this sessi...
Khruangbin
04 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Con Todo El Mundo, Khruangbin's dazzling second album of psychedelic grooves, has emerged as one of 2018's sleeper hits and on their debut s...
Casper Skulls
29 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Bursting with raucous energy, the Toronto outfit led by Melanie St. Pierre and Neil Bednis bring the fiery tunes from their debut album Mercy Works to...
La Luz
27 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Before the recording of their latest LP, Floating Features, La Luz packed up from Seattle and moved to Los Angeles. That city's vivid warmth and ...
Dessa
22 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It might have been a five-year gap between solo records, but Dessa stayed plenty busy during that time, both in her various writing endeavors and her ...
Chelsea Wolfe
20 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Hiss Spun, the fifth album from Chelsea Wolfe, was written as a “personal exorcism” from the events of the prior few years in the California music...
Damien Jurado
15 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release of longtime Morning Show favorite Damien Jurado's thirteenth album, The Horizon Just Laughed, John Richards sat down with Jur...
The Go! Team
13 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Five albums into their career, Brighton's The Go! Team remain as vibrant and hard to pin down as ever. Ninja and co.'s kaleidoscopic fifth a...
Durand Jones and the Indications
08 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Durand Jones and The Indications' earliest beginnings showed a band with a ragged passion for playing soul music, and with a debut album under th...
The Moondoggies
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Seattle folk rock band's latest LP still brims with rootsy splendor, but The Moondoggies' latest LP, A Love Sleeps Deep, also has a frus...
Nada Surf
01 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Performing one of their most beloved albums in what might be the longest session in the KEXP Live Room to date, Nada Surf run through their 2002 opus ...
Soccer Mommy
30 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
There's a precision to the songwriting of Soccer Mommy's Sophie Allison - her songs are vivid, moving snapshots executed with silvery guitar...
Superorganism
25 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Superorganism's brilliantly colored songs sound like the pieces of a clockwork pop song executed by a Rube Goldberg machine - it's intricate, fas...
Buffalo Tom
23 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The members of the long-running Boston outfit Buffalo Tom may have aged, but their melodic scratch still channels a vintage passion. Bill Janovitz and...
Mint Field
18 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Mint Field's debut album, Pasar De Las Luces, found sisters Amor Amezcua and Estrella Sánchez spending two years crafting its beautiful, gauzy s...
Lee Ann Womack
16 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Starting a new chapter in her career, Lee Ann Womack's The Lonely, The Lonesome, & the Gone is a stunning slice of rich country that undersco...
Brandi Carlile
11 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brandi Carlile's seventh LP, By The Way, I Forgive You, is among her most intense recordings, but it also contains some of her most affecting son...
Antibalas
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years into their existence, Antibalas is still a vessel for beautiful grooves and vibrant sounds, and to quote the band, a sanctuary for listen...
Superchunk
04 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What A Time To Be Alive, the latest album from independent stalwarts Superchunk, is easily the band's most politically-charged work, so it's...
Unlikely Friends
02 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
"All the way from Seattle, Tacoma, and the Pacific Northwest,” is how DJ Troy Nelson cleverly introduces Unlikely Friends, the group of PNW mus...
Bully
27 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Losing, Bully's second full-length album, is more ragged and furious than its predecessor, but the heart of the band - Alicia Bognanno's ref...
Destroyer
25 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
While the sometimes New Pornographer is always steady for a clever pop tune or two on that group's records, Dan Bejar's primary project remains exci...
Kung Foo Grip
20 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sharp, booming, and a hell of a lot of fun, 2KFG, Kung Foo Grip's aptly titled second album, is an early 2018 standout for Seattle hip-hop. Joining St...
Dori Freeman
18 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Roots musicians Dori Freeman's voice floats with "a certain purity”, to quote Roadhouse host Greg Vandy, that cuts through the noise and g...
Kyle Craft
13 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of his second album, Full Circle Nightmare, Kyle Craft's swampy storytelling got sharper and it shows all over the Louisiana songwriter&apo...
