In Our Headphones

DJ Shub - "The Social (feat. pHoenix Pagliacci)," a 2020 single on Shub Music. Award-winning producer DJ Shub has teamed up with Toronto-based artist Phoenix for a powerful new track, with proceeds going to organizations benefiting Black Lives Matter and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. In an interview with Billboard, DJ Shub (who is a Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River, Canada's largest First Nations reserve) explained: "Indigenous people in Canada are like the Black Lives Matter movement in the States. It’s pretty bad here, especially when it comes to shootings by police. The statistics are crazy, so I think we [as First Nations people] can relate to what’s happening. That’s why Phoenix [who is Black] gets it so deeply, we’ve both experienced the same struggle in Canada." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Tribe Called Red - "Land Back (feat. Boogey the Beat & Northern Voice)," a 2020 self-released single. Canadian DJ duo A Tribe Called Red have a long history of using their public platform to amplify the indigenous community, and with today's Song of the Day, they're showing their support for the Wet’suwet’en people, whose sovereign lands are being invaded by the RCMP and the Coastal GasLink pipeline. They're offering this song for free on their Soundcloud page and are encouraging listeners to donate to the Unist'ot'en 2020 Legal Fund in return. The band also shared this statement alongside the release: We oppose the invasion of sovereign Indigenous lands by the RCMP and the Coastal GasLink pipeline. We stand with the Wet’suwet’en people and their hereditary chiefs. We stand with all the people working to support their fight.  We will be making this song available to download for free and free to be used for anyone working to defend the Wet’suwet’en territories and all action that defend the right of Indigenous land sovereignty and to promote a true nation to nation discussion between the Indigenous nations of Turtle Island and our Canadian settlers.  Until our Canadians are willing to treat the Indigenous nations of this land with the respect due, a sovereign people’s reconciliation will remain an empty gesture.  It was the work of our good friend Whess Harman that inspired us to give the song away to the movement. Not only because of their work in the frontlines of resistance in Vancouver, but also because they are using their art for the movement. Whess designed the “Land Back” patch that is featured in our cover art, and has been selling them to raise money for the Unist'ot'en Camp Legal Fund. We will be making a donation to the same fund for our use of Whess' art. We encourage you to donate to the legal fund as well by following this link: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising... The Halluci Nation would like to thank our friends and collaborators who have helped make this possible. Without our community we are nothing. Boogey the Beat, Northern Voice, Whess Harman and Valeo Arts Management.#Alleyesonwetsuweten #LandBack #WaterIsLife #Standwithwetsuweten #unistotencamp #unistoten #unistotensolidarity #indigenousrights #wetsuwetenstrong Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warren Dunes - "Fishbowl," a 2020 self-released single. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive!  Seattle surf-pop trio Warren Dunes are currently working on their debut full-length, but in the meantime, they've shared the stand-alone single “Fishbowl,” a song frontwoman and local-music-veteran Julia Massey tells American Songwriter, “It’s about admitting your weaknesses and asking for help. It’s about making yourself vulnerable during dark times and finding strength in the little things, like taking a walk with someone and holding their hand.” Massey, along with her spouse, Jared Cortese; and his brother, Dominic Cortese, share more details about the new track on their Facebook page. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Slow Pulp - "Falling Apart" from the 2020 album Moveys on Winspear. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! Slow Pulp frontwoman Emily Massey's life was truly falling apart. The band had written an album's worth of songs while on tour with Alex G last year, but then Massey was diagnosed with Lyme disease and chronic mono. They scrapped the first batch and began to undertake more songwriting, better reflecting the current mood, and then things went from bad to worse. She explains in a press release: "As we were finishing up writing the album my parents got into a serious car accident and I came back home to help take care of them. A couple of weeks later COVID-19 started getting worse in the US, and quarantine began. Life felt completely surreal, everything had drastically changed and at such a rapid pace. It was especially strange because everyone was experiencing the same thing at the same time, but couldn’t be physically with each other to support each other. I felt like I couldn’t process any emotions I had about the whole ordeal because I had to keep it together to take care of my family. It became easier to stay numb, and create a facade that I was doing ok, than it was to release any type of healthy emotion for a long time. Luckily I did allow myself to have a full on breakdown induced by a stubbed toe and confusion over taxes, sometimes it’s the littlest things that finally get you." The resulting self-produced debut album, Moveys, will be released October 9th via Winspear. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sufjan Stevens - "Video Game" from the 2020 album The Ascension on Asthmatic Kitty. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! As we reported back in August, acclaimed singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens has returned with his eighth solo LP, The Ascension, his first since 2015's Carrie & Lowell. The song's video features Jalaiah Harmon, a 14-year-old dancer/choreographer who went viral on Tik-Tok with her "Renegade" dance. Stevens released the following statement addressing both the song and the clip, directed by Nicole Ginelli. "It’s unfortunate that we live in a society where the value of people is quantified by likes, followers, listeners and views. So many people are seeking attention for the wrong reasons. I think we should all be doing our best work without looking for accolades or seeking reward. The main takeaway of “Video Game” for me is: your worth (invaluable) should never be based on other people’s approval (ephemeral). Just be yourself. Keep it real. Keep it moving. Do all things with absolute purity, love and joy. And always do your best." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomberlin - "Wasted" from the 2020 Projections EP on Saddle Creek. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! Sarah Beth Tomberlin (who records under the name Tomberlin) teams up with lo-fi king Alex G on her forthcoming EP Projections, out October 16th via Saddle Creek. In a press statement, she explains that today's Song of the Day was "the most fun song to record," adding "I brought the song with the guitar part and knew I wanted drums, but wasn't sure what kind of beat I wanted. Alex played this drum beat for me and was all 'kinda left field but maybe this would be cool.' It took the song to a whole new level. Sad song or summer banger? You tell me." For the accompanying music video, Tomberlin brought in actress/author Busy Philipps, who she spent the lockdown with. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lost Horizons - "I Woke Up With An Open Heart (feat. The Hempolics)," from the 2020 album In Quiet Moments on Bella Union. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! Lost Horizons unites the talents of Richie Thomas (aka Dif Juz) and Simon Raymonde (bassist of Cocteau Twins and founder of record label Bella Union), two former 4AD recording artists in the '80s. Their 2017 debut full-length Ojalá featured a stellar cast of guest vocalists, including Marissa Nadler, former Midlake frontman Tim Smith, and Karen Peris of The Innocence Mission. And, on their forthcoming sophomore LP In Quiet Moments, they reinvite those three stunning voices, adding John Grant, Porridge Radio, Penelope Isles, and more to their cast. London-based soul group The Hempolics appear on today's featured Song of the Day.  The duo gave their guests the following theme to inspire their lyrics: "Death and rebirth," Raymonde confirmed via a press release. "Of loved ones, of ideals, at an age when many artists that have inspired us are also dead, and the planet isn’t far behind. But I also said, ‘The most important part is to just do your own thing, and have fun.'” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Left at London - "Do You See Us? (feat. Nobi)" from the 2020 self-released single Jenny Durkan, Resign in Disgrace. With a title like "Jenny Durkan, Resign in Disgrace", it's pretty obvious Seattle artist Left at London (real name: Nat Puff) does not mince words. And in the verses of today's Song of the Day, she teams up with guest rapper Nobi to sing: Fuck you, and the slavers that you work for This song’s For the people you killed “I fucking despise her,” Puff says about Seattle's Mayor Durkan via a press release. “She gassed her own citizens on Pride.”  The track reappears on her latest LP Transgender Street Legend Vol. 2., which came out last week. “I wanted it to be a series,” she says, “and then the success of the first CD really encouraged me to start working on the second one.” This new album, like today's Song of the Day, takes on a more serious tone. “Comedy hasn’t really influenced this project in any real sense,” Puff confirms.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Budos Band - "Long in the Tooth" from the 2020 album Long in the Tooth on Daptone Records. Twenty years hardly makes one "long in the tooth," but Brooklyn's Budos Band are celebrating two decades as a musical unit (and 15 years from the release of their debut album) with their sixth LP, Long in the Tooth, out October 9th via Daptone Records. The album continues to expand on their soul-inspired instrumentals, sounding (as they put it) "as if Quentin Tarantino was the music supervisor for a Bond film." “In some ways, it’s reminiscent of our first two albums The Budos Band and Budos II,” says Tom Brenneck, guitarist and producer. “We branched off on Burnt Offering and V. Now, we’re still moving forward. You can play these songs on the dance-floor. We knew the horns had to stand out, too. Thinking about hip-hop allowed us to put the bounce back into The Budos.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sneaks - "Faith" from the 2020 album Happy Birthday on Merge Records. A new album from Sneaks is definitely 'cause for celebration, and this fourth full-length from Washington, DC’s Eva Moolchan provides a party-perfect groove with electronic dance beats and a Liquid Liquid-influenced bass line.  Like last year's album, Highway Hypnosis, she teams up with mixing engineer Carlos Hernandez and legendary Grammy-Award-winning producer Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M., Taylor Swift, to name a few). The production combined with Moolchan's laid-back delivery takes you right back to New York's early '80s no-wave scene. Crank it up and enjoy the festivities. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smokescreens - "I Love Only You" from the 2020 album A Strange Dream on Slumberland Records. With their melodic, jangle-pop sound, you might mistake Smokescreens for a New Zealand band. But it's no surprise this Los Angeles-based band's music is infused with the classic "Flying Nun" sound, when David Kilgour, of legendary Dunedin band The Clean, is behind the production on their latest full-length A Strange Dream, out October 30th via Slumberland Records. "The Clean are one of my favorite bands of all time and David is definitely someone I greatly admire which makes this album so special to me," the band enthused on Facebook.  Recorded with engineer Kyle Mullarky (Allah-Las, Little Wings), the band come into their own on this third album, combining buoyant guitar lines with dulcet vocals. And with a trippy painting by Kilgour used as the album artwork, this is one record you'd be OK to judge by its cover. