Oakland’s Houses of Heaven takes us into the homestretch of DJ Abbie’s Song of the Day pics leading into World Goth Day on May 22. The center piece of the group’s debut LP, “A Place Between” is quintessential goth with sharp, spelling-binding and dissonant percussion and whirls of cryptic drones and vocals. Playing the track loudly invokes the feeling of sweatily dancing in an underground club moments before stepping outside for the breath of invigorating fresh air. Support the show: https://www...
May 21, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3727
Continuing with her week of goth song of the day picks, DJ Abbie brings us the industrial banger that is Fee Lion’s “Blood Sisters.” The moniker of Justina Kairyte, she’s described the EP and titular song as themed around self-love. “I was experiencing a deep disconnect with myself and had to begin the journey of re-learning how to love myself, which can be so daunting,” she told Paper Mag. “There were many, many days where I just didn't leave my bed, didn't leave the house and most definitely d...
May 20, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3726
We’re continuing DJ Abbie’s week of songs leading up to World Goth Day on May 22. Despite what the name may imply, Glasgow band The Ninth Wave’s “Happy Days!” is not a happy affair. This is ‘Goth Day,’ we’re talking about here – what did you expect? “’Happy Days!’ is a song of ups and downs,” the band told DIY Mag earlier this month. “At its core, the lyrics shine a torchlight on the murky highs and lows of life.” You can feel this in the driving pulse of the record. Waves of dark synthesizer ru...
May 19, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3725
Leading up to World Goth Day, DJ Abbie is giving you a dose of variations of goth every day this week. She’s kicking things off with an essential cut from The Birthday Party’s own Rowland S. Howard. While often associated with post-punk, there’s an unmistakable goth-ness to the landmark Australian musician’s work. “Autoluminescent,” a standout track from Howard’s debut Teenage Snuff Film, contorts and twists in a bluesy haze. It’s a highlight of the tender, personal side of goth. Howard’s voice ...
May 18, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3724
Smokey Brights - "I Love You But Damn" from the 2020 album I Love You But Damn on Freakout Records. Seattle's own Smokey Brights — led by husband and wife duo Kim West and Ryan Devlin — return this summer with a new album titled I Love You But Damn , out in July via Freakout Records. Via their Facebook page, the band describe the song as "a love song for times of distance. Written about the early months of our relationship, we hope it serves as an audial salve for tired hearts in these strange t...
May 15, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3723
Coriky - "Clean Kill" from the 2020 album Coriky on Dischord Records. Combine the melodic energy of the Evens and the gruff bark of Fugazi and you've got Coriky , not surprisingly, 'cause they feature members of both those bands. The trio of guitarist Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Evens), bassist Joe Lally (Fugazi), and drummer Amy Farina (Evens) played their first show in late 2018, at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Washington D.C., but hadn't officially released anything 'til now. ...
May 14, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3722
DJ Python - "ADMSDP (feat. LA Warman)" from the 2020 album Mas Amable on Incienso. New York-based producer Brian Piñeyro records under many names: Deejay Xanax, DJ Wey, Luis; but, it's under the moniker DJ Python that he takes things to a hypnotic level. On his sophomore full-length Mas Amable , released last month on Incienso, he combines ambient techno and what he calls "deep reggaeton" into a mesmerizing blend. There are no breaks between the eight tracks on the album, creating a dreamy vibe ...
May 13, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3721
Holy Esque - "Reverence Falls" from the 2020 CPH EP on Beyond the Frequency. Scottish post-punk band Holy Esque are projecting a third album will be out in 2021, but until then, they've released their third EP, CPH , a collection of rarities, to tide us over in the meantime. The tracks on CPH were recorded back in 2014 at STC Studios, Copenhagen. Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 12, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3720
William McCarthy - "Ballad for the Unemployed," a 2020 self-released single. As the frontman for Pela and Augustines, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter William McCarthy has never shied away from difficult topics. (Augustine's 2011 album Rise Ye Sunken Ships was influenced by the deaths of his mother and brother.) As a solo artist, McCarthy continues to explore darker subjects in his music, like on today's featured track “Ballad for the Unemployed.“ Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show:...
May 11, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3719
DJ Houseplants - "Just Don't Know," a 2020 self-released single. Seattle's own DJ Houseplants (aka DJ, producer, designer, and aspiring botanist Justin Av) says he's "driven by the vibrancy of the community there is at house & techno shows and wants everyone to thrive to the music." He certainly accomplishes that on today's Song of the Day. KEXP's own Alex Ruder tells us: "He first made a splash on the local music scene as HansmJustin, spinning rap at festivals and clubs around town, co-host...