The Spook School
11 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Spook School's music is certainly political - written from the crucial voice of a trans person's perspective - but its vital message has a razor-s...
Japanese Breakfast
06 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle Zauner's second album as Japanese Breakfast, 2017's Soft Sounds From Another Planet, may have a space-adjacent angle to many of its songs, bu...
Cock & Swan
04 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The origins of Johnny Goss and Ola Hungerford's latest LP as Cock & Swan, Dream Alone, lie in a live soundtrack the band created for the Nico...
Wolf Parade
30 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Wolf Parade's return from hiatus in 2016 found the band with renewed energy, plenty of which went into the recording of Cry Cry Cry, their vibran...
Kelli Shaefer
28 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Portland musician Kelli Schaefer channels a trembling thunder on her latest album, No Identity, bursting with power and control with the finesse t...
Jen Cloher
23 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jen Cloher's self-titled record isn't just her most dynamic, it's likely her most self-reflective as well. Wrapped in these spiraling, ...
Luna
21 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After reuniting in 2015 for a series of live dates, Dean Wareham and the other members of Luna gradually worked back into a recording mindset, resulti...
Dan Auerbach & The Easy Eye Sound Revue featuring Robert Finley
16 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Auerbach's prolific streak has run for two decades now, but after an eight-year break between solo albums, he gathered a number of top-notch ...
FKL
14 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The London-via-Seattle duo FKL's crisp electronic sounds channel kinetic energy with silvery tones, not unlike the grey-skied cities that Sage Re...
The Barr Brothers
09 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to get lost in The Barr Brothers' rich, often sweeping take on folk rock, wrapping Laurel Canyon shimmer with a sharp, fine-tuned sense...
Slowdive
07 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When they first announced their reunion in 2014, Slowdive's legacy as one of the definitive shoegaze bands had long been crystallized, and when t...
Stas Thee Boss
02 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Stas THEE Boss's solo debut, S'Women (pronounced “swimming”), finds the Seattle musician sharpening her smooth, R and B-streaked hip hop...
Iron & Wine
28 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Four years passed in between Sam Beam's previous album as Iron & Wine and his latest, 2017's Beast Epic, but stepping away from the proj...
Common Market
23 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years before this performance in the KEXP Gathering Space, the Seattle hip-hop group Common Market released Tobacco Road, a key album in the 2000s...
Haunted Horses
21 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The grimy, industrial Seattle group Haunted Horses initially broke up in 2016, but it wasn't long before they announced their revival as a “new...
Nick Hakim
16 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Washington D.C.-via-Brooklyn artist Nick Hakim's spectral R and B is entrancing, a sublime mix of psychedelic tones and luscious vocals that shift...
ГШ (Glintshake)
14 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
ГШ (Glintshake), the Russian group fronted by Ekaterina Shilonosova, exploded onto DJ Kevin Cole's radar in 2017 with their raucous and radical take...
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
09 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After a few years away to work on other projects, Ted Leo returned in 2017 with The Hanged Man, a personal, arresting record that ranks among his best...
Briana Marela
07 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Call It Love, is not just Briana Marela's most dreamy and dense record, it might also be her most sublime. The Seattle musician's songs drif...
Yasmine Hamdan
02 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Paris-based Lebanese musician Yasmine Hamdan ties echoing sounds and slinky rhythms to create a danceable, ethereal haze that leaves in a trance. ...
JFDR
31 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
While it's true that Jófríður Ákadóttir is one of the more prolific Icelandic musicians of recent memory - her projects have included Pascal...
Mikko Joensuu
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After leaving your rock band and abandoning your faith, you're bound to come back with some kind of statement or not come back at all. Mikko Joen...
Taylor McFerrin
24 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Taylor McFerrin's music walks the line between jazz, electronic, and soul with a beautiful, aqueous flow that invites minds and feet alike to his...
Alvvays
19 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Antisocialites, the second album from Toronto's Alvvays, takes all of the charms of their stellar 2014 debut and sharpens them - the songs are ca...
