In Our Headphones

Waxahatchee - "Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)" from the 2024 album Tigers Blood on ANTI- On today's Song of the Day, singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield — best known as Waxahatchee — enlists the talents of MJ Lenderman (of the band Wednesday, as well as a solo artist) for an unconventional love song. “I wrote it backstage at Wolf Trap when I was on tour opening for Jason Isbell and Sheryl C...

SPRINTS - "Adore Adore Adore" from the 2024 album Letter To Self on City Slang Dublin, Ireland-based garage rockers Sprints rage against the patriarchy on today's Song of the Day, as vocalist Karla Chubb explains on Bandcamp: “'Adore Adore Adore' is a guttural reaction to my experience of criticism, gender, and misogyny. People can't seem to stop pressing their idea of what being a woman or acting...

Arcwelder - "Lafayette" from the 2024 self-released album Continue Minneapolis trio Arcwelder return with their first new album in 24 years. During their '90s heyday, they released six albums on Touch & Go and Big Money Records before their double-decade hiatus. Their latest LP was mixed by J. Robbins of Jawbox, Burning Airlines, and Government Issue. And it's all too appropriate that "Lafayet...

Spoon Benders - "Dichotomatic" from the 2023 self-released album How Things Repeat With their sophomore full-length,  How Things Repeat,  psych-rock group  Spoon Benders  continue to elevate the glam-garage sound we first fell in love with on their 2020 debut LP  Dura Mater . As they explained to  Be in a Band or Die , "Since April of 2019, the band has been writing, rehearsing, and performing liv...

Skating Polly - "Hickey King" from the 2023 album Chaos County Line on El Camino Media Tacoma-based punk-pop trio  Skating Polly describes today's Song of the Day as "the most Skating Polly song" on their latest LP, a double-album titled Chaos County Line , out now via El Camino Media. Songwriters (and step-sisters!) Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse trade off vocals on the stripped-down single, insp...

Hurry - "Beggin' For You" from the 2023 album Don't Look Back on Lame-O Records Philadelphia-based group  Hurry released their sixth album last year, titled  Don’t Look Back , a nod to a 1995 Teenage Fanclub song, if that gives you a hint to their influences. And today's Song of the Day brings that same jangly, power-pop goodness.  The new album was produced by Ian Farmer (of Slaughter Beach, Dog,...

Matt Pond PA - "Imagining Everything" from the 2024 album Call and Response on 131 Records Today's Song of the Day marks a homecoming for singer/songwriter Matt Pond who launched his career in 1998 as matt pond PA , but tried to ditch the name the past few years, releasing an album under the moniker The Natural Lines in 2022. But now, he's re-embraced his original band name with the release of thi...

Bayonne - "Right Thing" from the 2023 album Temporary Time on Nettwerk Today's Song of the Day from Bayonne (a solo project from Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Roger Sellers) is extra potent, not just for being a total new wave nostalgic groove, but because it was the last song Roger was able to play for his father before he passed away from cancer.  “Approaching my mid 30s, I was having a lot...

Ghoul Talk - I Just Like To Watch from the 2024 album I Want to Consume on Death Certificate Records Seattle's  Ghoul Talk — a solo project of local artist Rachel King — brings an exhilarating ferociousness to today's Song of the Day, a track she declares her "favorite and most polarizing song so far." She describes the single as "a two-and-a-half minute relationship horror story about ignoring yo...

IDLES - "Dancer (feat. James Murphy & Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem)" from the 2024 album TANGK on Partisan Records Today's Song of the Day teams up two powerhouse KEXP faves: UK band IDLES and LCD Soundsystem ’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang . It's the first single from IDLES' forthcoming fifth full-length,  Tangk , due for release on February 16th via Partisan Records. IDLES frontman Joe Tal...

Stepan i Meduza - "О​с​е​н​ьs," a 2018 self-released single Ukrainian duo  Stepan i Meduza evoke the spirit of early Depeche Mode on this captivating synthwave track. Kiev-based musicians Burkov Aleksandr (vocals, guitar, synth, programming, mixing) and Mashkin Dmitry (bass guitar, vocals, synth, programming) have been releasing music together for over a decade, starting with their 2012 debut LP ...

Dharmacide - "Horses/Divorces" a 2023 self-released single Hailing from Madrid, Spain, shoegaze quintet  Dharmacide thrilled with their dreamy debut LP,  Cult Band Member , in 2021.  With today's Song of the Day, they achieve one of the ultimate shoegaze honors of working with Mark Gardener of genre-icons Ride, who mixed, mastered, and produced the track from his OX4 Studios.  Read the full story...

