Live on KEXP

One of 2018's breakout bands (in either hemisphere), Auckland, New Zealand's The Beths exploded with their debut album Future Me Hates Me, a collection of clever, shimmering, and resonant rock songs. Liz Stokes and co. join DJ Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for four songs from Future Me Hates Me. 4 songs - Future Me Hates Me, Uptown Girl, Little Death, Happy Unhappy Support the show...

Like a lipstick-stained group of New Romantics, Spesh's scuzzy neon blur is infectiously accessible and thrillingly dynamic. The Seattle quartet enter the KEXP Live Room with John Richards to perform four songs from their debut album Famous World. Recorded 08/29/2018. 4 songs - Counterfeit, Orange Man, Teflon, Candy Legs Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listene...

Let's Eat Grandma's second album, I'm All Ears, isn't just a huge leap forward for the Norwich duo, it's one of the finest art-pop albums of the year. Joining DJ Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the duo (outfitted with a live drummer) perform four songs from I'm All Ears. Recorded 08/29/2018. 4 songs - Hot Pink, It's Not Just Me, I Will Be Waiting Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate...

With each album, Seattle's Bad Luck become more thrillingly difficult to pin down, fusing elements of jazz, electronic, and experimental music into a bewitching tempest. The duo of Neil Welch (saxophone/electronics) and Chris Icasiano (drums) join DJ Sharlese for a session of songs from their new album Four on Audioasis. Recorded 08/3/2018. 4 songs - Four, R.G.B., Bends, Capital Support the s...

Seattle's Among Authors create spacious, enrapturing rock that strikes as hard in its quiet moments as it does in its most turbulent. The quartet join DJ Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four songs from their self-titled debut LP. Recorded 08/24/2018. 4 songs - Noble Eyes, Radio Signals, Imitation House, Lure Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listen...

Although they reunited in 2016, it took another two years for Dove, the third album from Belly, to emerge. The Tanya Donnelly-fronted band enter the KEXP Live Room with John Richards to play two Dove songs and two Belly classics. Recorded 08/13/2018. 4 songs - Human Child, Gepetto, Shiny One, Super Connected Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

The Tokyo, Japan quintet Kikagaku Moyo (English: “geometric patterns”) paint psychedelic pictures with a deft heaviness that shines through their latest album Masana Temples. Joining DJ Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room, the band play two songs off Masana Temples and an old favorite. Recorded 08/01/2018. 3 songs - Dripping Sun, Tree Smoke, Fluffy Kosmisch Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/don...

Freedom, Damon McMahon's fifth album as Amen Dunes, feels like a beautiful dream - its silvery songwriting glide across bold sonic rock landscapes. Joining Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room, McMahon and his band perform four songs from Freedom. Recorded 08/14/2018. 4 songs - Blue Rose, Calling Paul The Suffering, Believe, Miki Dora Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio....

On their third album, Garbage People, Wimps remain as raucous, sardonic, and incisive as ever. In their latest trip to the KEXP Live Room, the Seattle trio join Cheryl Waters for a quintet of songs from the decidedly not-garbage LP. Recorded 08/24/2018. 5 songs - Garbage People, Quitter, O.P.P., Mope Around, Insomnia Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Spiky and smooth, the kinetic guitar playing of Bombino weaves through the buoyant rhythms that his band produces. The Tuareg guitarist returns to the KEXP Live Room for a set of four songs from his new album Deran in this session hosted by Troy Nelson. Recorded 07/21/2018. 4 songs - Chatahad, Takamba, Tehigren, Afrique Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Razor-sharp and bristling with intent, Washington D.C.'s Flasher exude an energy that belies their relatively short lifespan as a band. The trio join John Richards in the KEXP Live Room for a session featuring songs from their debut album, Constant Image. Recorded 07/20/2018. 4 songs - Pressure, Skim Milk, Who's Got Time?, Destroy Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystu...

DIY lifer Jeff Rosenstock has been shredding basements (and his vocal chords) for years, and his pointed, purposeful songwriting reflects the experience of a man who wants to change the world for the better one singalong at a time. Along with his band, Rosenstock joins Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a set of three songs from his 2018 album POST- and an older gem. Recorded 08/20/2018. 4 so...

Vivid and direct, The Make It All Show, the fifth album from the Oklahoma outfit Skating Polly, is perhaps the band's most vibrant and incisive set of songs to date. In this session, the trio play four songs from the album in the KEXP Live Room with Troy Nelson. Recorded 08/16/2018. 4 songs - Little Girl Blue and the Battle Envy, Free Will At Ease, Hollywood Factory, They're Cheap (I'm Free) Suppo...