Broken Social Scene
17 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After a seven year break, the members of Broken Social Scene felt compelled to reunite, not just for new music, but to underscore the personal bond th...
Wolf Alice
12 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Between their first session at KEXP in March 2015 to their return trip three and a half years later, Wolf Alice toured the world two or three times ov...
Happy Orchestra
10 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
With Baba (Arabic for “father”), Happy Orchestra producer Tarik Abouzied created a vibrant, joyous record that doubles as a tribute to his late fa...
Trio Da Kali
05 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
“You must set an example - to be a good person, you must be a good person.” The English translation of Ladilikan, Trio Da Kali's 2017 LP, has...
Rainer Maria
03 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Caitlin De Marrais, Kaia Fischer, and William Kuehn originally stepped away from the influential emo outlet Rainer Maria in 2006, but fate led to thei...
Ride
29 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When the seminal shoe gaze group Ride reunited in 2015, a new record was just a matter of when, rather than if. Weather Diaries, the band's first...
Juana Molina
27 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
To name her newest record, Halo, Argentina's Juana Molina sorted through her lyrics word by word before deciding “halo” was the correct way t...
Bonobo
22 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Influenced by the year he spent on the road while writing the record, Simon Green's latest record, Migration, is Bonobo's most progressive a...
Benjamin Booker
20 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Booker's second album, Witness, finds the musician rallying his blues rock sound to call for respect and justice in troubling times whil...
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
15 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The North Carolina musician Sarah Shook had been buzzy for the past few years, but with Sidelong, her 2017 album, her profile appropriately raised wit...
DoNormaal
13 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In between playing seemingly countless shows and becoming one of Seattle's worst-kept-secrets, DoNormaal found time to craft Third Daughter, her ...
Conor Oberst
08 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
He's one of America's most consistent journeyman songwriters, but Conor Oberst's 2016/17 companion albums Ruminations and Salutations a...
Cigarettes After Sex
06 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Cigarettes After Sex is an evocative moniker, and it's brilliant that the El Paso, Texas group's sound is as vaporous, alluring, and nocturn...
Filthy Friends
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Considering the members' other projects, Filthy Friends' collective resume is completely stacked - having Corin Tucker, Peter Buck, and Scot...
Tomo Nakayama
29 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Pieces of Sky, Tomo Nakayama's latest record, is one of the Seattle veteran's most delicate and powerful works, reflecting on the nature of ...
Júníus Meyvant
24 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Named after the informal moniker of the musicians who helped him make the record, Floating Harmonies is one of Júnrus Meyvant's finest records, livin...
Great Grandpa
22 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard to think of a local band that's emerged as explosively this year on KEXP as Great Grandpa, but it's not hard to see why. The ...
Y La Bamba
17 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
“I'm just writing to write and to let that be heard.” Luz Elena Mendoza says she processes events and experiences pretty quickly, and it show...
Kevin Morby
15 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Morby has been a KEXP favorite for a few years now, but he's never sounded quite as vibrant and expansive as he does on his latest LP, City...
Jungle Fire
10 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
“In order to be big, we need a lot of players.” Jungle Fire guitarist bassist Joseph Reina lays it out pretty clear: to be able to create muscular...
The Districts
08 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Popular Manipulations, The Districts' followup to 2015's breakout A Flourish and a Spoil, is a massive leap forward for the mature-beyond-th...
Priests
03 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Nothing Feels Natural, Priests' stunning 2017 LP, pulls no punches with its shapeshifting punk-damaged songs about fighting against the oppressiv...
Prom Queen
01 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Doom Wop, the title of Prom Queen's latest album, is just as much of a title as it is a statement of aesthetic. Dressed to the nines and stocked ...
The Drums
27 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Underneath shimmering textures and spiky rhythms, The Drums have always kept their heart on their musical sleeves, with Jonathan Pierce effortlessly d...