Bien et Toi - "Haiku" from the 2023 Voici EP on Temple Records L.A.-based producer Gianluca Buccellati has been racking up accolades, especially for his work on the 2021 Arlo Parks album Collapsed in Sunbeams . He crafts just as much beauty on his own music, which he records under the name  Bien et Toi.   With its warm, sunny vibes, his latest EP — the six-song release  Voici  — is the perfect ant...

Bella Cuts - “Until Everybody Is Free” from the 2023 album Rise Up: BDS Mixtape Vol. 2 on Amplify Palestine “The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free” — Dr. Maya Angelou Berlin-based artist  Bella Cuts originally wrote today's Song of the Day as an anthem for the Internationalist Queer Pride Berlin. It has since gone on to become the theme song for The Solidarity Index , a po...

Bosq & Kaleta - “No Walls" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records Long-time collaborators  Bosq & Kaleta team up again for an Afrobeat-inspired disco funk groove.  Born Benjamin Woods in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Bosq is now based in Colombia where he has dominated dance floors with his blends of Afro-Latin music with Disco, Funk, Reggae, Ho...

Baraari - "Habal (feat. Jurum) (prod. Julmud),” a 2023 self-released single Based in Ramallah, Palestine, MC/singer  Baraari blends Arabic melodies with hip-hop in today's Song of the Day.  When not recording her own music, she's also active in pre-production of different audio/visual projects with artists Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abu Rahme, and organizes events and private parties in Palestine. ...

Bint il Sham - "Ishtar” from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records A relatively new singer/songwriter,  Bint il Sham says her music is "driven by translating the journey of being a Palestinian refugee between Amman and Damascus." Her songs mix minimal electronica with poetry and sociopolitical messages related to her own experiences.  Today's Song of t...

El Waili - “TGLY” from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records Egyptian artist  El Waili  — a project of rapper/producer Kareem Gaber — takes his name from a neighborhood where he once lived in Cairo.  "I started to produce music that translates my sonic experience while living in the El Waili neighbourhood," he told Egypt Today . "I wanted to deconstruc...

Hak Baker - "DOOLALLY" from the 2023 album Worlds End FM on Hak Attack Records / AWAL Hak Baker has penned a party anthem with today's Song of the Day. (It even garnered him a collaboration with spiced rum brand Sailor Jerry, who released a limited edition "DOOLALLY" bottle back in the summer.) The East London-based artist was born to a Grenadan father and a Jamaican mother, and combines his love...

Aphex Twin - "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" from the 2023 EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f on Warp Today’s Song of the Day marks the first new music from electronic music icon Aphex Twin (aka Richard D. James) in five years. (And it's been nearly ten years since his last album, 2014's  Syro .)  His latest EP — titled Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760  — is a percussive-heavy delight. with a...

Afrosideral - "Aggayu El Immenso" a 2023 single on Ocha Records Under the moniker  Afrosideral , multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriter Kumar Sublevao-Beat explores the mystical side of his culture.  On today's Song of the Day, in particular, he pays tribute to the Aggayú Orisha, which is said to be "an esteemed Yoruba deity of wilderness and change," most associated with powerful flowing force...

Troy Kingi - "All Your Ships Have Sailed" from the 2020 album The Ghost of Freddie Cesar on All Good Absolute Alternative Records When he began his career, New Zealand-based actor/musician  Troy Kingi set a goal to release 10 albums in 10 genres across 10 years, which he calls the "10/10/10 project." Today's Song of the Day comes from his funk-inspired album, which is also his most personal album:...

Lord Echo - "Whoa! There's No Limit (feat. Mara TK)(Alternate version)" from the 2023 album Rarities 2010-2020: Japanese Tour Singles on Soundway Records. New Zealand-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Lord Echo (aka Mike Fabs) digs into the vault for a new compilation from London's Soundway Records, titled  Rarities 2010 - 2020: Japanese Tour Singles . The title really does say it all: the...

Freekind. - "Visualize" from the 2023 album Since Always and Forever on Butter92 Croatian duo  Freekind. combines the talents of pianist and vocalist Sara Ester Gredelj and drummer Nina Korošak-Serčič. On their debut LP,  Since Always And Forever , they craft a soulful sound with nods to pop, hip-hop, and jazz. Today's Song of the Day, in particular, brings a peaceful groove they say is meant to i...

Bulgarian Cartrader - "Golden Rope" from the 2022 self-released album Motor Songs . Berlin-based musician Daniel Stoyanov pays tribute to both his birthplace and his love of cars with his musical project,  Bulgarian Cartrader.   "My name sounds Eastern European, and to be precise I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and came to Germany when I was 4. I grew up in Germany, but stayed connected to Bulgaria...