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bully - "Hours and Hours" from the 2020 album SUGAREGG on Sub Pop. On Bully's third album SUGAREGG, frontwoman/songwriter Alicia Bognanno took a more introspective approach to her '90s-inspired, fuzzed-out grunge-pop. “There was change that needed to happen and it happened on this record,” she said in a press statement. “Derailing my ego and insecurities allowed me to give these songs the attention they deserved.” On today's Song of the Day, she reflected on her connection to her Mom. She explained: “Hours And Hours” is about my mother and I finally figuring out our relationship. She and I had a really hard time connecting growing up and at times felt like it would never happen. Over the past five years we have become best friends, she is now the very first person I call when I am at my absolute lowest and has saved my life. I realize now how similar we are and how that probably had everything to do with why we had a difficult time with each other growing up. I wish I knew sooner how much we could relate but am eternally grateful that we have figured it out now and I’m just so thankful to be on good terms, I love her dearly. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Terror/Cactus - "Guanaco" from the 2020 self-released album Confluencia. Local producer Martín Selasco was born in Buenos Aires and raised in Miami, and he brings these influences to Seattle via his electro-cumbia project Terror/Cactus. His latest LP Confluencia is an auditory journey through the spectacular landscapes of South America, combining mesmerizing rhythms and psychedelic guitars. In an interview with Ballard Vox, Selasco talked about how his Latin American roots permeate his music: "Music has always been a way for me to connect to my cultural heritage. My parents moved to Miami from Argentina when I was just a baby, but with most of our family still in Argentina we’d go back and spend at least a month there every summer. This created a sense of nostalgia in me and that of belonging to something that was far away [...]" Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yanna - "Marcaperu," a 2020 self-released single. "My friends take care of me / Not the police" On her debut single "Marcaperu," Afro-Peruvian artist Yanna (real name: Brenda Carpio) uses her voice to denounce the injustices she sees around her: racism, discrimination, and violence.  Raised in the San Martín de Porres district of Lima, Peru, Yanna moved to France to study International Business Administration and instead, fell in love with hip hop.  "When I came back, it was a shock," she told El Comercio. "Having left and identified as a black and empowered woman from that Afro side was reduced to the fact that people on the street were quite violent and they looked at me, but not in a positive way, they made fun of my hair and my features.” She continued, "I felt that being abroad I was treated better than being in my own country. I know people who have gone through this misogynistic, sexist, and abusive violence. I wanted to highlight and put these issues on the table." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Los Blenders - "Perdidos En Pantitlan" from the 2020 album Mazunte 2016 on Devil in the Woods. KEXP has been enamoured with Mexico City's Los Blenders since their 2015 debut album Chavos Bien. (Check out their infectious garage-punk in this 2016 KEXP session.) On their forthcoming full-length Mazunte 2016, out September 25th via Devil in the Woods, the rambunctious quartet bring a new maturity to their surf sound, particularly on today's Song of the Day, inspired by recent events in their hometown. In a press release, they elaborate: "Lost in Pantitlán" is a true story. It happened to a friend of the band. It's a story about how absurd it is to deal with the police in Mexico and this inspired the song. It created a cry of protest in a way. Musically it is the most complex song that the band has released." Frontman Alejandro Archundia continues, "Musically it's a mix between the sound of rock in your language mixed with the most aggressive surf guitars we've ever pulled and a sticky chorus, trademark of Los Blenders." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ghetto Kumbé - "Vamo a Dale Duro" from the 2020 album Ghetto Kumbé on ZZK Records. Ghetto Kumbé take inspiration from their hometown of Bogotá, capital city of Colombia and just a quick flight from the Caribbean coast, infusing Afro-Colombian rhythms with modernized interpretations of dancehall, rumba, and traditional chants and call-and-response vocals. “I think what makes us different is that we’re going further back to the rhythmic roots, back to where the rhythm that exists in Colombia came from, mostly from the Atlantic coast," reflects co-founding band member Edgardo Garcés (aka E Guajiro) to Sound and Colours. "In the process of trying to find the similarities between different rhythms, we really took stock of the fact that so much of it comes from Africa and decided that we’d move more towards the African elements, adding them to the Afro-Colombia part. All this means it [our music] has a different sound.” Today's Song of the Day roughly translates to "Let's Go Hard," and it's a call to action to fight against the capitalist system and "dirty politicians."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marilina Bertoldi - "Fumar de Dia" from the 2018 album Prender un Fuego on Pelo Music S.A. Argentinan artist Marilina Bertoldi got her start as the frontwoman for the hard rockin' group Connor Questa, but since going solo in 2012, she's been exploring a range of sounds, landing the Best Rock Album of the Year award at the 2016 Latin Grammy Awards for her album Sexo Con Modelos. On her most recent release, 2018's Prender Un Fuego, she took inspiration from "Sheryl Crow, INXS, the soloist Cerati...," she told Pagina 12. "I make music for myself, one day I understood it and I don't feel bad saying it," she continued. "I don't make music for the public because in fact it is difficult for me to define 'my public'. I do what I enjoy and put it there, available." On today's Song of the Day, which translates to "Smoking During the Day," Bertoldi channels the transformation of her home into a change of attitude, as captured in the accompanying music video where she's cleaning out her fridge, changing outfits, dancing across the room. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lo Tom - "Start Payin'," from the 2020 self-released album LP2. Back in 2017, David Bazan and TW Walsh of Pedro the Lion teamed up with Trey Many and Jason Martin of Starflyer 59 to create Lo Tom, whose self-titled debut combined all the things we love about each of their respective bands: melodic, ‘90s-influenced rock, heavy with guitar riffs.  