When Seattle prog-rock purveyors Merso released last year's Red World, they sought to examine what it's like to become a monster, drawing heavily from Alan Moore's iconic run of the Swamp Thing comics. Monsters can be a hard thing to define. They're not always the mythic beasts we see in literature…
There's something about Tomo Nakayama's voice that feels like an old friend. The Seattle singer-songwriter doesn't just sound great, that's undeniable, but the way he softly sings is comforting — especially paired with his wistful, floating finger-picking. In the music video for "Fourth of Julivar'…
What do you get when you combine "glitch folk" locals Motopony with Euro-electropop duo Pegboard Nerds? You get "Free," a new single making its world debut today on The Morning Show with John Richards.
Composing great dance music is more than just choosing the right beats per minute and finding a catchy synth patch. It's about capturing an emotional impulse in the groove – that indescribable, wordless "something" that resonates beyond how it booms out the speakers. It's an idea that Seattle produ…
If you've ever seen Seattle's Naked Giants live, you know just how passionate and rabid they can be. Even the drummer can barely contain himself to his throne while the trio is churning out furious, excitable riffs. They feel like they were born to be wild, which is why they're the perfect fit cove…
Seattle’s Leeni Ramadan (aka the glitter-gloom pop singer, Prom Queen) has established herself as a singular-voiced, bouffant-boasting player in the Emerald City music scene. If the ultimate goal of any creative person is to establish an immediately recognizable style, Ramadan has done that already…
Danny Newcomb, a long-time fixture of the Seattle music scene, returns with a new album tomorrow, Friday, August 11th. All the Way is the second release for the project Danny Newcomb & the Sugarmakers, but is just another addition to a lengthy discography for Newcomb who previously played in lo…
Chris Staples has a way of turning the simplest of ideas into affecting, serene poetry. It's something he's fine tuned over his career, from his days fronting Florida indie rock outfit Twothirtyeight and throughout his solo work crafted here in Seattle. His latest song, "Spinning Wheel," may be one…
The career of Midnight Faces frontman Matthew Doty feels like scrolling through the KEXP Blog. He began making music as a teenager with childhood friend Jonny Pierce of The Drums (who was recently in town and who we interviewed). And as a young adult, he co-founded the band Saxon Shore with Josh Ti…
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.