May 08, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3718
Black Flowers Cafe - "Who" from the 2020 album Flow on La Lumaca Dischi. Keen-eared listeners of the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole may recognize this song from when it had its global debut on the KEXP airwaves in late April. Italian indie rock quartet Black Flowers Cafe craft what they call "flower pop," mixing influences from Bombay Bicycle Club to Caribbean folk to Afrobeat. Formed in 2010, band members Angelo Zicca (guitar), Antonio Nicoletti (drums, percussion), Gaetano Lidonnici (bass), an...
May 07, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3717
ALTA - "Figured Out" from the 2019 album Reasons on Soothsayer. On their debut album Reasons , Melbourne-based duo ALTA strived to create what they call "emotional dance music." Vocalist Hannah Lesser and producer Julius Dowson spent ten months at home recording the album themselves. "We get a little obsessive and care a lot about the feel of the vocal take, and when we’ve tried we can’t recreate that feel later in a better environment, even though it’s a better recording," they explained in an ...
May 06, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3716
Daníel Hjálmtýsson - "Birds," a 2020 self-released single. Icelandic singer/songwriter Daníel Hjálmtýsson kicked off 2020 in a big way: by releasing his debut solo single "Birds" back on January 3rd. Hjálmtýsson may be better known as half of the experimental duo HYOWLP, a project with producer and multi-instrumentalist Hjalti Steinn Sigurðarson (and a KEXP podcast alumni )! On his own, he continues to produce dark, emotional music in the vein of Nick Cave or Mark Lanegan. He explains online tha...
May 05, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3715
Lee Fields & The Expressions - "Don't Give Up," a 2019 single on Big Crown Records. Plainfield, NJ-based artist Lee Fields just celebrated his 70th birthday last week, and he's spent 50 of those years performing old-school soul, funk, and R&B. His first single was released in 1969, and he went on to work with artists like B.B. King, Clarence Carter, Kool & The Gang, and more. Last year, he released his seventh full-length (and fifth with his power-house backing band The Expressions )...
May 04, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3714
STRFKR - “Never The Same” from the 2020 album Future Past Life on Polyvinyl. STRFKR returned this month with their sixth full-length, Future Past Life , which finds the long-running Portland-based band evolving from their psych-synth dance-heavy pop to something more stripped down and organic. For the first time ever, every song on the album is led by acoustic guitar with the synth sounds on the side. Today's featured track is quite possibly the most vulnerable song in their decade-long discogra...
May 01, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3713
Washed Out - “Too Late," a 2020 single on Sub Pop. What started out as a hindrance due to the coronavirus pandemic, ended up becoming a beautiful expression of support and community. For his latest digital single “Too Late”, Ernest Greene (aka chillwave pioneer Washed Out ) had planned to shoot the music video in Italy, collaborating with an international team of filmmakers. In a statement, he explains: "I’d spent months planning a music video for a new song called 'Too Late.' My inspiration was...
Apr 30, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3712
Hazel English - “Off My Mind” from the 2020 album Wake UP! on Polyvinyl / Marathon Artists. Don't let her sweet voice and the swingin' '60s vibe of today's Song of the Day fool you. Australian-born, LA-based artist Hazel English just released her debut album Wake UP! , and she's imploring listeners to do just that. She describes the album as “a reminder to wake up and be present in a time where we are used to switching off and looking for constant entertainment.” English worked with producers Ju...
Apr 29, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3711
Chemtrails - “Frightful in the Sunlight” from the 2020 album The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable on PNKSLM. "Like riding into hell on a unicorn." That's how a friend of Manchester-via-London band Chemtrails described their latest single. (They clarify on Facebook, "his music taste is questionable, but we'll take it.") Originally a lo-fi home recording project of musical and romantic partners Mia Lust and Laura Orlova, Chemtrails have been riding that unicorn since the release of their 2016 digi...
Apr 28, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3710
Woods - “Where Do You Go When You Dream?” from the 2020 album Strange to Explain on Woodsist. New York psych-folk band Woods return this Spring with their first new album in three years, titled Strange To Explain . The album will be their first since frontman Jeremy Earl became a father and since guitarist Jarvis Taveniere relocated to Los Angeles, adding new challenges for the 15-year-old band, but also invigorating their 11th full-length to date (and the 99th release for their label, Woodsist)...
Apr 27, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3709
Shane Tutmarc - "A Brave New World," a 2020 self-released single. “We’re all together / We’re not alone / Through the window through the phone / Where it stops nobody knows” Former Seattle-ite/current Nashvillian Shane Tutmarc shared the quarantine-inspired track "A Brave New World" earlier this month, inspired by reporter Eric Johnson of KOMO News in Seattle. Tutmarc remarked on his Facebook page: "It gave me a chance to really examine my feelings in a tangible way while searching for a light a...
Apr 24, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3708
Catholic Action - "There Will Always Be a Light" from the 2020 album Celebrated by Strangers on Palo Santo Records. Glasgow garage-rockers Catholic Action returned with their second album Celebrated by Strangers last month, their first new LP since 2017 debut In Memory Of. And while the full-length was written and recorded way before the coronavirus sent everyone into quarantine, many messages on the release will resonate during this lockdown. Today's featured song, in particular, is a soaring a...
Apr 23, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3707
Iceage - "Lockdown Blues," a 2020 single on Escho. Gibbard's not the only one releasing quarantine-inspired songs to benefit charity. Danish post-punk band Iceage have shared a new single inspired by feelings that have been brought up during lockdown. “The only way out is through,” sings frontman Elias Rønnenfelt. He paints a picture of the world as we know it now: "Empty shelves in barren streets / Confined domestic quarantine." The band writes on their Bandcamp page: "Written in the wake of th...
Apr 22, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3706
Benjamin Gibbard - "Life in Quarantine," a 2020 single on Barsuk Records. Since the start of the statewide stay-at-home mandates, Death Cab for Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard has been there for us, streaming live performances from his home studio almost daily. (He's since pared down to just performing on Thursday evenings , which is still an incredibly generous act to do week after week.) During one of his sessions in late March, he debuted a new track he had written titled “Life In Quarantine....
Apr 21, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3705
Ellis - "Fall Apart" from the 2020 album Born Again on Fat Possum Records. Hamilton, Ontario dream pop artist Ellis (real name: Linnea Siggelkow) had hearts aflutter with her 2018 EP The Fuzz . Earlier this month, she re-emerged with her debut full-length, titled Born Again , which, as the title alludes to, finds Siggelkow exploring her feelings on faith. As for today's Song of the Day, she explains, "This is really just an honest reflection of my struggle with anxiety and how I can't hide it fr...
Apr 20, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3704
Sólveig Matthildur - "Dystopian Boy" from the 2019 album Constantly In Love on Artoffact Records. As a member of Icelandic trio Kælan Mikla, vocalist/keyboardist Sólveig Matthildur knows her way around atmospheric synth-pop. When she relocated from her hometown of Reykjavík to Berlin, she began to produce music on her own, resulting in the 2016 debut LP Unexplained Miseries & the Acceptance of Sorrow, which went on to win the Icelandic Kraumur Award. Her 2019 follow-up album, Constantly in L...
Apr 17, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3703
Sinead O’Brien - "Taking On Time" from the 2019 album Speedy Wunderground - Year 4 on Speedy Wunderground. Esteemed London-based label Speedy Wunderground celebrated their 30th release with a new track by Irish poet Sinead O’Brien . O’Brien's work has been published for years, including a short story of hers printed in the London Review Of Books. Punk poet John Cooper Clarke invited her to open for him on a spoken word tour, a moment that changed her life. "He actually introduced me to the music...
Apr 16, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3702
L’éclair - "Suite No. 2" from the 2019 album Sauropoda on Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records. It's not surprising to learn that L’Eclair recorded their latest LP Sauropoda from an undisclosed location in the Alps: their music displays an array of influences as vast as the famous European mountain range itself. From krautrock to disco with Afro-Cuban percussion, the Swiss septet managed to capture an atmospheric groove in a 48-hour recording session. Bassist Elie Ghersinu explained to Popmatters, "W...
Apr 15, 2020•8 min•Ep. 3701
Balkan Taksim - "Zalina," a 2019 self-released single. True to their name, Balkan Taksim take the traditional folk music of their homeland and combine it with psychedelic electronic beats that their Romanian ancestors never could've imagined. Formed by multi-instrumentalist Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici, producer Alin Zăbrăuțeanu, and percussionist Cosmo, the band thrive on stage, hypnotizing the hips of the audience. In a press release, Stoianovici explains that today's featured track is "about a stro...
Apr 14, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3700
Jesse Markin - “Run” from the 2019 album FOLK on VILD Music. Finnish rapper Jesse Markin got his start with the group The Megaphone State, building up a cult following with their soulful samples and smooth, versatile rhymes. While you can still these elements in Markin’s solo music, there’s a newfound intensity that’s risen to the surface on his first LP FOLK . It was a conscious decision to begin addressing serious topics, from love and loneliness to xenophobia and greed. On “Run” you can feel ...
Apr 13, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3699
Tomo Nakayama - "Get To Know You" from the 2020 self-released album Melonday. This week, Tomo Nakayama, master of cinematic indie-folk and former leader of local band Grand Hallway, flipped the script by releasing his very first dancefloor-ready record, Melonday . A massive departure from his tender, tranquil songs of past, the record is chock-full of groovy pop anthems. Our Song of the Day is the album’s lead single, “Get to Know You.” “Tell me stories, tell me rhymes, tell me anything you like...
Apr 10, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3698
