Maxband - "Cut It Loose," a 2020 single on Maximum Band Recordings. With his side project Maxband , Max Savage of Parquet Courts steps out from behind the drum kit and grabs a guitar. He shares vocal duties with co-founder and bassist Patrick Smith of A Beacon School. Their first release was a limited-run cassette EP titled Perfect Strangers in 2018, but they reemerged in late 2020 with a new EP titled Top of the Stairs . Today's featured track follows the Parquet path of lo-fi post-punk. Maxban...
Jan 07, 2021•3 min•Ep. 3883
Knox Fortune - "Come Over" from the 2020 album Stock Child Wonder on Nice Work. Chicago-bred artist Knox Fortune (real name: Kevin Rhomberg) broke out of the Windy City's hip-hop scene after guest appearances on tracks by Chance the Rapper and Kami. Now based in Brooklyn, Knox returns with his genre-jumping sophomore release Stock Child Wonder . In an interview with Document , he explains the genesis of the album title and how it reflects his approach to songwriting: It came from a song I wrote ...
Jan 06, 2021•3 min•Ep. 3882
Oneohtrix Point Never - "Long Road Home" from the 2020 album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never on Warp. After scoring the soundtrack to the 2019 Adam Sandler film Uncut Gems , Oneohtrix Point Never (real name: Daniel Lopatin) returns to his roots with his ninth full length, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never , a nod to the Boston-based FM radio station Magic 106.7 that inspired his own band name. “I wanted to make a cohesive, punchy, 50-minute record that was very personal, but pulled from FM palettes that I...
Jan 05, 2021•4 min•Ep. 3881
Yung - "Such A Man" from the 2021 album Ongoing Dispute on PNKSLM. Danish indie rock quartet Yung return later this month with their sophomore full-length Ongoing Dispute , the highly anticipated follow-up to 2016's A Youthful Dream . The band describe today's featured track as "a songwriting potluck of sorts, written in roughly an hour whilst Mikkel [Holm Silkjær, frontman] frantically roamed the corridors outside our rehearsal space working out the lyrics." Silkjær describes the results, via a...
Jan 04, 2021•3 min•Ep. 3880
Despite the perils of 2020, Seattle’s Tomo Nakayama had a momentous musical year. Alongside his excellent synth-pop turn with his third solo LP, Melonday, Nakayama released some stirring singles, including a December release of “Paper Snowflakes.” The song finds Nakayama back in the familiar territory of the acoustic guitar, providing the perfect foundation for his pristine, effortless vocals. It’s a winter song of longing, wishing the best for someone far away and detached. While the song refer...
Jan 01, 2021•4 min•Ep. 3879
It’s the last day of 2020 and a new year is ahead of us. To bring on the transition, we get a little bit of something familiar and something new with The Hold Steady’s “Family Farm.” The indie rock legends make a momentous return with the first single from their upcoming album ‘Open Door Policy.’ A barrage of guitars and horns underscore Craig Finn’s impassioned, talk-singing vocals. It’s a triumphant last call for the year, feeling like the concussion of fireworks in the sky while we ride out i...
Dec 31, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3878
With all of our top albums of 2020 lists behind us, it’s already time to start looking forward to the records that will consume our ear canals in 2021. Pom Poko give us an early frontrunner for future obsession with “Like a Lady’ from their upcoming album ‘Cheater.’ “The lyrics for the song slowly grew out from just jamming together, and are about what makes, or what one thinks makes, a woman, what even being a woman means, and it’s also a kind of tribute to all the different ways of being a wom...
Dec 30, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3877
We’re in the final days of 2020, a year that’s been physically and emotionally taxing for the world at large. While there’s been much tragedy and desperation throughout this year, KOKOROKO urges us to look ahead and celebrate life with their single “Baby Ayoola.” The group – which blends together Afrobeat, Highline, and Jazz music – wrote the track in tribute to the group’s saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi’s grandfather. The jubilant arrangement with a lively blend of horns, woodwinds, and sensational...
Dec 29, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3876
Christmas may be just behind us (and thankfully 2020 will be following suit soon), but DJ John Richards is keeping the holiday spirit alive with today’s Song of the Day, “Goin’ Broke for Christmas” by duo Lost Under Heaven. The song is the perfect salve for the post Christmas blues, with the festive sounds of jingle bells crashing the dirge-like marching rhythm and the duo’s mournful vocals. It’s the perfect song for soundtracking a foggy, egg nog afterglow or putting the season behind you for h...
Dec 28, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3875
Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions - "It's a Soulful Christmas" from the 2020 album It's a Soulful Christmas on MDGS Records. This week, we are featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss , one of the hosts of KEXPs punk show Sonic Reducer , lover of off-brand holiday tunes, and owner of pants. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with...
