In Our Headphones

On their new album Golden Doubt, Melbourne-via-Tasmanian quartet Quivers honor their resilience. Vocalist Sam Nicholson breaks down the LP title. “Golden, because musically we daydream with the guitars of Teenage Fanclub and The Cure, the singing of The Roches’ sisters, the basslines of Another Sunny Day, and the drums of Lower Dens or Car Seat Headrest,” he says. “Golden Doubt, because hitting your thirties after losing people knocks you off balance for a while, but no longer caring what the world thinks is always a breakthrough feeling.” On today's Song of the Day, the band reflects on the beauty in the world. They explain in a press statement, “It is a song about being overwhelmed by someone, and somewhere, but also overwhelmed by the beauty of those strange, new experiences we used to have when travel was possible.”Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After six years, Swedish singer-songwriter José González will return with his new album Local Valley, recorded in his home studio outside Gothenburg during quarantine. On today's Song of the Day, González taps into his hardcore past from the '90s. "I wrote 'Head On' as a combat song or a list of instructions…a manual," he explains in a press release. "I mean both 'straight ahead' and head ON — as in switching on your mind. It was inspired by Fela Kuti’s 'Zombie' and the way I used to write lyrics for my hardcore band. It’s also in the vein of my song “What Will” from 2015. That one and this one are both anti-dogma, pro-reason songs. Some of the terms I use, like 'rent seeker' or 'value extractor,' are from books on economics that I’ve been reading, like The Value Of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato." Local Valley will be released 9/17 on Mute.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sleater-Kinney - "Worry With You" from the 2021 album Path of Wellness on Mom + Pop. Iconic Northwest duo Sleater-Kinney returned with the album Path of Wellness earlier this month, their tenth album overall, but their first that they've produced themselves. "The entire process relied upon taking stock of who and what was nearby, upon generosity of time, spirit, and input, but mostly upon a mutual love, need, and gratitude for making music," they shared on Facebook.  The album was written last Spring and Summer during the pandemic, and recorded in late Summer and early Fall. As such, the video for today's Song of the Day hints at the lockdown, with director Karen Murphy capturing a young couple (portrayed by Megan Watson and Fabi Reyna, editor-in-chief of She Shreds magazine) struggling with sheltering in place.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elohim - "Strut (feat. Big Freedia)," a 2021 self-released single. Los Angeles-based producer Elohim has spoken publicly in the past about her struggles with anxiety. On today's Song of the Day, she encourages herself and others to confront those feelings, teaming up with the Queen of Confidence, New Orleans artist Big Freedia. “Her music and story have inspired and continues to inspire humans all over the world. I am moved by anyone who is true to who they are,” Elohim declared in a press release. She continues, “‘Strut’ is a daily reminder to all of us, myself included, that the power we hold within ourselves is infinite. It’s a story of self-discovery and I feel proud, excited, and empowered to share a record like this. I want to inspire others to own who they are, celebrate their uniqueness, and shine their wonderful light to the world!”  Big Freedia adds, "Elohim is something else. I was so excited to get to work with her. ‘Strut’ is about owning your attitude, no matter who you are!” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mykki Blanco - "Free Ride," a 2021 self-released single. Innovative rapper Mykki Blanco returned last week with the EP Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep, their first new release in five years and their first for Transgressive Records. On today's Song of the Day, they looked back to road trips with their mother.   "Some of the most intimate moments and conversations I have ever shared were with my mother on long drives in the Southern countryside when I was a teenager," they related in a press release. "The music that soundtracked these memories on our daily journey’s was the stuff of my mothers generation. I would find myself daydreaming, reflecting and envisioning the kind of life I would like to create for myself. These memories and the music of Luther Vandross were the first inspirations behind the creation of my new song 'Free Ride.'" In the accompanying video, director Hannah Rosselin captured footage in Paris over two days.  “It was one of my most enjoyable shooting experiences so far," Rosselin shared. "The collaboration with Mykki was based on trust and respect since day one. I met them by chance, and, as we like to say together, it had to happen. If I had to describe some of my intentions with this video, I think I would say that I wanted to picture my representation of the family experience: mixed, unstructured, messy, and yet full of love. I also aimed to break the traditional codes affiliated with a religious gathering like a christening, obviously to try to make it more fun. And finally, with humility and some derision, I wanted to overlap my idea of 'the world from before' and hopefully the world that will come after.” Mykki continued, “Seeing the first edit of this video for was actually very emotional for me personally. I’m at a place in my life now where I know I want to have a family of my own one day and that I have entered a more mature phase of my life where this is a kind of thing I think about now. And on a professional level, I know videos have been such a key part of my journey and this truly feels like a video which is showing the world something new from me. Especially in light of the year we have all been through with the pandemic with limited engagement in person with those we love, this just feels like such a warm and positive visual to be sharing with the world to recall the joy we’ve been missing from gatherings like this and an encouragement to remain optimistic in looking forward to be able to return to engaging like this with those who we love. I am so grateful and impressed by Hannah and Division and the rest of the team involved with bringing this video to life, the video has such a beautiful cinematic feel to it and really captured what I’d hoped we would be able to show with the video for this song.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MAN ON MAN - "It's So Fun (To Be Gay)" from the 2021 album MAN ON MAN on Polyvinyl. While others were baking banana bread or binging shows on Netflix, Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum and his boyfriend Joey Holman started the music project Man on Man during the pandemic.  “Roddy was just like, ‘We’re both musicians, let’s just do it to pass time.’ At first, we were just going to share with our friends,” Holman told Rolling Stone, but the online response to their debut single, "Daddy", was so enthusiastic. “They were like, ‘Thank you, I see myself in this. This is me.’ Which is so cool! People have never seen two gay guys who are a couple making the kind of music we’re making, writing about what we’re writing about, displaying it in the way we’re displaying it.” Today's Song of the Day is a charming pop tune with a heartwarming accompanying video. "We wanted 'It's So Fun (To Be Gay)' to feel organic and warm with a strong, universal message," the band shared via a press statement. "For the video we aimed to focus on our community. Getting through the hardships of the past year, we leaned heavily on what we mean to each other in terms of support and understanding. We were in the middle of launching our Chosen Family project and had just finished linking people up for our penpal program and sourcing art for our quarterly zine. We thought the best way to exhibit the joy in the song would be to have a video full of our chosen family — friends, peers, and heros. So, we asked friends to share their love and lives and these queer testimonials are what make up the bulk of the video. Our togetherness and bond is key to moving forward in these times especially and we aimed to capture that bond and essence, particularly with Gay Pride 2021 on the horizon. It felt fitting to donate the launch-day's sales to Born Perfect, which is a non-profit whose mission is to end conversion therapy." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fred again.. & The Blessed Madonna - “Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing)” from the 2021 album Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020) on Atlantic. When the clubs shut down during the pandemic, London producer Fred again.. wrote today's Song of the Day as a eulogy to the dancefloor, sampling a voice mail message from his dear friend The Blessed Madonna (real name: Marea Stamper).  "Marea and I met in Palestine around 5 years ago now. I call her my rave shaman," Fred again.. said in a press release. "I think she’s that for a lot of other people too to be honest! Her ability to tell stories and share things has always been a particularly beautiful part of her beautiful mind so I guess it makes sense that I ended up making a song out of sampling one of our conversations! She's a real hug of a human." Stamper continues, "Right from the second I met Fred there was a real closeness and even though I didn’t know him at all, I always felt like 'this is gonna be a person in my life.' On this particular night in lockdown, Fred asked how I was feeling and I just talked to him like I normally would. Somehow he digs in all my babble and makes it into something beautiful and personal. Fred is a singular artist. He had such a tender way of looking at sound. You can’t fake it. You gotta have real heart. No one has a heart like that." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shabazz Palaces - "20 Gear Science," a 2021 self-released single. Seattle's Shabazz Palaces share "20 Gear Science," the first single from their forthcoming LP The Lost Vibes Of Shabazz: The Skrilla Scrolls, a collection of rarities and previously unreleased songs. True to their decade-long career, the song is a spacey, cinematic (or "sinematic", as their video production is called) journey of synths and swagger.  Accompanying the track is a video filmed by Stephan Gray and Shabazz vocalist/producer Ishmael Butler. As they explain in the YouTube description, "While on vacation at their Baška hideaway retired Cantù basketball star Capricio "Prici" Drogba and his girlfriend Glo Moonlit must deal with the strange interloper that has appeared down by the pool." (Both Drogba and the pool boy are portrayed by Butler.)  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DAM - "Hada Yid’ie Sitna" from the 2019 album Ben Haana Wa Maana on Cooking Vinyl. Formed in the late '90s, DAM have been called "the first Palestinian hip hop crew and among the first to rap in Arabic." Since the very beginning, the group have used their lyrics to speak out about the trials of being Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. On their third and most recent release, Ben Haana Wa Maana (which translates to "Between Both Worlds"), DAM explore the subject of self-love.  “We know that we had hit hard times. We always talked about the darkness we live in,” founding member Tamer Nafar said in a press release. “But this time we changed our attitude. As we say in one of our songs 'Hada Yidi’e Sitna'; This is not a darkness of a tomb, we are in a darkness of a womb.” In an interview with The National, they explain that today's Song of the Day is "the story of kids fighting on the streets before somebody calls their mothers." Songwriter and rapper Maysa Daw (who joined the collective in 2012) explains, "In that song, we’re calling for women to take the leadership and guide us in a better way." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thee Sacred Souls - "Give Us Justice," a 2020 single on Daptone Records. With today's Song of the Day, San Diego-based trio Thee Sacred Souls reflect on the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, singing "there'll be no peace / until there's justice." The Grammy-nominated band The Black Pumas declared it "the song that will define 2020 for me" in Rolling Stone magazine.  "The song kind of wrote and spoke for itself," vocalist Josh Lane told KPBS. "I might not have been someone who was murdered... but in a certain situation I could've been any other people who lost their lives to police brutality or brutality in general."  As the band states on their Bandcamp page, "proceeds from this single will go to promoting the freedoms, rights, and wellbeing of black people, spread across various organizations which they will continue to research over time, starting with The Movement for Black Lives." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Al-Bara’em - "Ishraq" from the 2021 Al-Bara'em EP on SMNTCS. A few years ago, Houston-based music journalist Sama'an Ashrawi found out a surprising fact about his Dad: back in the 1960s-'70s, his father and all but one of his aunts and uncles were the founding members Al-Bara'em ("The Blooms" in Arabic), Palestine's first original rock band, and the first Palestinian rock band to feature women on stage.  “At a family gathering — either Thanksgiving or Christmas — one of my uncles told me that recordings of the band existed,” Ashrawi told The Arab News. “In that moment it became something very sacred to me. It was bigger than our family history; it became immediately clear that it was Palestinian cultural history. People needed to know about this.” After the revelation, Ashrawi headed to Palestine on a research trip, unearthing recordings and photographs, including the live shot seen above, from a sold-out performance at the Jerusalem YMCA in December 1973. He's currently filming a documentary of his discoveries, and hopes to recruit younger musicians under supervision of his uncles to record some previously unrecorded songs. “I’m so grateful, mashallah, that all the members of the band are still alive, and that’s what makes it even more urgent to get the full story of the band out as soon as possible.” Of today’s Song of the Day, Ashrawi explains to KEXP, “During Al-Bara’em member Samir’s recording of the demo in the early 1980s, a gospel choir happened to be just outside in the studio lobby while Samir was recording; when he stepped outside to take a break, he found that the choir were harmonizing to his melodies and was quite touched. He told them he’s from the same place as Jesus and asked if they’d like to record their harmonies, which you can now hear over the end of ‘Ishraq.’” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mndsgn - "Hope You’re Doin’ Better," a 2021 single on Stones Throw Records. On his latest LP Rare Pleasure, L.A.-based producer Mndsgn (real name: Ringgo Ancheta) finds influence in the soundtracks of the '70s and '80s, stating the repetitions "echo the recurring motifs we experience in life, sometimes being revisited by the same lessons in different shapes and forms."  With today's Song of the Day, in particular, he channels an emotional experience into a laid-back summery groove. In a press statement, he shares: “During the holidays in 2018, my father had a complete mental breakdown. It was during a family party which made it all the more dramatic and equally traumatic for everyone that was there.  I stayed in LA that year so I received the news remotely.  It was heartbreaking to say the least. In the following months, he plunged into a deep downward spiral that involved him quitting his job, isolating himself from family, including myself & giving us an alarming concern that he could potentially end his life if he continued down the path he was on.   