In Our Headphones

Death of the High Street - "Chancer" a 2022 single on Bubblebrain. Post-punk quartet  Death Of The High Street return with their second KEXP Song of the Day this year, a sneering slice of razor-sharp alt-rock titled "Chancer." In an interview with Edge of Arcady , the band describe the main character of the track as "a Frank Gallagher meets Del Boy character who’ll sell you a TV just as soon as he...

Cliché Cult - "Slippy" a 2022 single on Blaggers. Post-punk band Cliché Cult formed in the height of the pandemic, but the lockdown hasn't hampered their rise. This past August, the Leeds quartet played their first live hometown show. "It's probably my favourite gig that we've played so far," they told Rebel Noise . "The crowd were chanting along to our tunes! The venue was quite small as well so...

Fever Ray - "Carbon Dioxide" from the 2023 album Radical Romantics on Mute. Swedish artist  Fever Ray (aka Karin Dreijer) returns early next year with their third LP Radical Romantics . It's their first full-length in five years, and features production from her brother (and former partner in The Knife) Olof Dreijer. Contributors include Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Nídia, Aasth...

Tona - Triple Crown (feat. Drezus & Shad) a 2022 single on District Entertainment. Toronto rapper Tona has been churning out a massive amount of high-level, collaborator-heavy music for years now and received the coveted Juno Award for Best Rap Recording in 2015. Recently he dropped GE20 , the follow-up to 2021’s Good Energy , which sees Tona hone in on optimistic thoughts during the most pess...

SoulChef & Uptown Swuite - Bless The Child a 2022 single on SoulSwuite Music. New Zealand-based rapper SoulChef has been churning out soul and jazz-inspired hip-hop for well over a decade now, starting with 2010’s Escapism . He focuses on invoking serenity through his thoughtful lyricism, meticulous productions, and head-bopping beats. He’s also an endeared collaborator. For one of his latest...

Danielle Ponder - "Some Of Us Are Brave" from the 2022 album Some Of Us Are Brave on Future Classic. After working as a Public Defender for five years, Rochester-based singer/songwriter Danielle Ponder left to focus on her music full-time. But her life-long pursuit of justice continues through her songs, as you can hear on her debut LP  Some of Us Are Brave .  "I read a book in law school, All the...

Arima Ederra - "Steel Wing" from the 2022 album An Orange Colored Day on Arima's Lab. Today's Song of the Day came to singer/songwriter  Arima Ederra in a moment of anger. As the firstborn daughter of Ethiopian refugees, the Los Angeles-based artist was rattled by the refugee crisis that forcibly displaced a record 68.5 million people. In a press statement, she reflected: “When the former presiden...

Carsen Gray - "Cracks" a 2022 single on Nettwerk Music Group. Canadian singer/songwriter Carsen Gray brings the beauty of her homeland of Haida Gwaii, BC to her music.  “It’s very chill, beautiful, laidback, and peaceful,” she says of her home in a press statement. “The people are nice and welcoming. We all support one another and cheer each other on. Because of where I’m from, I feel like I was a...

Among Authors - Fears We Hold, a 2022 single on Squaremoss. Five years after releasing their debut album I AM BECOME , atmospheric art-rock outfit Among Authors finally returned last month with a gripping new single. The Seattle-based band is led by Ian Ketterer and the song details the crippling anxiety he’s felt his entire life due to being born without a right thumb or ear coupled with the scar...

Martha - Hope Gets Harder from the 2022 album Please Don't Take Me Back on Specialist Subject. British pop-punkers Martha have been spreading messages of anarchy since 2014 when they released their debut album Courting Strong . They’ve dropped three more records since, with the latest being this year’s Please Don’t Take Me Back . The record proves that the band from a small town called Pity Me con...

Metronomy x Jessica Winter - “I lost my mind,” a 2022 single on Because Music. Following the release of their seventh LP  Small World ,  Metronomy return with a "reimagined" version featuring re-worked versions of tracks from that album from Sébastien Tellier, Bolis Pupul, and on today's Song of the Day, London-based singer/songwriter  Jessica Winter .  Winter cited Kylie Minogue as an inspiration...

Fanfara Station - “Lafoo” from the 2022 album Boussadia on Garrincha Edizioni Musicali. On their latest LP  Boussadia , the trio  Fanfara Station aim to celebrate the culture of each band member.  Multi-instrumentalist Marzouk Mejri grew up in Tunisia; not only does he bring an inspiration of North African rhythms to the group, but he explores traditional woodwind and percussion instruments in his...

Mykki Blanco - “French Lessons (feat. ANOHNI and Kelsey Lu)” from the 2022 album Stay Close to Music on Mykki Blanco/Transgressive. On today's Song of the Day, poet/musician  Mykki Blanco pays tribute to fellow speak-singer Lou Reed.  “The song is a reflection on the possibility of true love, on the notion that one truly can experience what we see in the Hollywood films,” Mykki states in a press r...