As the band said themselves, "We had fun making the first album, so we decided to do it again." The sophomore release was funded by fans via Kickstarter, and while they say today's Song of the Day is "coincidentally named," the lyric "might be time to find out what I owe and start paying" seems pretty appropriate here. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly Lee Owens - "On" from the 2020 album Inner Song on Smalltown Supersound. On her sophomore album, Inner Song, Welsh artist Kelly Lee Owens explores what she calls “the hardest three years of my life,” allowing her grief and sadness to express itself through her lush production work and her thoughtful lyrics.  As reported in a recent episode of the Song Exploder podcast, today's Song of the Day was inspired by the loss of the Prodigy’s Keith Flint, who passed away last year at the age of 49. (The working title was “Spirit of Keith.”) Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Æ MAK - "i dance in the kitchen (feat. Seba Safe)," a 2020 self-released single. Irish artist Æ Mak (real name: Aoife McCann) has always brought an infectious energy to her work. (Who can forget her dynamic performance at KEXP's 2019 Iceland Airwaves broadcast?) And now she brings that vivacity to the culinary with her new single "i dance in the kitchen," a sneak peek at her forthcoming EP titled how to: make a kitsch pop song to show the world, which will be out September 18th.  Written, recorded and produced during the coronavirus lockdown, the new EP was inspired by HOW TO, a zine by McCann's friend Eleanor Jameson, who "reached out to various Irish artists from different backgrounds, asking them to create a tutorial on a topic of their choosing."   Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loraine James - "Don't You See It (feat. Jonnine)" from the 2020 Nothing EP on Hyperdub. Throughout the pandemic, London-based producer Loraine James has exercised her creativity, sharing demos and songs that didn't make the cut for her acclaimed 2019 album For You & I, releasing the remix EP Bangers and Mash, and, in July, releasing the five-track EP Hmm, with songs titled "Ahh," "Erm," and "Umm." On her latest EP, titled Nothing, James reached out to a series of collaborators who she felt "empathetically extend the feeling in her instrumental music with their own unique energies." For today's featured track, she teams up with Jonnine Standish of Australian band HTRK for a moody track pairing skittish sampled percussion with Standish's haunting vocals.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rose City Band - "Only Lonely" from the 2020 album Summerlong on Thrill Jockey. Portland-based musician Ripley Johnson returns with his project, the appropriately-titled Rose City Band, the latest addition to his musical resume that also includes Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips. While the "band" name might allude to a larger outfit, the Rose City Band is more of a solo endeavor for Johnson, with just the addition of John Jeffrey on drums. While his Moon Duo partner Sanae Yamada was committed to a theatre project, Johnson took to his home studio to write and record this sophomore album, Summerlong. With today's Song of the Day, he taps into those feelings of isolation, revealing in a press release: “There are times when you’re feeling so down that you wish you were just plain lonely. I think there’s a sense of resilience in it, though, a determination to roll with the punches and push on through. I wrote the music a while back and figured it would be an upbeat kind of tune. I guess I was just pretty down when I got around to writing the lyrics.” Read the full post KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jupiter & Okwess - "Na Kozonga," a 2020 single on Everloving Records. The phrase "Na Kozonga" translates to "the return" in the Congolese language of Lingala, and that's what Jupiter & Okwess was looking forward to after the 180-date worldwide tour promoting their 2017 album Kin Sonic: returning home. The song is dedicated to bandleader Jupiter Bokondji's father, who passed away recently, and the accompanying music video, filmed in his hometown of Kinshasa, shows the musician boarding a plane to return to his family in Africa, with a "metaphysical" detour. Afropop.org reports the song is about “a mystical universe strewn with spirits and African allegorical incarnations, from Mami Wata (Mummy water) to Aniotas.” The song is a cover of "Gotta Go Home," a 1979 single by German disco-funk group Boney M, which was a re-written take on the 1973 track "Hallo Bimmelbahn" by brothers Heinz and Jürgen Huth. "Na Kozonga" is the title track from Jupiter & Okwess' forthcoming full-length, which is scheduled for release in 2021. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Noga Erez - "NO News on TV," a 2020 single on City Slang. With today's Song of the Day, Tel-Aviv based artist Noga Erez teams up with her partner Ori Rousso to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press statement, she shares:  "This song was written during a period where I had more time than I've had in a decade. I was able to sit down and work my ass off on new music without any emails disturbing the silence. No notifications, nothing. I wanted to write a song that talked about that. I felt a deep need to imagine what it would be like to live in a world with no politics, money, grit, racism, or violence. [...] Singing about how ‘everybody’s free’ right now is such an incredible dissonance for me. It says exactly what it needs to say: not everyone is free. Actually most of us aren’t, but some of us are literally, physically not free. And that has to change fast." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fantastic Negrito - "How Long?" from the 2020 album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? on Cooking Vinyl. With his past two albums, soulful singer/songwriter Fantastic Negrito (real name: Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) won Best Contemporary Blues Album at the Grammy Awards, and with his latest LP, Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?, he's poised for a hat-trick. On his new album, Negrito says, "I wanted to write about people I knew, people I grew up with, people whose lives I could personally affect, and whose lives have impacted me," adding, "It was the hardest album I’ve ever written." On today's Song of the Day, Negrito continues to ask the important questions; he tells Pollstar the title was inspired by author James Baldwin's query: “I haven’t got much time left – how long are we going to keep doing this?” He poses the question to "all perpetrators of violence," adding: "There’s so many topics. How long are we going to keep doing all the things we’re doing before we break? Because this is not very sustainable; because we can’t keep doing the same things we’ve been doing in this country for the last 40 or 50 years. You can only destroy, and that’s what we’ve done. It’s broken. Maybe this is just the catalyst for ending [white supremacy]. We’re in need of it. We need to turn it around if we’re going to survive." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arlo Parks - "Hurt," a 2020 single on Transgressive Records. London-based poet and artist Arlo Parks understands the pain of the pandemic, sharing the new single "Hurt" to commiserate with listeners. The soulful jam provides a hypnotic groove to showcase Parks' warm vocals and reassuring lyrics.  “‘Hurt’ surrounds the possibility of healing from pain and the temporary nature of suffering,” Parks said via a press statement. “It is supposed to uplift and comfort those going through hard times.” Parks told NME back in May that she's spending the lockdown working on her debut full-length, explaining "I’m trying to make it the best body of work that it can be. The album format is really important to me, and in terms of the music that I’ve put out thus far, I feel like I have a sonic identity, but there’s variation in what I put out so far, so I do have scope to experiment and explore different styles within my debut album, which feels exciting. I’m excited for what it could be.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naked Giants - "Take A Chance" from the 2020 album The Shadow on New West Records. Seattle trio Naked Giants return this month with their sophomore album The Shadow, an album they say is "much more honest" than their 2018 debut full-length SLUFF.  “We’ve come to realize that the path to becoming a better person and bringing positivity into the world isn’t always linear, and there’s a lot of growth in taking an honest look at the “shadow-y” parts of life,” they told Spin Magazine. “Whether it’s personal anxiety and depression or collective guilt and trauma, there’s always a part of yourself that’s hard to confront and understand. But The Shadow is all about facing that darkness and having the strength to bring it into the light.”  As for today's Song of the Day, the guys call it, “...a new step in the dance-the-stress-away attitude we’ve had since the band was formed. This time around it’s a bit more focused – we’re exploring these big unanswered questions in our lives, like the mechanisms of privilege and oppression or the capitalist oxymoron of individualism and assimilation, and we’re pairing it all with a danceable backbeat to tell people it’s ok to get up off the couch and do something about it.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Widowspeak - "Even True Love" from the 2020 album Plum on Captured Tracks. On their fifth full-length Plum, Brooklyn band Widowspeak continue to craft a dreamy folk-pop sound, punctuated by vocalist (and former Tacoma, WA native) Molly Hamilton's serenely-sweet vocals. In a press release, Hamilton shared: "Prior to writing “Even True Love,” I’d been sitting with some existential dread for the last year or so; honestly, sort of overwhelmed by the recognition that life is absurd and finite. The song itself is upbeat, kind of cruising. I was thinking about those youth-glorifying “yolo” type songs and that big mood, but also feeling like there’s so much more to it than that. Maybe because they only live once, humans tend to want to possess things: objects, success, money, experiences, people. True Love. Amassing the most and best of whatever while you can. But that never really landed with me; I think this one is more about being present with the unknown, letting things go a little more, trying not to hold on too tight." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Songhoy Blues - "Worry" from the 2020 album Optimisme on Fat Possum Records. Malian rock band Songhoy Blues have entranced us with their modern take on traditional West African music since their 2015 debut album Music In Exile. And now, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the band have released their first song ever sung entirely in English. In an interview with KEXP, vocalist Aliou Touré told us: "We need hope. We need to come together. And when we get worried, there's no way to think positive. So we don't have to be worried, we don't need that bad energy around us. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to go through this situation we are in. So that's why we wrote this song. Who can talk to everybody to keep their self-control. To not get worried and then we can be optimists together." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TARA - "Oceans," a 2020 self-released single. Even though they've only been together for a few years, Brooklyn quintet TARA have quickly coalesced their different musical backgrounds into the cohesive shoegaze-influenced sound they've displayed on the handful of singles they've released so far, including today's featured track "Oceans."  After relocating to New York from California, guitarist/vocalist Saagar Kurani met another west coast transplant, guitarist/vocalist Wesley Deimling. They added Jack Weiss, Alexa Garay, and Stephen Kingslow to the line-up and proceeded to share their first set of singles last summer. The band shared the background of today's Song of the Day with KEXP: Our intent was to create a sound pallet which makes you feeling nostalgic for a place you've never been. Old but still new. The lyrics are inspired by Alexa's really good friend and visual artist, Sarah N--. Alexa states: 'swirling guitars and crescendos meant to deliver our exhausted selves to places wide open and far away, a song on the theme of dreams, full tide pools, Wuthering Heights, and lightness and fluttering during amid wild storms and turbulence. This fluttering of wings for soothing, for us, for us, for you, for all of us in wearying times, for Sarah.' Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eep - "Hogar" from the 2020 self-released album Death of a Very Good Machine. With the song "Hogar," 52-year-old musician Rosie Varela launched a lifelong dream. Though she's been writing songs for over twenty years, it wasn't until she wrote this love song for her husband that she reached out to Ross Ingram, who owns Brainville Studios in Sunland Park, New Mexico. “I asked him if he thought it was silly to want to record a shoegaze song at my age,” she admitted to the blog Noise Artists.  Instead, Ingram helped Varela assemble the band EEP, not only recording her ode to her spouse, but seven additional shimmery songs that encompass their full-length debut Death of a Very Good Machine, released last month.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cumulus & Little Wins - "Doorway," a 2020 self-released single. Little Wins is the solo project of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Vait, also of Seattle duo SISTERS. And Cumulus is the songwriting project of Seattle's own Alexandra Niedzialkowski. Before Vait moved away to California, the two teamed up to create this song. "This song is about no-one and everyone; a collage of all the people in our life we wish we had more time with, or another chance to say all the things we should have said," Niedzialkowski explained on her Facebook page. "Originally a song about missing someone from the past, it does feel like the song took on new meaning as the world turned upside down these last few months. So much of the country is sitting indoors, grappling with the reality outside our homes, waiting for the day we can hear a friend knock on the door again," she continued. She added, "Don’t actually go knocking on doors right now, but if you miss someone, let them know. Give them a call, send them a message, don’t regret the things you never said." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pure X - "Angels of Love" from the 2020 album Pure X on Fire Talk Records. It's been six years, but Austin-based band Pure X have returned with their fourth full-length, their first since 2014's Angel. The new self-titled release was written over the past three years with band members working on their parts remotely from their respective homes before reuniting to record live over six days in the Texas countryside.  “[After Angel], as far as the world was concerned, we were broken up. That was a great place to be because I can live my fucking life and write my songs as I go and let them marinate. That's why we chose to have it be self-titled, because this is the most natural record we've ever made,” guitarist/vocalist Nate Grace told Fader. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

HÆLOS - "Unknown Melody," a 2020 single on Æ Recordings. London electronic quartet HÆLOS return with a new single, released via their own Æ imprint. “We found ourselves reminiscing about some mid-’00s electro releases and feeling a nostalgia for those early trips,” says band member Dom Goldsmith, who also produced the track. “Writing ‘Unknown Melody’ back in January, it just felt cathartic for us to remember some of the good times when everything felt so unstable. How little we knew. We’re listening and learning.” Since then, in reaction to the way the world seems to be continuously turning itself upside down, the band decided to do "upside down" versions of each new track. You’ll find the one for Unknown Melody on their Bandcamp here. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna Kaneelina - "Lilledes" from the 2019 album Anna Kaneelina on Erik Lindström Music. With the release of her debut album last year, Tallinn-based singer-songwriter Anna Kaneelina swept the 2020 Estonian Music Awards, winning Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Alternative/Indie Album of the Year, and the Debut Album of the Year. A self-proclaimed "urban witch", Kaneelina combines ethereal vocals with delicate melodies and vulnerable lyrics. Today's Song of the Day channels the otherworldliness of Kate Bush with transcendent instrumentation.   Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

박혜진 Park Hye Jin - "Beautiful" from the 2020 How Can I EP on Ninja Tune. On her sophomore EP How Can I, DJ/producer/rapper 박혜진 Park Hye Jin continues to expand on the dreamy production style she introduced with her 2018 debut If U Want It while expanding into heavier house sounds, pulsing with energy.  Originally from Seoul and now based in L.A., Park has expanded her sonic palette, bubbling beneath her hypnotic vocals, sung in both English and Korean. "I actually believe Korean to be the most beautiful language. Is there a more delicate or emotional language? That I do not know. Of course, it may be because I don’t know the languages of other countries well. For example, when I try to write lyrics in English, I can’t clearly express the feelings I want to convey," she said last year in an interview with Hypebeast.  On today's Song of the Day, Park eschews vocals entirely, relying on punchy percussion and a repetitive, echoey voice in the distance. The result is, well... beautiful. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Candace - "Still Phase" from the 2020 self-released album Ideal Corners. Portland dream-pop band Candace have had a long journey to their latest album, titled Ideal Corners. Originally formed in 2009 in Minneapolis under the moniker Is/Is, the trio released an EP and a 7" single until drummer Mara Appel Des Lauriers relocated from the midwest to Portland. Remaining band members Sarah Rose (bass/vocals) and Sarah Nienaber (guitar/vocals) tried to keep Is/Is going without her, but eventually relocated to Portland themselves, starting anew with the name Candace.  The albums New Future and New Ruins followed in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Their newest release was recorded with Larry Crane at Jackpot! Recording Studio in late summer 2019, and finds the trio experimenting with drum machines, adding an otherworldly-ness to their shoegaze-tinged sound. Today's Song of the Day, they say, "is about coming to terms with the senselessness of inaction, about learning over and over again that there is no “right time,” nothing is ever definite."