It was a desperate cry for help.” He adds, "Although communication between each other was severed, it allowed the opportunity to truly acquaint myself with the concept of loving from afar... a song I think many can relate to when we feel communication is still sought after even when we feel it isn’t available.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Damien Jurado - "Tom" from the 2021 album The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania on Field Painting Music. On his 17th album, The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania, Seattle singer/songwriter Damien Jurado introduces the listener to ten stories filled with characters confronting different stressful scenarios: "hurricanes moving toward town, strained connections, amnesiacs in the front yard," his press release details. He credits his cast-driven songs with his childhood love of films and TV, telling Folk Radio, "I’m still following that line with the new material I’m writing. I’m actually going to be recording a new album next month in June. It’s going to be a five-part album, sort of like I did with [his 2012 album] Maraqopa with the trilogy, but bigger. It’s focused around one person and a few other people, like your standard movie or TV show. It’s set in the past with the main character sort of going in-and-out of his own existence.” It's fitting that The Monster... is the first release from Damien’s own Maraqopa Records. “It seemed like the right thing to do financially. I want to be able to put out more music at a rate that’s quicker than I was in the past. Most record labels make you wait two years to release something and I write at such a high rate that there’s no real point in waiting that long. I want to put out two or more records a year and I wasn’t able to do that before,” he continues. "I’m most definitely releasing one or two next year. There’s also going to be some reissues as well. 2022 is going to be a giant, busy year for me.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yee Loi - "Be Like Johnny" from the 2021 self-released album No One Eats For Free. Taking their name from the Cantonese translation of "two girls," Yee Loi is just that: two sisters from Liverpool, England. Guitarist/bassist Rose is 13-years-old, and drummer Matilda just turned 12 last month. The pair credit learning songs by The Ramones with teaching them how to play music, so it's fitting that their debut single is an ode to frontman Johnny Ramone, who they say "inspired us to achieve our musical goals."  Their debut album No One Eats For Free was written and recorded during the pandemic, but the siblings promise it's not a bummer. "It's a special memory of getting through a difficult time," they told Lazie Indie Magazine. "The songs are written about our experiences and our family. One of the songs is about our Gran who passed recently. Every song has a meaning or a story. Sounds like it is a sad thing. But it certainly isn't a sad song album! It really rocks! Heavily influenced by some great rockers." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Split Single - "(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love" from the 2021 album Amplificado on Inside Outside Records. Jason Narducy can often be found playing bass for Superchunk and Bob Mould’s band; on his own, the Chicago-based musician records as Split Single, and he'll be releasing his third full-length, Amplificado, on June 25th. He continues the high-standard of musicianship he finds in his side projects by recruiting R.E.M.'s Mike Mills on bass and his usual bandmate Jon Wurster on drums.  For today's Song of the Day, Narducy sends out a “message of love and support to the LGBTQ+ community,” strengthened through its accompanying video, directed by Jamie Fleischel. In a press release, he shares: The chords and melody for this song sounded like defiance to me. I wanted to write a lyric that matched this sonic mood. The first words that came into my head were “She loves her and he loves him.” So it ended up being an unconventional love song. I’m expressing support and joy for diverse couples everywhere, including but not only my friends that appear in the video. I met Jamie Fleischel years ago but didn’t find out until recently that he was making these great videos for Wilco and Jeff Tweedy. He and his family joined me weekly last fall to write get-out-the-vote postcards and we grew close enough for me to feel comfortable asking him if he’d be interested in making a video. I love how he captured the unabashed joy in the song through the footage of the charismatic kids and loving couples. The visual narrative is in line with the lyrics but also evokes what many of us are feeling with vaccines, more sunshine, and the wicked witch out of office: finally something to look forward to. I hope it makes people smile and I hope it makes people feel less lonely. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SPELLLING - "Boys at School" from the 2021 album The Turning Wheel on Sacred Bones. Bay Area-based artist Chrystia Cabral, who records as SPELLLING, returns with her third full-length, The Turning Wheel, out June 25th via Sacred Bones. In a press release, she details that the album has “themes of human unity, the future, divine love, and the enigmatic ups and downs of being a part of this carnival called life.”  Today's Song of the Day is a dramatic seven-minute-long piano-led ballad, with Cabral reflecting on the early stages of her life. She explains that the track “steps back into my younger self, my teenage self to voice my angst, desires and disillusionments. I knew when I created the main motif on the piano that it was striking something really raw and both delicate and fierce. The notes just immediately transported me to the era of my youth, of this time when you are really beginning to confront the mirror of yourself to the outside world.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nasimiyu - "Watercolor" from the 2021 album P O T I O N S on Figureight. Brooklyn-based musician and dancer Nasimyu Murumba (who records as nasimiYu) returns with P O T I O N S, her first new solo album in seven years, a joyous release produced during a difficult time. “This album was being made while the world was on fire in all the ways,” she shared in a press statement, “and some of the most loving ways found their way into these songs because that’s what I was overflowing with throughout the experience. I just wanted to make the ‘me-est’ thing possible, undiluted, and to find my own healing in the process.” She explains that today's Song of the Day is a "psychedelic awakening." She adds: It’s about that tender place of vulnerability that’s always hiding behind our outer shell. The song is a celebration of how much bravery it takes to shed our armor and to choose to live in our softness. 'Watercolor' is about letting myself get all the way to the other side of a good cry, and finding complete elation on the other side. Crying as cleansing. Taking an 'inner shower.' This song is about being the opposite cool, the opposite of nonchalant. It’s about allowing yourself to be as fully human as you can be. Bursting open with every color of the emotional spectrum all at once. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Enumclaw - "Free Drop Billy" from the 2021 album Jimbo Demo on Youth Riot. On their debut EP Jimbo Demo, Tacoma-based quartet Enumclaw channel the '90s Northwest sound, with lyrics addressing growing up and finding your place in the world. On today's Song of the Day, vocalist/guitarist Aramis Johnson reflects on his upbringing, repeating the relatable refrain, “I don’t wanna be a loser.” “Where I grew up, a lot of people are townies, or losers," he shares in a press release. "I sometimes have survivor’s guilt about it. I went to college, and I’ve done some stuff that a lot of people I know in my life haven’t. It’s about not wanting to fall back into the traps of things like that, about not wanting to end up like some of my friends. I don’t want to get stuck.