Multiplayer - Cosmic Quest from the 2022 self-released album Multiplayer. Matt Williams is a Seattle-based, Phoenix-bred, Kansas City-born pianist and vibraphonist who has worked with a seemingly endless amount of names in multiple jazz communities, many of which might only be familiar to niche jazz aficionados but carry a heavy mantle of respectability. His latest project Multiplayer is an improv...

Yves Tumor - "God Is A Circle," a 2022 single on Warp. Shortly after the end of spooky season, Yves Tumor dropped the chilling single “God Is A Circle” to the delight of the many fans who have been gripped by the Turin-based artist’s enigmatic take on glam rock. The single follows last year’s EP The Asymptotical World and 2020’s full-length Heaven To a Tortured Mind . Produced by Noah Goldstein (F...

Kelela - "Happy Ending" a 2022 single on Warp It's been five years since we last heard from L.A.-based artist Kelela . Her 2017 debut LP Take Me Apart was a masterful set of adventurous electro-R&B, and her recent return to music — with the singles “Washed Away” and now, "Happy Ending" — show she hasn't missed a beat during that brief hiatus. Today's Song of the Day features production by LSDX...

Floating Points - "Problems" a 2022 single on Pluto / Ninja Tune Throughout the year, British electronic musician Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd) has been releasing some excellent stand-alone singles, including today's Song of the Day. Just last week, he announced the songs will be collected and released on limited vinyl for the first time on December 16th.  Today's featured track is accompanie...

Empress Of - "Dance For You" from the 2022 Save Me EP on Major Arcana Brooklyn-based artist Empress Of (the electro-pop recording project of Lorely Rodriguez) released her five-song EP Save Me over the summer, which features the stand-out (and suitably-titled) track "Dance For You." “I love the lyrics on this song,” Rodriguez said in a press statement. “I made this in Minneapolis with BJ Burton. I...

Jason McCue - "Kingdom" from the 2022 album Screen, Turn On on Fluff & Gravy. KEXP has long been supporters and fans of local artist Jason McCue . First bursting on the scene as the 2017 winner of Sound Off! , which sees artists under 21 showcase their talent for a shot at the coveted prize. Since then, he’s gone on to release three records, 2018’s Pangaea , Wasteland in 2019, and, most recent...

Glüme - "Do Me a Favor," a 2022 single on Italians Do It Better. Describing Glüme could be easy - a wide-eyed chanteuse who channels equal parts Marilyn Monroe and Lana del Rey - but it would be reductive. Especially considering her status as one of the newest additions to the Italians Do It Better roster, who are known for their icey cool-as-hell synth-filled soundscapes. How does the pouty, Monr...

WITCH - "Waile" a 2022 single on Desert Daze/Partisan. It's been almost 40 years since WITCH (which stands for "We Intend To Cause Havoc") caused some havoc. The Zambia-based band were early adopters of the "Zamrock" sound, a combination of traditional African music with psychedelic rock, releasing seven albums back in the '70s and '80s. After Zambia-born hip-hop artist Sampa The Great featured th...

Cuffed Up - "10 for 10," a 2022 single on Corduroy Recordings. Los Angeles-based trio Cuffed Up return with a punk-pop pep-rally anthem for anyone struggling with imposter syndrome. "It's deeply rooted in confidence," vocalist and guitarist Ralph Torrefranca told Atwood Magazine . "The dialogue in the song follows a creative, trying to understand the negative thoughts that plagues their mind every...

Winter - "sunday" from the 2022 album What Kind of Blue Are You? on Bar/None. Songwriter Samira Winter (who records as Winter ) returns with her sophomore full-length, What Kind of Blue Are You? , described as an "emotional excavation of [her] purest self." The new album features guest appearances from artists like Hatchie and Sasami. "“I feel like I’ve come full circle, making an album that my 22...

Lydia Ramsey - “I Will Wait For You” from the 2022 self-released album Like A Dream. Lydia Ramsey is an Indianola, WA-born, Seattle-based Americana artist that’s been channeling the vintage folk sounds of Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt since 2016. Her wistful melodies and enchanting vocals and often simple in presentation: just a guitar or banjo, perhaps some twinkling piano, and showstealingly...

Rival Consoles - “World Turns” from the 2022 album Now Is on Erased Tapes. Ryan Lee West has been making electronic music under the name Rival Consoles since 2007, experimenting with a diverse range of styles and influences primarily with analog equipment. His latest release Now Is was made during the pandemic and sees the English producer in a contemplative mood, painting an atmospheric kaleidosc...