Wand's gauzy psych-outs can range from crushing to calming but the constant in their chaos is just how fluidly they can move to strength to strength. The Los Angeles quintet join Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room for a massive set featuring four songs from their latest LP, Plum, and their 2018 EP, Perfume. Recorded 08/02/2018. 5 songs - High Rise, White Cat, The Gift, Bee Karma, Blue Cloud Su...

With their 2014 sophomore effort, Painted Shut, Hop Along went from Philadelphia's best kept secret to one of the most feverishly beloved bands on their circuit. Frances Quinlan & co.'s follow up, this year's Bark Your Head Off, Dog, is just as heartfelt and brilliant, with four of its songs on display in this session with Stevie Zoom in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 08/13/2018....

Comprising some of the most vital players in the last decade of the Seattle music scene, Knife Knights' astral plane-traveling hip-hop moves with a heady momentum. Making their live debut in the KEXP Live Room with Cheryl Waters, the Ishmael Butler-fronted group perform three tracks from their debut LP, 1 Time Mirage. Recorded 07/19/2018. 3 songs - Give You Game, My Dreams Never Sleep, Seven Wheel...

Phoebe Bridgers' debut LP, 2017's Stranger In The Alps, is a set of affecting, intimate songs that turned into one of the year's biggest sleeper hits. A year from its release, Bridgers and her band remain the vital engine behind the Los Angeles' songwriter's work in this session with Hans in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 07/13/2018. 4 songs - Smoke Signals, Motion Sickness, Waiting Room, Scott Stre...

Six albums into the band's discography, Wye Oak's Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner continue to experiment with both their electronic and rock tendencies, resulting in this year's finessed The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs. The Baltimore-founded band join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a session of four new songs. Recorded 07/16/2018. 4 songs - Lifer, It Was Not Natural, You o...

Magic Gone, Kiley Lotz's second full-length as Petal is a massive leap forward for the Scranton songwriter. Written both before and after a turbulent time in Lotz's life, this session with Troy Nelson highlights four songs capturing the struggle and the triumph that Lotz experienced in 2017. Recorded 07/02/2018. 4 songs - Tightrope, Shine, Shy, Magic Gone Support the show: https://www.ke...

Shane Butler and Caity Shaffer's collaboration as Olden Yolk is full of shimmering, crisp songs that reflect with a little bit of psychedelic shine. The NYC group make their debut in the KEXP Live Room with Cheryl Waters and perform four songs from their self-titled debut. Recorded 06/19/2018. 4 songs - Cut to the Quick, Vital Sign, After Us, Takes One To Know One Support the show: https://ww...

How To Socialise & Make Friends, the brilliant sophomore album from Camp Cope, finds Georgia McDonald and co.'s sharp, incisive songs hit harder and with more aplomb than on their debut. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the Melbourne trio perform four songs from one of the year's finest rock albums. Recorded 07/02/2018. 4 songs - UFO Lighter, How To Socialise & Make F...

The Chicago indie rock greats The Sea And Cake have had a career with a consistency that few other groups rival, as their stellar eleventh album Any Day shows. Sam Prekop and co. join  Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room for a session of four Any Day songs. Recorded 06/09/2018. 4 songs - Circle, Day Moon, Any Day, These Falling Arms Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/li...

Issaquah, Washington's Whitney Ballen writes quietly disarming songs that twist and crush with each new verse. Ahead of the release of her debut album, You're A Shooting Star, I'm A Sinking Ship,  Ballen and her band join DJ Sharlese on Audioasis for a performance of four tracks from the record.  Recorded 07/24/2018. 4 songs - Everything, Go, Rainier, Black Cloud Support the show: https://www...

Zola Jesus has performed live on KEXP a number of times, and each time, she's a tour de force of vocal and physical energy, often roaming the room with the same unbridled energy she brings to her shows. Joining Kevin Cole on the Afternoon Show, Zola performs six fantastic songs live from Little London Plane during the Upstream Music Festival.  Recorded 06/01/2018. 6 songs - Veka, Soak, Witnes...

The Horrors' fifth LP, the aptly-titled V, is among their most immediate and bracing work. Channeling a more muscular and dynamic style of their gauzy haze, the English quartet join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four new songs. Recorded 06/27/2018. 4 songs - Machine, Weighed Down, Ghost, Something To Remember Me By Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudi...