In Our Headphones

4:47

RVG - Squid

In Our Headphones ·

2023/07/06

RVG - "Squid" from the 2023 album Brain Worms from Fire Records Travel back in time with Melbourne-quartet RVG on today's Song of the Day. “'Squid' is a song about going back in time and stepping on a Tiktaalik and then going back to the present but you have the same job, the same problems you had before except you’re a squid,” vocalist Romy Vager explained to Rolling Stone Australia. “We jammed it on a whim and it ended up coming out really well. I left a large chunk of the lyrics till the last

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4:39

Yeule - sulky baby

In Our Headphones ·

2023/07/05

Yeule - "sulky baby" a 2023 single from Ninja Tune For today's Song of the Day, Singapore-born, London-based artist Yeule turns to the pages of their journals, or "scars," as they call their collection of writings. They describe the track as "a conversation with a younger version of themselves." "'sulky baby' was like a 2000s alt-rock shoegaze hybrid tinted in sad satire," they share in a press statement. "I felt like I was talking to a younger version of me, stopping her from crying, looking back

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2:37

Kara Jackson - pawnshop

In Our Headphones ·

2023/07/04

Kara Jackson - "pawnshop" from the 2023 album Why Does The Earth Give People To Love? from September Recordings. As the 2019 National Youth Poet Laureate, Chicago-based singer/songwriter Kara Jackson has a demonstrated command of words, showcased on her debut full-length album, Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?. “There’s so many words on this project," Kara says via a press statement, "it’s important for me that people know I can write things, maybe in ways they aren’t used to

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3:40

Blondes - Beautiful World

In Our Headphones ·

2023/07/03

Blondes - "Beautiful World" from the 2023 EP In Separation from Lab Records. For today's Song of the Day, Nottingham-based quartet Blondes share an early listen to their forthcoming EP, titled In Separation, with the dreamy pop track "Beautiful World." "'Beautiful World' feels like our first proper pop song," shares guitarist Alex Davison. "It’s my favourite that we’ve written so far. It’s about our relationship with our environment and each other. We wrote it to speak not just for ourselves but to

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4:13

Smokey Brights - Long Goodbye

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/30

Smokey Brights - "Long Goodbye" from the 2023 album Levitator from Nine Mile. For over a decade, Seattle natives Smokey Brights have been building a loyal fanbase with their high-energy shows and emotionally resonant music. In early June, the quartet, led by husband-and-wife duo Kim West and Ryan Devlin, unveiled their fourth full-length Levitation. The record is touted as, “A motivational mix-tape for our collective crisis of confidence,” and a “musical, magical incantation cast to lift off and

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4:31

Strange Ranger - She’s on Fire

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/29

Strange Ranger - "She's On Fire" from the 2023 album Pure Music from Fire Talk. New York-via-Philly-via Portland quartet Strange Ranger are have been making genre-bending indie rock since 2016, when they were just the duo of Isaac Eiger and Fred Nixon and went under the name Sioux Falls. A lot’s changed for them besides relocation. On their upcoming album Pure Music, due out July 21st via Fire Talk, they’re leaning heavier into the shoegaze-inspired sounds they dabbled with on their 2021 mixtape No

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4:09

Grian Chatten - Fairlies

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/28

Grian Chatten - "Fairlies" from the 2023 album Chaos for the Fly from Partisan Records This Friday, Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten will release his debut solo album, titled Chaos for the Fly, via Partisan. He says he knew from the start that he wanted to tackle these tracks on his own. “I just thought: I want to do this myself. I know where we as a band are going next and that’s not where I want to go with this. I’ve got a couple of exaggerated aspects of my soul that I wanted to express,” he

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2:23

Margo Cilker - Lowland Trail

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/27

Margo Cilker - "Lowland Trail" from the 2023 album Valley of Heart's Delight from Fluff & Gravy For today's Song of the Day, Goldendale, WA-based singer/songwriter Margo Cilker shares an early listen of her sophomore LP Valley Of Heart’s Delight, slated for a September 15th release via Fluff & Gravy Records. The album was produced by long-time KEXP fave Sera Cahoone, and recorded with guest musicians from The Decemberists, Band Of Horses, and Beirut. She says of the new album: I wrote these

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4:06

Sea Lemon - Cellar

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/26

Sea Lemon - "Cellar," a 2023 single from Luminelle Records. "Sometimes I imitate / Things that make me afraid" So sings Seattle-based singer/songwriter Natalie Lew — who records as Sea Lemon — in today's dreamy, yet eerie Song of the Day. “‘Cellar’ was inspired by my love of really classic horror and thriller films, like Blow Out and Misery, and how loving scary movies can sometimes feel like something is wrong with you," Lew shares in a press statement. "That idea of the ‘cellar’ in the song is

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3:49

Spoon Benders - Dichotomatic

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/23

Spoon Benders - Dichotomatic, from the 2023 self-released album How Things Repeat. Spoon Benders are a face-melting band from Portland who are making the pilgrimage that any young band bursting with the kind of energy that their hometown just can’t keep up with - to LA. Since the release of their 2020 debut album Dura Mater, they’ve been blowing minds with their psychedelic spin on hardcore and garage punk and that momentum has continued with the recent release of their sophomore full-length How

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3:23

Vagabon - Can I Talk My Shit?