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Curtis Harding - "Hopeful," a 2021 single on Anti-. Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Curtis Harding returns with his first new music in three years with a powerful anthem for these times. “I wrote [“Hopeful”] some time ago but in theory it goes far beyond a time and place,” Harding explained in a press release. “I’ve always tried to carry it (Hope) wherever I am. Darkness finds us all, hope allows us the fortitude to seek out the light.” The soulful single is accompanied by a video shot by photojournalist Lynsey Weatherspoon. “Working on the visuals for 'Hopeful' was very cathartic because it gave me the chance to revisit and reflect on the activities from 2020,” Weatherspoon said. “Curtis' song really brings home what we're all feeling and how we can progress to the hope we have for our future. His energy is unmatched and he immersed himself into the process, which helped us create a powerful storyline for the video. Being able to really bring home the meaning of the song within several areas of Atlanta really made this project a success. I know 'Hopeful' will be able to bring a sense of place in a world that we desire to love and peace to be spread abound.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ambar Lucid - "Get Lost in the Music," a 2021 single on 300 Entertainment. Dominican/Mexican artist Ambar Lucid exhibits a worldliness beyond her 20 years of age with her latest single “Get Lost in the Music,” the title track from her forthcoming EP out June 18th. It's her first single since last year's debut full-length, Garden of Lucid, a breakout release examining radical self-love, with lyrics in both Spanish and English.  "A lot of people have their own insecurities and their own battles that they’re dealing with, and sometimes they project them onto other people, maybe not even on purpose," she told Vice last year. "It’s so important to define yourself, and to be true and honest with yourself. That is the only way I think we end up on the path that is most authentic to ourselves, and brings us the most happiness.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Faye Webster - "Cheers" from the 2021 album I Know I'm Funny haha on Secretly Canadian. With today's Song of the Day, Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Faye Webster says she finally gets to feel "like a badass for once.”  “This song has always felt like a standout from the record to me," Webster said in a press release about her fourth full-length, I Know I’m Funny haha, out June 25th via Secretly Canadian. "It was the kind of song where you’re like ‘oh yeah, this is the one,' after the first take. It felt different to me and it made it feel like I was entering a new era and chapter for myself. It’s kind of the outlier on the record but at the same time is still so original and identifying to myself." The track is accompanied by a video directed by Matt Swinsky, starring members of the Atlanta dirt bike scene. “If cameras were not present, these guys are still riding for their own enjoyment,” Webster told American Songwriter. “People love what they do and yet there are still many people who are so quick to judge and label them in a hateful way. Everyone of them that I’ve met has been kind, welcoming and hospitable to us so that inspires me to continue documenting them the best I can.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TORRES - "Don't Go Puttin Wishes in My Head" from the 2021 album Thirstier on Merge Records. On her forthcoming full-length, Thirstier, TORRES (real name: Mackenzie Scott) exudes a newfound happiness. “I’ve been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn’t feel for most of my life,” she shares in a press release. “I feel like a rock within myself. And I’ve started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, too.” She adds, “I wanted to channel my intensity into something that felt positive and constructive, as opposed to being intense in a destructive or eviscerating way. I love the idea that intensity can actually be something life-saving or something joyous.” On today's Song of the Day, Scott goes for what she calls her "relentless arena country star moment — my shameless Tim McGraw cheeseball hit.” The heartland-inspired track is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes look at Scott's personal life with girlfriend Jenna Gribbon, the artist behind Thirstier's album cover.  Thirstier will be released July 30th via Merge. TORRES is scheduled for a September 27th show at the Tractor Tavern.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pronoun - "I WANNA DIE BUT I CAN’T (CUZ I GOTTA KEEP LIVING)" from the 2021 OMG I MADE IT EP on Wax Bodega. Brooklyn bedroom pop artist Alyse Vellturo (who records as Pronoun) follows her 2019 lowercase'd debut album, i'll show you stronger, with the all-cap'ed EP OMG I MADE IT, out June 11th via Wax Bodega.  In a press release, Vellturo explains that today's fist-pumping Song of the Day is "about the uncomfortable feeling that everyone around you is growing into their own lives while I feel like nothing’s changing within myself. It’s the uncomfortable feeling of not wanting to be on this planet but knowing I really have to put in effort and figure out how to make life work for me. It’s about the uncomfortable but at the same time comforting feeling that others feel the same. It’s literally a hard look in the mirror, by myself, in a bathroom, asking myself what the hell is up. I’m talking to myself throughout the entire thing, but these days who isn’t." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gary Louris - "Almost Home" from the 2021 album Jump For Joy on Sham/Thirty Tigers. It's been a while since Gary Louris has released a solo album, but The Jayhawks frontman returns on June 4th with the full-length Jump For Joy, his first since 2008's Vagabond.  Today's Song of the Day was originally meant to be a jingle for an AT&T commercial. When they turned it down, a friend suggested Quaker. When they changed their mind on using it, he told American Songwriter he "wrote a chorus and a verse, and a bridge, and it became what it was supposed to be.” He continues, saying that lyrically, the song is "a lot of looking back, reassessing with a microscope, then at a distance — so from outer space to nose-on-the-ground. Life sometimes carries you in new ways, but if you can stop and look around, you can learn to appreciate where you are, instead of where you’re going and where you’ve been.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Place to Bury Strangers - "End of the Night" from the 2021 Hologram EP on Dedstrange. Long-running Brooklyn-based psych-rock band A Place To Bury Strangers return this summer with the new EP, Hologram, and a new line-up. Frontman and founding member Oliver Ackermann is now joined by John Fedowitz on bass and Sandra Fedowitz of Ceremony East Coast on drums. Ackermann and his new bassist are childhood friends who formerly played in the shoegaze band Skywave. Today's Song of the Day was the first result of their reconnection. Ackerman shared in a press statement: “End Of The Night” is the first written in collaboration with either of the new band members. John sent me the drum track and challenged me to write a song over it. It sort of came about as a strange stream of consciousness and unknowingly became about the end of the former band and the beginning of the new one. Each layer of the song stripping away the dead skin from the old and regrowing layer and layer of distortion of the new band. It’s great to be working again with John Fedowitz. I feel like our songwriting styles shot off in different directions from our earlier band Skywave only to come back to the table with different experiences to create something special again. Hologram will be out July 16th via Dedstrange. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sofia Kourtesis - "Dear George," a 2020 self-released single. Today's Song of the Day was chosen in honor of It's Still Going on Day, recognizing the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, playing songs of hope, justice, and change, songs that affirm Black humanity, classic songs of protest as well as those that came out in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, amid the protests of last summer.  One of the songs that came out of this grief was this single from Peruvian-born, Berlin-based producer Sofia Kourtesis. As she writes on her Bandcamp page, in a letter to Floyd's family, "From deep in my heart, I can't imagine the grief you are feeling. I tried my best to express my feelings by writing you this song. Today, l keep you in my heart through melody. I will keep protesting, I will keep talking about you. All profits from this release will be donated to 70+ bail funds aiding the Black Lives Matter protests." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bachelor - "Stay in the Car" from the 2021 album Doomin' Sun on Polyvinyl. Bachelor — the new project from friends Jay Som (Melina Duterte) and Palehound (Ellen Kempner) — will release their debut album this Friday, titled Doomin’ Sun. The LP was recorded in Topanga, California, over two weeks in January 2020, before the lockdown. Today's Song of the Day dates back to 2019, with Kempner explaining in a press release: “I wrote the lyrics to ‘Stay in the Car’ back in December of 2019 when I was in Florida for my partner’s top surgery. I had run out one afternoon, post-op, while he was healing to grab lunch for us and as I was gathering my stuff in the parking lot, a big car pulled up and this absolutely beautiful woman got out. She was dressed all in red, dripping with jewelry and had the most wild fiery mane I’d ever seen. She was yelling at the man behind the wheel asking him what he wanted from the store and I wished I was that man. I wanted to be a part of her life, her best friend, her driver, whatever she wanted me to be. I was completely mesmerized.” The song is accompanied by a colorful video, directed and edited by Haoyan of America. Duterte adds: “We wanted this song to be a visceral listening experience, inspired by the Pixies and the Breeders. For the music video, we worked on a two-day shoot with Haoyan of America in Poughkeepsie in extremely cold weather. We all collaborated on the idea that our friendship should be portrayed in a fun and stylish way. Haoyan captured that energy in his own unique and creative lens through his collection of ’80s/’90s/’00s props and toys, CGI, and anything car-themed.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Khari Wendell McClelland - "Feels Real Good," a 2021 self-released single. In a way, singer/songwriter Khari Wendell McClelland shares the writing credit for today's Song of the Day with his Facebook followers. The Vancouver-based artist asked them to share the ways they've been finding joy during the otherwise bleak pandemic, and then took their answers and created this beautiful track. "It was probably the most response I ever received for any single post on Facebook," he told The Georgia Straight last month. "They said, 'I go to the forest.' 'I eat meals with friends.' 'I sing in a choir.' 'I just hang out with my kids.' I took all of those answers and made a song, and I think it's incredibly moving. A goal for me as a person, but also as an artist, is to connect with the community and to feel like I'm really responding to what people are feeling and thinking and needing, and this song really does that in a powerful way." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grady & Kiddus - "The Sun (feat. Blake Anthony)" from the 2021 album Don't Think About Me Dying on Empty Planet. London-based producer and vocalist Kiddus was struggling with the death of a close friend when another friend, Seattle hip-hop producer Grady, stepped in with support. Together, they completed the new EP Don't Think About Me Dying. As Kiddus writes on Facebook: Last year I lost a close friend and writing songs seemed like a good, healthy way to process the grief, so I started pretty much immediately. After a week I had written pages and pages like a journal in this one note on my phone. None of it rhymed and a lot of it didn’t make sense, I didn’t know what I was trying to say. A week later to the day, Grady sent a pack of demos, but I still couldn’t write anything good. So I went back to that note in my phone to try and salvage a song from it. For whatever reason, with Grady’s production everything started making more sense, I moved shit around and rephrased things, and I turned the note into 3 songs about grieving. TBH I reckon Mason would think they’re shit, but I made them for me. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MALIA - "Deep Blue" from the 2021 self-released album Unpolished. Originally from Seattle, Malia Cunningham moved to California to study political science and sociology. “I just went through the motions. I never did anything with music throughout those years,” she told Buzzbands L.A. “I was so unhappy and realized that everything about my life had to change. That’s when I sat down and had the first, honest conversation I’d had with myself in years. I asked myself, ‘What makes you truly happy, fears aside?’ And I knew the answer was and always had been music.” From there, she learned how to play guitar and put her soulful voice to work as MALIA. Her debut full-length was appropriately titled Late Bloomer, and a subsequent tour with Syd from the Internet introduced her to a wider audience. Her latest LP, Unpolished, is anything but. In a press statement, she states the album is "about embracing the sides of ourselves that may need some work or TLC, and in doing so, finding great inner peace." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesse Markin - "Exodus (feat. Akua Naru)," a 2021 single on VILD. Born in Liberia and raised in the 100% white Finnish town of Viljakkala, singer/songwriter Jesse Markin turned to music to find himself. His 2019 debut album, Folk, landed him the "Newcomer of the Year" and the "Critics’ Choice" awards at the Emma Gala (the Finnish equivalent of The Grammys). (And, last fall, he participated in Finland's own version of the TV show Dancing with the Stars, where he placed seventh!) His follow-up full-length, NOIR, will be out June 11th; he's shared a few singles from the release already, including today's Song of the Day, which finds Markin teaming up with American rapper Akua Naru. "Before, I was scared to even reach out to certain artists to see if we can work together," he told American Songwriter. "Now though, the internet has made me feel like we’re on the same level, in a sense. I can reach out to anyone.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IAMNOBODI - "Let It Roll Interlude (feat. Phonte & BeMyFiasco)," a 2021 self-released single. West Coast producer IAMNOBODI is hardly a nobody. Born in Düsseldorf, Germany as Dede Ademabua to a father who's a blues and jazz singer and a mother who is described as a music connoisseur, he's been making music almost all his life, starting out as an MC at the age of 13. Now a Grammy-nominated producer, he released a new EP last week titled The Interludes.  Today's Song of the Day can be found on that release. The track brings in Phonte, a fellow Grammy-nominated rapper/singer/songwriter/producer who is also a member of the North Carolina group Little Brother and one-half of the duo The Foreign Exchange, and Bianca "BeMyFiasco" Rodriguez, a previous collaborator with Phonte whose mellifluous voice also appears backing jazz pianist Robert Glasper.