Waxahatchee
25 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Considering her earliest DIY recordings and her days in P.S. Eliot, Katie Crutchfield is practically a veteran at this point, so it's no surprise...
Amadou & Mariam
20 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Although the musicians surrounding them aren't always the same, the couple of Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia's impeccable chemistry has ...
The War On Drugs
18 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's an understatement to say The War On Drugs' return to KEXP was highly anticipated, but it's the best that words can do for this sub...
Run The Jewels
13 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
“Joint isn't a curse, right?” El-P always asks the important questions, both on his records and in his sessions. This was only moments before...
Lizzo
11 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Bringing your backup dancers to a radio session is a surefire way to know someone isn't messing around, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Lizzo's vis...
Joan Shelley with Nathan Salsburg
06 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Kentucky songwriter Joan Shelley's latest album contains some of her richest songs, highlighting Shelley's rich voice and mellifluous guitar playi...
Beach Fossils
04 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
After a few years off, Beach Fossils returned earlier this year with Somersault, the band's finest set of songs to date and also the first to be ...
Javiera Mena
29 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years into her career, Javiera Mena's music continues to get more colorful and vibrant while remaining introspective. The Chilean musician&ap...
The Mountain Goats
22 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
He wasn't a goth - although he had goth sensibilities, by his own account - but John Darnielle and the Mountain Goats' new album Goths is a ...
Shabazz Palaces
22 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Dropping a pair of albums on one day is an ambitious move, but convention has never been for the inimitable Shabazz Palaces. Those records - Quazarz v...
Tuomo & Markus
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The warm, golden Finnish-style Americana of Tuomo & Markus flows with the aqueousness of jazz and bursts of a post-rock glow. Backed with a crack ...
Land Of Talk
15 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Seven years is a long time between albums, but Land of Talk's Liz Powell took that time to walk away from music and recharge, returning with some...
Eyelids
13 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Eyelids' jangling guitar rock channels elements of American lo-fi and the Dunedin sound, chiming through the indie rock tradition with a DIY sc...
Moji & The Midnight Sons
08 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
They'd previously ripped up Kex Hostel as part of the Iceland Airwaves broadcast, so it should be no surprise that the Reykjavik trio Moji & ...
Tei Shi
06 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Crawlspace, the debut album from Tei Shi, is named for the space where the Buenos Aires-born singer would go as a child to confront her fear of the da...
Hurray for the Riff Raff
01 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When Alynda Lee Segarra first thought of making a record with a concept storyline, she heard a voice in her head telling her she was too lazy to do it...
Jamila Woods
30 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
“If the book you want to read doesn't exist, write it.” Quoting the inimitable Toni Morrison, Jamila Woods crafts a story worth diving into o...
All Them Witches
25 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The dusty desert-damaged rock of All Them Witches made its debut in the KEXP studios earlier this year, and it only underscores how the wait was too l...
Klangstof
23 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Close Eyes to Exit is the title of the Klangstof's debut album, and listening to their debut session in KEXP's Live Room, it's easy to ...
Valerie June
18 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There are moments during Valerie June's return to KEXP where she steps away from the mic and simply begins dancing to the rhythm, regardless if t...
Jah9 and the Dub Treatment
16 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The jazz-inflicted, inspirational dub of Jah9 fills the KEXP Live Room with positive energy in this session. The Jamaican singer leads her band, The D...
Vieux Farka Touré
11 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Vieux Farka Touré's latest record, Samba, may mean “second boy” in Songhai, but the dazzling guitar work he displays in this session on Wo&a...
Laura Marling
09 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
During her latest session in the KEXP Live Room, Laura Marling speaks of her music in film metaphors when describing her new record, Semper Femina, to...
Jóhann Jóhannsson
04 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most gorgeous and sweeping sessions recorded in the KEXP Live Room to date, Jóhann Jóhannsson - best known as the soundtrack composer for...
Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives
02 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
“That's all I got,” chuckles Marty Stuart after gliding through a gorgeous, breakneck rendition of “Mississippi Railroad Blues” with His Fabul...