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/22

Vagabon – Can I Talk My Shit?, a 2023 single on Nonesuch Records. Lætitia Tamko recently announced her third full-length as Vagabon, titled Sorry I Haven’t Called. The record sees the Cameroonian-American artist reinvent herself for her most exuberant and bold record yet. While her prior albums, 2017’s Infinite Worlds and her 2019 self-titled saw Vagabon pointed inwards for introspective indie rock, Sorry I Haven’t Called looks outwards, channeling dance music and effervescent pop. This new chapter

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2:45

Black Ends - My Own Dead

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/21

This week's Songs of the Day were selected by Kennady Quille as part of KEXP's Pride celebration. Tune in on Saturday, June 24th for a special day of programming from noon to 6 PM, and then join us LIVE from Pride on Capitol Hill at the Wildrose on Sunday from noon to 4 PM Pacific with Riz Rollins and friends; continuing our on-air celebration till 6 PM. More information here. On today's Song of the Day, Seattle power trio Black Ends return with "My Own Dead," the band's first release since 2020's

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3:09

Palehound - The Clutch

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/20

Palehound - "The Clutch" from the 2023 album Eye On The Bat from Polyvinyl. El Kempner — the singer/songwriter behind Palehound — found inspiration for today's Song of the Day right after the band's last tour ended. The track will appear on their forthcoming full-length, Eye On The Bat, out July 14th via Polyvinyl Record Co. It'll be Palehound's first new LP since 2019’s Black Friday. “‘The Clutch’ is the very first song I wrote for this album, back in 2020 right when lockdown started,” Kempner

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4:18

Nonbinary Girlfriend - BIG AND KIND

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/19

Nonbinary Girlfriend - "BIG AND KIND" from the 2023 self-released album BIG AND KIND On today's Song of the Day, Portland pop-punk band Nonbinary Girlfriend champions the philosophy that being "kind is not the same as being small" and "sometimes, many times, kindness requires you to be big and tall." It's a spirit of compassion that carries through their debut full-length, also titled BIG AND KIND, that came out back in February. Vocalist Anaïs Genevieve shares vulnerable lyrics around gender and

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4:44

Day Soul Exquisite - claire des antilles

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/16

Day Soul Exquisite - clair des antilles a 2023 single on La fem records. While the pandemic was obviously a long and fraught-filled time, the bands formed and sowing their seeds during the first two most difficult years are now blossoming. Seattle-based sextet Day Soul Exquisite are one of those bands. Fronted by singer Francesca Eluhu, the group makes Latin American and French Caribbean-fused neo-soul that fits into a variety of arenas, all of which make you want to shimmy. While they've only

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2:40

Witch Prophet - Memory

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/15

Witch Prophet - Memory from the 2023 album Gateway Experience from Heart Lake Records. Toronto-based neo-soul artist Ayo Leilani aka Witch Prophet recently unveiled her third studio album, Gateway Experience, which delved into her personal experience with focal aware seizures, sometimes known as Déjà vu or Déjà reve. They’re out-of-body experiences that include lucid dreaming and memory loss. “If I came out with an album like this five years ago, it would probably be a little too witchy,” says the

en-US

3:45

SoulChef & Uptown Swuite - Wheels Fall Off

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/14

SoulChef & Uptown Swuite - "Wheels Fall Off" from the 2023 album LUA on SoulSwuite Music New Zealand-based artist SoulChef teams up again with west coast MC Uptown Swuite for today's Song of the Day. (We spotlighted the duo last year with another of their singles.) The latest in their "SoulSwuite" series is titled LUA, or "two" as translated from Samoan. The duo have long used their music to celebrate their shared heritage. As Uptown Swuite told HipHopDX, "We really just wanted to capture the

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2:41

dragonchild - Sera

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/13

dragonchild - "Sera" from the 2023 album dragonchild on FPE Records. dragonchild is the new project from saxophonist DA Mekonnen, who previously led the Boston-based 11-piece Ethiopian music collective Debo Band. As a solo artist, he says he plans to take his exploration of Ethiopian music and explode it "into vivid, three-dimensional space." On today's Song of the Day, he collaborates with Addis Ababa-based electronic artist Ethiopian Records (real name: Endeguena Mulu); he also samples the

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2:58

Speakers Corner Quartet - Can We Do This (feat. Sampha)

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/12

Speakers Corner Quartet - "Can We Do This? (feat. Sampha)" a 2023 single on OTIH Records KEXP loves a literal name ("The Morning Show on KEXP," anyone?), and jazz collective Speakers Corner Quartet have just that. The group formed in 2006 as the in-house band at South London landmark Speakers' Corner, a place that hosted open-mic nights where these four musicians would play for hours, improvising hip-hop beats for guest MCs to rap over. “There’s never been a rush as we’re just happy being in a room

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3:47

La Fonda - New Mexico

In Our Headphones ·

2023/06/09

La Fonda - New Mexico from the 2023 self-released album We Are Infinite. Seattle-based quintet La Fonda recently released their sophomore full-length We Are Infinite, a dream pop-indebted elegy to navigating life in a corporation-led city and the financial and mental health struggles that brings and finding the specks of hope within. Led by Filipino-American sisters Valeria and Veronica Topacio, the two have been grinding to make La Fonda into the band it is now since 2016. Playing every venue while

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