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dylan Cartlidge - "Yellow Brick Road," a 2020 single on Glassnote/AWAL. “I’m this kid who’s from a place you’ve probably never heard of, who has a weird background and a weird musical journey. And yet I'm being able to hold my own in my industry.” So says newcomer Dylan Cartlidge, a 23-year-old songwriter who combines rock and rap in a way that's garnered him comparisions to "everyone from Beck to Andre 3000," his press release confirms. On today's featured track, he teamed up with produer James Dring (Jamie T, Gorillaz) for his first song written and recorded in a "big fancy studio." In a press release, he shared: “This song to me is about the juxtaposition of dreams & expectations. It’s about how fear and self-sabotage can dump the weight of the world on your shoulders in your most hard-earned moments. But it’s also about how overcoming all of this can be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and stepping into the unknown..." Dylan Cartlidge will be LIVE on KEXP at HOME on Wednesday, September 2nd at 2:00 PM PT. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blimes and Gab - "Baptism" from the 2020 album Talk About It on B.A.G. Enterprises. Over the past few years, Seattle's own Gifted Gab and San Francisco-based artist Blimes Brixton have been teasing our ears with a handful of singles (like their 2017 breakthrough track “Come Correct”), but earlier this summer, they finally released their debut full-length album, Talk About It.   “In order to talk about it, you got to be about it. Me and Gab have loved to prove time and time again that we’re about it,” Blimes said in a recent interview with the GRAMMYS. "I think the vision behind [our album] is just, they’re always going to have something to say, always going to have something to talk about, so might as well give them something to talk about." Blimes & Gab will be LIVE on KEXP at HOME on Tuesday, September 22nd at 3:00 PM PT.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ana Tijoux - "Pa Que" from the 2020 single Antifa on Victoria Producciones Spa. The phrase "Pa Qué?" roughly translates into "So why?", and it's a question French-Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux has been asking herself since the pandemic has begun. On her forthcoming full-length, titled Antifa Dance, Tijoux vents her frustration with the current political climate during such a difficult time. Today's featured track even borrows a quote from former Chilean Health Minister Jaime Mañalich, who resigned in June after criticism of the way he handled the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting it could mutate into a "better person."  “This song is a reminder to everyone that we are still attentive, inside and outside, to those above us,” Tijoux said in a press statement. “While we are at home, we are not not asleep. To those below us, we continue to weave the nets, holding ourselves up with open hearts. From the confinement, the deficiencies have become evident. There are thousands of us and solidarity makes us one.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Postcards - Fossilized - from the 2020 album The Good Soldier on T3 Records. Beirut-based trio Postcards continue to expand on the shoegaze sound they shared on their 2018 debut full-length I'll be here in the morning. With their latest LP, titled The Good Soldier, they explore darker post-punk territories while still keeping it dreamy with Julia Sabra's angelic vocals. In an interview with Joy Zine, she revealed the story behind today's Song of the Day: "The first track we wrote for this album, right after our first full-length came out, and it’s one of those tracks that had like 5 different versions before we settled on this one. There’s a lot of underlying tension in the music. Initially it started out as a way to talk about my anger issues, how in a matter of minutes everything turns sour, how it all fades within a couple of hours, and the inevitability of the whole cycle. Eventually as I was writing and re-writing it, the song shifted towards more of a shared anger about the living situation in Lebanon – the feeling of wanting to fight but also knowing you won’t be able to change anything." Lebanon recently endured one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, leaving 170 people dead, over 6,000 people injured, and more than 300,000 people displaced from their homes. The band report that they're safe, but add, "Our city and its people are in ruins. Please donate if you can." Impact Lebanon Relief Lebanese Red Cross Lebanese Food Bank Domestic Workers Fund Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nation of Language - "Rush & Fever" from the 2020 self-released album Introduction, Presence. It will come as no surprise that Brooklyn synth-pop band Nation Of Language found inspiration in early new wave — specifically, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s 1980 single “Electricity.” Their debut LP, titled Introduction, Presence, shimmers with synths and vocalist Ian Devaney's post-punk-inflected vocals. In a press release, Devaney explains: "It occurred to me that a moment in time existed when it seemed everyone still had a kind of ‘beginner's mind’ about how synthesizers could be used and fit into the musical landscape. They were wielding this technology as a blunt instrument, and it felt like I had been given permission to do the same..." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Desire - "Escape" from the 2020 album Escape on Italians Do It Better. It's been nearly a decade-long wait, but Italians Do It Better outfit Desire return with a new album titled Escape.  Fronted by Montreal-based vocalist Megan Louise, and featuring production by label impresario Johnny Jewel, Desire continue to craft dreamy disco/synth-pop. As they describe it, "Megan Louise sings tales of love & lust cloaked in an analog sheen. Shrouded in a cinematic haze. Throbbing with violent rhythm. Fresh Blood for the new you." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE NEVERLY BOYS - "Never Come Down" from the 2020 self-released album Dark Side of Everything. THE NEVERLY BOYS finds Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio teaming up with Swedish singer/songwriter Daniel Ledinsky to explore "the unknown, the magic, the heartbreaks, and the aspirations," as they put it, on their debut album Dark Side of Everything. (The two teamed up previously to co-write songs for Blondie, Pussy Riot, and TV on the Radio.)  “I’m not really good at personalizing it. We just tell stories, but I think you can find a song on this record, no matter who you are or what you’re going through. Some might not speak to you at the moment, but there is a wide range of emotion,” Sitek told American Songwriter. “We were trying not to conceal doubt or vulnerability. There’s been a lot of emphasis in modern music on escapism and things are better than they seem.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lomelda - "Wonder" from the 2020 album Hannah on Double Double Whammy. From the swamps of Silsbee, TX emerges singer/songwriter Hannah Read, who records under the name Lomelda, but she re-embraces her birth name for the title of her forthcoming fifth full-length, Hannah, out September 4th via Double Double Whammy. Read recorded the album with her brother Tommy over the span of a year, apparently re-recording it three different times before she was satisfied.  Via a press release, Read describes today's Song of the Day as "about working hard," adding, "It is my most fun song to play. And I got to play drums on it, so it's my favorite Lomelda song forever. May it motivate you to move and smash like it does me."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wye Oak - "AEIOU" from the 2020 No Horizon EP on Merge Records. The duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack — better known to us as Wye Oak — have teamed up with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus for the brand-new five-song EP No Horizon, out now via Merge Records. “There’s this sense of communion of making music with other people in real time and space, and that’s something that had eluded us on multiple levels,” Stack explained via a press release. “We’ve known for a while that we needed to learn how to let this project evolve so that it could continue to exist, because our partnership as friends and musicians and collaborators feels important. We need to find new ways to make it still feel vital and still feel new. And this is a part of that exploration.” She describes today's Song of the Day as a "about the inadequacy of language," adding: It was written around the time that those currently in power took it upon themselves to think that they could minimize the existence of certain people by removing the words that we currently use to define them — like transgender — from use. Language is bigger than the powers that try to control it, but we are so much bigger than language. We are so much more than anything that can be suggested with words. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BRONSON (new ODESZA & Golden Features Project) - "VAULTS" from the 2020 album BRONSON on Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune. Northwest electronic duo Odesza have teamed up with Australian producer Golden Features as BRONSON, releasing a self-titled debut album that they say in a press release, reflects "their respective needs to challenge personal struggles, both internal and external." They add, "Moreover, the trio recognized that their own battles were merely microcosms of the surrounding world. The hope was to craft a body of work that was reflective of that duality of lightness and darkness inherent to the human condition." Today's Song of the Day "was one of the earlier instrumentals we completed," the trio say, "and it acted as a cornerstone to the overall sound design and aesthetic of the album. The track really proved a departure from each artist's own respective styles and set a definitive change in direction for the BRONSON project. We knew we had something special here and it served as a guiding light for the rest of the record.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mexican Institute of Sound & Gaby Moreno - "Yemayá," a 2020 self-released single. For the track "Yemayá," singer/songwriter Gaby Moreno teamed up with Camilo Lara's Mexican Institute Of Sound project for an ode to the Afro-Carribean goddess who represents fertility, water, and self-love. "She's a powerful woman of color taking all forms," Moreno told the Recording Academy. "It's a universal theme and we wanted to incorporate this mysterious and mystic figure into the song, since it's part of the folklore of many different cultures."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pillow Queens - "Handsome Wife" from the 2020 self-released album In Waiting. Dublin's Pillow Queens were both "resonant and rapturous" during KEXP's Iceland Airwaves Music Festival broadcast last year, and the Irish quartet continue to bring that power to their highly-anticipated debut album In Waiting, out September 25th. For the first single off the forthcoming full-length, they share an upbeat, grunge-influenced track along with a heartwarming accompanying video. "The video was made in isolation with the help of family, friends and strangers," the band writes in the introduction. "It is a love letter to touch and all the ways we miss the closeness of others right now." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crack Cloud - "Tunnel Vision" from the 2020 album Pain Olympics on Meat Machine Records. Through the fog of Vancovuer's opioid crisis, Crack Cloud emerged. “Crack Cloud was an outlet for me during the early days of my rehab,” vocalist and drummer Zach Choy explained to NME. “A way of addressing things I’d internalised over the years, the anxiety and turmoil I used to deal with in more destructive ways.” Since then, the band has evolved into a full-on arts collective of musicians, film-makers, artists, and designers, many of whom are recovering addicts themselves or people who work with addicts. Their debut album, Pain Olympics, lists almost 30 contributors in both musicianship and artistry. Many of the members of Crack Cloud live and work together in harm reduction units located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.