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avi Loud - "Breezy" from the 2021 Flower Chased the Sunshine EP on Heckworld Radio. A photographer and multi-disciplinary artist, Avi Loud aims to use his work to "spotlight and collaborate with underrepresented artists, aligning with like-minded folks interested in uplifting their communities through music, dance, and shared experience." Born and raised in Seattle, he's currently based in Los Angeles which influenced his second EP, Flower Chased the Sunshine. Via Bandcamp, he states, "Inspired by the upheavals and transitions made during the chaotic year of 2020. I was lucky enough to have the space and time to engage in deep reflection and self-discovery, only to find (again) that everything I need, I already have within." Today's Song of the Day was chosen by DJ Mike Ramos, who says: "Avi Loud is a half-Vietnamese, half-Jewish multidisciplinary Seattle artist whose mixed background and influences shine through in his music. 'Breezy' from his Flower Chased the Sunshine EP blends elements from techno, house, juke, and UK drill beats with melodic synth leads reminiscent of ‘90s West Coast G-Funk. Airy and wavy but still knocking hard through the speakers, 'Breezy' sounds like the LA sun beaming down through the windshield as you speed down the highway with the windows cracked." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Khana Bierbood - "ลูกรัง / Dusty Lane" from the 2019 album คนแปลกหน้าจากดินแดนบูรพา​ /​ Strangers from the Far East on Guruguru Brain.​ It will come as no surprise that คณะ เบียร์บูด/Khana Bierbood (translated as "Strange Brew" in Thai) is signed to Guruguru Brain, the label founded by Go & Tomo of Kikagaku Moyo. Both bands share a psychedelic surf rock sound, one that Khana Bierbood infuses with traditional Thai influences. Even though the band is 13-years-old now (formed in Bangsaen, Chonburi, way back in 2008), they just released their debut full-length last year, Strangers From The Far East.  Today's Song of the Day was chosen by Tia Ho, Social Media & Digital Community Analyst, who describes the track as "the soundtrack of a spaghetti western in a Thai surf town. Thank you, Kikagaku Moyo, for introducing us to Khana Bierbood!” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Empat Lima - "Climbing Clouds," a 2021 self-released single. Australian-based trio Empat Lima were influenced by 1960s girl groups from South East Asia, particularly Surabaya-based 1960s all-female garage rock band Dara Puspita. (They even cover their 1967 single "Au Go Go" on their debut EP Satu BOOM!.) "Although they are amazing musicians, it is the energy and spirit of their sound that captured our attention and continues to inspire us," explained bassist and founding member Sooji Kim in an interview with the Australia‐Indonesia Youth Association. "These women were revolutionary, and it is this energy that we hope to capture in our music."  As a Korean and second-generation Australian, Kim looked to Indonesia to connect with her Asian roots, living in Jogjakarta and attending Indonesia’s Institute for the Arts (ISI). "Korea not being that convenient or close by, I guess I just turned to the nearest neighbours," she admitted to Art Radar Journal. "I went over there to live, to explore my ‘Asian-ness’ really, the sorts of values that were not being expressed here in this Western culture."  The band's connection to Indonesia inspired Kim to launch WANITA: Women’s Art Network Indonesia to Australia, an organization designed to facilitate networks between the female arts communities in Jakarta and Melbourne. "Within the last few years there’s been an escalation of expressions of racism, which seems to be more accepted," Kim said back in 2015. "And it really concerned me and started to feel like a personal issue, something that I felt like I wanted to do something about within the communities that I could express it within…I feel like if we develop more communication and connection with women in our neighbouring countries and we do it at a level where we can implement some sort of change, even though it seems like it’s in a very tiny way, I feel like there’s nothing negative about it  –  it has some potential to make a start." I (Janice Headley, Digital Content Producer -- hiya!) chose this song for this week's Song of the Day podcast after discovering the band on the Typical Girls, Volume 5 compilation (as written about in the March edition of In Our Headphones). Their post-punk-tinged surf-pop is right down my alley, and learning about their efforts to elevate South East Asian art and music just made me love them even more. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wastewomxn - "Natural Ones" from the 2020 self-released album Wastewomxn. A self-described "queer transatlantic Afro-Asia band," Wastewomxn was formed by Adedamola Bajomo (London), Tobi Adebajo (Essex), and Kyoko Takenaka (Los Angeles). On their self-titled debut album, they craft soulful songs, infusing R&B, punk, gospel, and hip-hop. In an interview with Color Bloq, Takenaka explains the cultural collaboration: I think both cultures share this return to ancient knowings and practices of healing especially, and that's where we bond directly a lot. Whether that's different healing modalities or rituals that we are incorporating into our work, or through the expression of movement and art. If we were always centering English, then we wouldn’t have that. To tie it to queerness — this concept of “unbinary alien” —  I think that's something we embrace as diasporic cultures in saying we have been othered in western society [while simultaneously asking,] what does it look like when we actually value those roots and ancient knowings and then connect directly. During this pandemic, I think a lot of people are seeing that american and western is truly not the way and already failing, so people around the world are going back to their roots in different ways saying 'hey what do we already know about survival and interdependence and [what] can we bring that to the table.' Today's Song of the Day was chosen by Wei Wei Xiao, Community Engagement Coordinator. “'Natural Ones’ extraterrestrial energy captures the diasporic feelings of cultural alienation and yearning for rootedness," she shares. “Lyrically, the song interweaves Japanese, English and Yoruba to tell stories about what it means to forget, remember, and reclaim your roots.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lionmilk - "Pastel Memories" from the 2021 album I Hope You Are Well on Leaving Records. As we say at KEXP, "music heals," and with his latest album I Hope You Are Well, Los Angeles-based musician Moki Kawaguchi — who records as Lionmilk — sought to send comfort to his family and friends during the stressful early stage of the pandemic with his home-dubbed cassettes filled with soothing, ambient electronic music. As COVID-19 continued to loom over 2020, he teamed up with Leaving Records to release these meditative tracks to all.  As he told KEXP's Dusty Henry, "Whenever I would feel anxious or depressed – and that was a lot throughout the past few years of my life – I was expressing that through music. It always helped me feel better. That's the power of music, in a way. It helps you get through a lot of the tough times in your life. During those moments, I couldn't express it in making a beat or making all "hype music." I would feel more connected to like my improvisational side. So I guess that's how I represented those emotions by playing solo piano music or making loops and such." Today's Song of the Day was chosen by Isabel Khalili, Podcast Producer & Licensing Administrator, who says, "I love the backstory of this Lionmilk record, and how he used music to soothe his community through trying times. This (aptly named) song transports me to a big green field surrounded by rolling hills and a pastel sky. I hope it takes you somewhere nice too." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No-No Boy - "The Best God Damn Band in Wyoming" from the 2021 album 1975 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. On his sophomore album, 1975, musician/historian Julian Saporiti (recording as No-No Boy) aims to share the stories of Asian musicians in American folk music, as part of his Ph.D dissertation at Brown University. As the child of a Vietnamese emigrant, who escaped here after her grandfather was assassinated in the Tet Offensive, Saporiti was finally able to find himself reflected in a predominantly white music genre via his research. “Even though I grew up in Nashville and grew up loving that music and literally in the industry,” he says via a press release, “there was always something that didn’t fit, because I look the way I do.”  Today's Song of the Day, in particular, tells the tale of the George Igawa Orchestra, an all-Japanese jazz band formed by residents of the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, a Japanese internment camp in Wyoming. Saporiti explains the song: An all Asian American big band who formed in a Wyoming concentration camp during WWII — how could I not be captivated by that story?  I went to a jazz college, studied jazz history, and never learned about ANY musicians who looked like me. It was only after I moved to Wyoming and saw this photograph of the George Igawa Orchestra that I realized, as an Asian American musician, I am part of a rich lineage.  A decade later, I have this pile of songs illuminating a diverse array of Asian American and immigrant stories which sadly, seem more relevant now than ever and it all started with the 'The Best God Damn Band in Wyoming.' This band would hit the road to play school proms and town dances only to go back behind barbed wire after the gig. And Igawa himself should be taught about as a musical pioneer who fused Japanese instruments and music with his big band. To play music at all during a situation like the Japanese American Incarceration was astounding and I'm happy that through this little tune a few more people will know about this band.  Who knows, maybe their story can be a gateway into understanding the complex, diverse and rich history of Asian Americans. The George Igawa Orchestra deserves a novel or a movie, but at least, now, they have a song. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hiperson - "Crashing Into Daylight" from the 2020 album Bildungsroman on Maybe Mars Records. Hiperson formed in 2015 when its members were students at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China. Since then, the post-punk quintet have graduated to their most sophisticated release yet, their third album Bildungsroman, which was released last year.  Their latest is a concept album about a woman recovering from the end of a relationship. Lead vocalist Chen Sijiang told online magazine Kiwese, “When we decided to record, we started to see the songs as having something coherent. We had a lot of discussion about the character moving from one emotional state to another, experiencing the details of her life as she changed to a new one — even now we are still trying to picture the shape.” Guitarist Ji Yinan agrees, adding, "The ideas in these songs are not static." Chen concludes, "“We see ourselves as story starters. We want to start the story, and let people write the rest themselves.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morningwhim - "Talking to Myself," a 2020 single on Miles Apart Records. Japanese indiepop quartet Morningwhim were so inspired by Brooklyn band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, that not only do they share a similar buoyant, charming style, but they even used the same artist on their album covers, Winston Szeto Chmielinski, who painted The Pains' 2001 album Belong, and now the artwork for today's Song of the Day, "Talking to Myself." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

本日休演 (Honjitsu Kyuen) - "Allergies" from the 2021 album MOOD on Mastard Records. With their fourth full-length MOOD, Kyoto-formed/Tokyo-based band 本日休演 (Honjitsu Kyuen) continue to mix and meld genres, a skill clearly demonstrated on today's Song of the Day which started out as an homage to Prince, adds touches of traditional Japanese folk, and then goes into a rap.  "When I listen to music, I still use [an] iPod, which plays different music seamlessly," frontman Takujyuro Iwade tells Tokion. "It’s normal for me to listen to free jazz after listening to Buddy Holly; that’s how it’s always been, and I guess, this style reflects directly to the music I make."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 파란노을 (Parannoul) - "아름다운 세상 (Beautiful World)" from the 2021 album To See the Next Part of the Dream on POCLANOS. “I just hope there will be more active losers like me in the world,” South Korea-based shoegaze musician Parannoul says in the description of his sophomore album, To See The Next Part of the Dream. A self-described student writing music in his bedroom, Parannoul utilizes waves of fuzz and sensational melodic hooks to manufacture a fantasy world. To See The Next Part of the Dream is also a means of manifestation. Pulling from Parannoul’s nostalgia for the music of his youth and references to anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion, the album tells the story of a fictional 21-year-old aspiring musician with the mind of a child and no actual ability to play guitar.  Album opener “아름다운 세상 (Beautiful World)” sets the stage, well, beautifully. Waves of raucous guitars blitz against deliriously complex and invigorating math rock drum patterns. Hints of emo abound as well in Parannoul’s riffs and vocals. Translations of his lyrics find the album’s protagonist struggling against self doubt, culminating with, “I wish my young and stupid days to disappear forever/My precious relationships, now they're just in the memories.” It’s an homage to the emotional push and pull of youth – the aspiration to be something greater than you are and feeling like it’s perpetually out of reach. Despite the characters’ shortcomings, Parannoul proves himself to be a more than adept artist, capturing adolescent angst perfectly with spectacular, distorted finesse.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kylie V - "On My Mind" from the 2021 self-released album Big Blue. Singer/songwriter Kylie Van Slyke — who records as Kylie V — has been active in the Vancouver music scene since the age of 14. Their 2018 debut EP, Lotus Eater, was recorded on their iPhone. Now at age 17, their debut full-length, Big Blue, is a more sophisticated affair. Van Slyke recruited Sound Fountain (aka engineer, producer, musician, and artist Harley Small) to help co-produce the LP, with Small also helping out on instrumentation, along with twins Benito and Cristian Hobson-Dimas of Sleepy Gonzales on drums and bass, respectively. Kylie V tells The Permanent Rain Press that today's Song of the Day is about “trying to find a balance between giving your time and energy to someone else and prioritizing yourself.”  "My songwriting style is constantly evolving, but I try really hard to be as honest with myself as possible in my lyrics because I really admire that in other people's writing," they explained to Cups N Cakes. "I write a lot about my feelings, but I tend to layer sensitive things under metaphors, personal symbolism/associations in my brain, or things that aren't exactly obvious. A lot of people comment on the imagery in my lyrics and that's where a lot of it comes from. Being neurodivergent is also a defining trait for my writing, as it makes me approach my feelings and things that are significant to me differently than I would if I wasn't autistic. I associate things in my brain really strongly which makes for some fun symbolism, as previously mentioned." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flock of Dimes - "Price of Blue" from the 2021 album Head of Roses on Sub Pop. Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner returned to her solo project Flock Of Dimes for an album about heartbreak, titled Head of Roses. In a press release, she explains, "Part of the journey for me has been learning to take responsibility for the parts of things that are mine, even when I’m in a lot of pain through some behavior or action of someone else. If I’m expecting to be forgiven for the things I’ve done and the choices I’ve made and the mistakes that I’ve made, it would be incredibly cowardly and hypocritical to not also do the work that’s required to forgive others the pain they caused me.” On today's Song of the Day, Wasner examines one of the biggest ways a relationship dissolves: lack of communication. “This song is about trying, and failing, to connect," she continues. “It’s about the ways in which, despite our best efforts, we misunderstand each other, and become so attached to stories that we’re unable to see the truth that’s right in front of us. And it’s about the invisible mark that another person can leave on your body, heart and mind long after their absence. It can be difficult to make sense of the memory of your experience when the reality on the surface is always shifting — when the story you’re telling, or the story you’ve been told, unravels, leaving you with a handful of pieces and no idea how they used to fit together.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anjimile - "In Your Eyes" from the 2020 album Giver Taker on Father/Daughter Records. On his debut album, Giver Taker, Boston-based musician Anjimile was inspired by “faith, addiction, and [their] own transition.” Today's Song of the Day examines the unfair perceptions of others, with Anjimile explaining in a press release, “This is another song about grappling with homophobia and ultimately recognizing that I am what I am. It’s a somber song, but the sorrow is for those who would live their lives constricted by such bigotry.” He elaborates in an interview with American Songwriter:  When I was in fourth grade, my homeroom teacher gave us a sort of “family tree/genealogy” assignment. This included learning the meaning (if any) behind our given names, so that day I went home and I asked my parents what “Anjimile” meant. They told me that “Anjimile” means “denied” in Chichewa (the native language of Malawi, where my family is from), and that one of my aunts had cried out “oh, Anjimile” when I was born because she was hoping my parents would have a son. In this context, “Anjimile” means “denied a boy.” There’s a couple of lyrics in this song that go “Does my body divide / was my body denied?”, and they’re quite literal and based around the aforementioned context. The whole song is related to my relationship with my gender, my sexuality, my name, my family. Funny how things connect.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miss Grit - "Grow Up To" from the 2021 self-released album Impostor. Under the moniker of "Miss Grit", songwriter Margaret Sohn explores the struggles of “impostor syndrome” on her aptly-titled EP Impostor. Self-produced at Brooklyn’s Virtue and Vice Studios, Impostor reflects on Sohn masking her half-Korean heritage in the predominantly white suburbs of her hometown in Michigan, and the apprehension she felt after the success of her debut EP Talk Talk, and feeling like she was "someone who was impersonating a musician.”  In a press release, she elaborates, "I’ve gone my whole life feeling really uncomfortable defining myself. I realized that a lot of the time, I’m more comfortable with other people defining me and making up their mind about who I’m supposed to be." On today's Song of the Day, she explores her obsession with "what's next," adding, “the lack of content with the present leads to the chaos and collapse of this song.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Japanese Breakfast - "Be Sweet" from the 2021 album Jubilee on Dead Oceans. Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast is one busy lady. Mere months following the release of her memoir Crying in H Mart, she's releasing her third album, Jubilee, on June 4th via Dead Oceans. Today's Song of the Day is the first single, the joyous, upbeat “Be Sweet.” “I wrote ‘Be Sweet’ with Jack Tatum from Wild Nothing a few years ago. I’ve been holding onto it for so long and am so excited to finally put it out there,” she said via a press release. The track was accompanied by a self-directed music video featuring Zauner and Missy of Mannequin Pussy as FBI agents, inspired by the TV show The X-Files.  The song's effervescent feel is reflective of the new LP, a change of pace after previous albums — Soft Sounds from Another Planet and her debut Psychopomp — reflected on the loss of her mother in 2014, from pancreatic cancer. “After spending the last five years writing about grief, I wanted our follow up to be about joy,” Zauner continued. “For me, a third record should feel bombastic and so I wanted to pull out all the stops for this one.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Night Beats - "New Day" from the 2021 album Outlaw R&B on Fuzz Club. Danny Lee Blackwell — who records as Night Beats — returns June 4th with his fifth album, Outlaw R&B, an album he says "is music for the borderless, the free, the outcasts and the forgotten." He continues in his press release, "The outlaw is the runner. Those whose minds aren't sold by perfect pitch and clean fingernails. Through this medium you can escape the confines of mental feudalism and bask in the euphoric glow of psychedelic R&B." He describes today's Song of the Day as his "postcard from purgatory," adding, "Upon going into lockdown I holed myself up with Akira Kurosawa movies and canned goods. This is the result of sleepless nights while hearing the world crumble outside my window. I sing of desperation and loss, while grinning in the face of an uncertain future." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wax Tailor - "Just a Candle (feat. Mark Lanegan)" from the 2021 album The Shadow of Their Suns on Lab'Oratoire. French producer Wax Tailor returned this year with his first new album in five years, The Shadow Of Their Suns, a star-studded affair featuring special guests like Del the Funky Homosapien, D Smoke, Gil Scott-Heron, Adeline, and, on today's Song of the Day, Mark Lanegan of The Screaming Trees. In a statement to Under the Radar, Tailor explains:  “I started working on the demo, early 2019 & immediately called it ‘Candle.’ I had this vision of a candle as an allegory of life. The candle that illuminates us, burns out, and one day turns off. I had scenes in mind and I wanted to play on the contrast between a dry and dark rhythm and incandescent arrangements to illustrate this path of life. I added the gimmick of the blown candle that illustrates the unknown. I then invited Mark who injected his print to the song.” “The first time I heard Mark Lanegan I was still in high school, and his friend Kurt Cobain was still alive. 30 years later, it’s hard to get into an exhaustive list of his discography, between the Screaming Trees, his solo albums, his albums with Isobel Campbell, Queen Of The Stone Age, and many others. I’ve been hoping for a long time that one day I’d have a title for him. When I started the demo, I immediately thought it was the right one. I contacted him in the spring of 2019 to propose it and he answered me in the simplest way possible. We met during his last tour in France and we continued to work remotely. I am very proud of this title, this meeting, and what Mark brings to it. In a music industry where bending your back is often a conditioned reflex, Mark is a great humble man who goes through the decades without artifice, with talent and righteousness.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples - "Don't Ever Pray in the Church on My Street" from the 2021 album Uncommon Weather on Slumberland. With his project The Reds, Pinks and Purples, San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Glenn Donaldson pays tribute to his hometown with his third and latest album, Uncommon Weather. The Inner Richmond district is captured in muted, pastel colors on the album artwork, giving it a nostalgic feel, mournful for the days when it was a reasonable place for musicians and artists to live. Uncommon Weather was self-recorded and mostly self-performed, with Donaldson channeling his hero Dan Treacy of Television Personalities.   Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.