Dec 25, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3874
Professor and The Madman - "Christmas Eve" from the 2018 album Disintegrate Me on Fullertone Records. This week, we are featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss , one of the hosts of KEXPs punk show Sonic Reducer , lover of off-brand holiday tunes, and owner of pants. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. Hear him thi...
Dec 24, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3873
David King Jones - "The Covid19 Christmas Song," a 2020 self-released single. This week, we are featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss , one of the hosts of KEXPs punk show Sonic Reducer , lover of off-brand holiday tunes, and owner of pants. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. Hear him this holiday season from 12...
Dec 23, 2020•2 min•Ep. 3872
Kelly Finnigan - "Santa's Watching You" from the 2020 album A Joyful Sound on Colemine Records. This week, we are featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss , one of the hosts of KEXPs punk show Sonic Reducer , lover of off-brand holiday tunes, and owner of pants. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. Hear him this holi...
Dec 22, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3871
Michael M - "Humans Are Not Worth Saving (Merry Christmas)" from the 2020 self-released album A Digital Christmas Gift For You. This week, we are featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss , one of the hosts of KEXPs punk show Sonic Reducer , lover of off-brand holiday tunes, and owner of pants. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a h...
Dec 21, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3870
Draze - "The Main Thing," a 2020 self-released single. Earlier this year, attorney, CNN political commentator, and activist Angela Rye launched a new series for TIDAL titled The Main Thing, where Rye sits down with "high-profile celebrities, entertainers, history makers, athletes, organizers, and more" for candid, intimate conversations. And noneother than Seattle's own Draze has composed the show's opening theme song. Draze was just nominated for "Best Hip-Hop Artist" by the African Achievement...
Dec 18, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3869
Mystic - "We Are The People (All Around The World)," a 2020 single on Beautifull Soundworks. Bay Area-based hip-hop artist Mystic (real name: Mandolyn Wind Ludlum) is a veteran of the scene, from participating in rap battles in the early '90s to touring with Digital Underground in the late '90s. She was nominated for a Grammy and a BET Award for "Best Female Hip-Hop Artist" in the early 2000s, and her work has appeared on TV soundtracks and commercials. She's also an activist, serving as the Bay...
Dec 17, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3868
Astu - "Source of Her (feat. Salami Rose Joe Louis)" from the 2020 album ALTARS on Boyish Records. On her debut full-length ALTARS , Eritrean-American artist ASTU combines soul and synth-pop to craft her confident and thought-provoking grooves. Astu now resides in Oakland, but arrived there from Oklahoma where she attended seminary college, married a minister, and then became a minister herself. She had been singing gospel music since she was a pre-schooler, but hadn't pursued non-secular music ...
Dec 16, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3867
Ivy Sole - "BITTERSWEET" from the 2020 album SOUTHPAW on Les Fleurs Records. Ivy Sole wasn't even sure she wanted to release a new album this year, but thankfully, she did, with her brand new release SOUTHPAW . "Me and my manager have been hesitant to release any music to distract or make light of what is happening, and this is prior to George Floyd and how that has changed the COVID era," she admitted to DJBooth.net . "To be honest, I was gonna drop an album this year and decided to hold off on...
Dec 15, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3866
Ego Ella May - "Girls Don't Always Sing About Boys" from the 2020 album Honey For Wounds on UpperRoom Records. On her debut album Honey For Wounds , South London-based artist Ego Ella May provides sweet relief from troubling times with her jazzy neo-soul sound. On today's Song of the Day, she asks listeners, "What if I wanna talk about suffering?" “I will, of course, continue to write about love,” May said in an interview with Bandcamp . “But I’m also conscious of other things that happen in lif...
Dec 14, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3865
Byland - "Mine" from the 2020 self-released album Gray. For her latest LP Gray , Albuquerque-based artist Alie Renee Byland (who records under the name Byland ) immersed herself in the Seattle music scene, collaborating with producer and multi-instrumentalist Nathan Yaccino (known for his work with Soundgarden, Noah Gundersen, Brandi Carlile). For today's featured track, she invited local musicians Abby Gundersen and Meagan Grandall (aka Lemolo) into the Ballard recording studio. In a press rele...
Dec 11, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3864
The Weather Station - "Tried To Tell You" from the 2020 album Ignorance on Fat Possum. The Weather Station (a project of Toronto-based artist Tamara Linderman) returns early next year with her fifth full-length, titled Ignorance , out February 5, 2021 via Fat Possum; today, we get a sneak peek at the new release with today's Song of the Day, "Tried To Tell You." In a press release, Linderman tells us the track is about “reaching out to someone; a specific person, or maybe every person, who is ta...
Dec 10, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3863
GDRN - "Vorið" from the 2020 album GDRN on Les Freres Stefson. When GDRN (real name: Guðrún Ýr Eyfjörð Jóhannesdóttir) played KEXP Iceland Airwaves broadcast last year , she had just swept the Iceland Music Awards with her debut Hvað Ef , scoring best female artist, best pop song, best pop album, and music video of the year. With her follow-up full-length, released earlier this year, Jóhannesdóttir experiments with a new approach. As she told KEXP's Dusty Henry last year: The next album is a bit...
Dec 09, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3862
Molchat Doma - "Discoteque" from the 2020 album Monument on Sacred Bones. Belarusian trio Molchat Doma (a phrase that translates to “Houses Are Silent”) formed in 2017, crafting darkwave synth-pop from their hometown of Minsk. Their just-released third full-length Monument was written and recorded in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with today's featured track "Discotheque", they invite the listener to imagine the now-forbidden dance floor. In a press release, they describe the song ...
Dec 08, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3861
Young Jesus - "Faith" from the 2020 album Welcome to Conceptual Beach on Saddle Creek. Earlier this year, Los Angeles-based quartet Young Jesus released their fifth full-length Welcome to Conceptual Beach ; turns out, it's a sandy shore frontman John Rossiter has visited for years, originally as a physical zine in 2016. He told Uproxx.com : It became a kind of diary, where I could become a character — as it turns out, is really helpful for sorting out your own health and psychology and soul, to ...
Dec 07, 2020•7 min•Ep. 3860
SassyBlack - "Therapy" from the 2020 self-released EP Stuck. Throughout her career, Seattle's own SassyBlack has tackled the topic of mental health, from her 2019 song “Depression” and the accompanying short film released early in 2020. On her latest EP Stuck, and today's featured track, in particular, she continues the conversation around self care, encouraging listeners to reach out when they're feeling "nothing at all," repeating the lyric "lay it on me" in a soothing rhythm. In conjunction w...
Dec 04, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3859
Nailah Hunter - "Black Valhalla," a 2020 self-released single. With "Black Valhalla", Los Angeles-based composer/harpist Nailah Hunter imagines a place where Black people "are safe and exalted." In this interview with KEXP's Dusty Henry, Hunter explains: I mean, again, Valhalla being the place where the Nordic gods live and the people... Actually just kidding, they don't live there, but it's a place where warriors go. I have always loved that idea. And I love Vikings and all of that stuff. But I...
Dec 03, 2020•7 min•Ep. 3858
Kassa Overall - “Darkness In My Mind” from I THINK I’M GOOD on Brownswood Recordings. Originally hailing from Seattle and now based out of New York, Kassa Overall has used his inimitable blend of jazz, hip-hop, and experimental leanings to explore heady and existential topics. With his latest record, I THINK I’M GOOD , he’s at his most personal and revealing. On the record he explores his own experiences with mental illness, having experienced manic episodes and subsequent hospitalizations in hi...
Dec 02, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3857
Orion Sun - “mama’s baby,” a 2020 self-released single. Philadelphia-based songwriter Orion Sun’s latest single, “mama’s baby,” was written after experiencing police brutality during a protest earlier this year in late May. Thrown into the ground multiple times and her arm twisted, she left with not just physical injuries but emotional pain from the trauma she lived. As she details in the description on her Bandcamp page, it took her some time to recover and process what happened to her. Some he...
Dec 01, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3856
Sampa The Great - “Time’s Up (Remix) feat. Junglepussy,” a 2020 single on Ninja Tune. While music can be healing, oftentimes the industry is quite the opposite. As Sampa The Great (aka Sampa Tembo) addresses on “Time’s Up,” it can be even more perilous for Black artists working against systemic racism within the industry. “‘Time’s Up’ is a track that was made to reflect a conversation between two young Black artists about the Australian music industry,” Tembo said in a statement upon the song’s ...
Nov 30, 2020•2 min•Ep. 3855
Stas THEE Boss - “Rotary Style” from the 2020 EP Sang Stasia! on LucidHaus. Sang Stasia! , one of two outstanding EPs from the former Seattle resident and host of KEXP’s Street Sounds, was crafted from beats made for other singers but for some reason never recorded. The Black Constellation representative weaves her trademark multisyllabic rhymes over a cosmic sample looped to psychedelic effect, calling out corporate shills for churning out weak music for profit. The way Stas builds her rhyming ...
Nov 27, 2020•2 min•Ep. 3854
