In Our Headphones

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.

Maajo - "Esukey (feat. Ismaila Sané)" from the 2020 album Kuru Kuru on Queen Nanny. Though hailing from Tampere, Finland, Maajo find influence in traditional African music, combining it with modern electronic sounds. They continue to explore this fusion on their second LP Kuru Kuru, released earlier this year on Queen Nanny Records, and on today's Song of the Day, they team up with Senegalese vocalist Ismaila Sané for this infectious groove. Sané began his career in the '70s as a percussionist and also as a solo dancer/choreographer of African ballet. He relocated to Finland in 1999, winning the "citizen of the year" prize in 2003, marking the first time an emigrant knowingly received the award.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Black Ends - "Monday Mourning" from the 2020 self-released Stay Evil EP. With today's Song of the Day, Seattle's Black Ends contend with acceptance against a grunge-y backdrop. Frontperson Nicolle Swims told KEXP when we premiered the track:  “‘Monday Mourning’ is a pretty bleak song although it may not sound that way at first listen. it’s basically about the impending demise we all face and the getting ready for death. The character in the song goes through their week suffering and mourning their own death in different ways until they finally end up dying on a Sunday (which is why that day doesn’t come up in the song at all). As ‘scary’ as that sounds, it’s supposed to be about finally accepting that fate- to release the thanatophobia we all feel at some point and just accepting that life ends and it’s okay. That’s ‘Monday Mourning!’” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Braids - "Snow Angel" from the 2020 album Shadow Offering on Secret City Records.  Today's Song of the Day was written by Montreal-based band Braids in the wake of the 2016 election, "as our collective conscience took a sharp inhale,” as vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston put it in a press release. She elaborates: “It’s a diary entry of sorts – a snapshot of the mind grappling with our era’s endless barrage of content and destruction, continents away and close to home. *This* moment, with our world in the midst of a pandemic, is admittedly a new context. But I can’t help but sense the song speaks to feelings many of us are experiencing – uncertainty, angst and a desperate desire to make sense of it all. For me, it was deeply therapeutic to write and sing this song; saying things out loud can help us to not feel so alone, can help validate our natural fears about the future of our world, and can bring to light some of the hard questions that many of us are asking ourselves. I believe that art can change our relationship to fear. We hope this song can offer you a moment of catharsis and relief, in the same way writing and performing it has for us.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chong the Nomad - "Take Two" (feat. Hollis), a 2020 self-released single. Seattle-based artist Chong the Nomad (real name: Alda Agustiano) returns this summer with the soulful jam "Take Two," a collaboration with Grammy-nominated local artist Hollis Wong-Wear (more on her here). On a trip to Los Angeles, Agustiano connected with Hollis and Grammy-nominated producer Rogét Chahayed for an inspiring session. "Wrote it during my first big writing trip in LA and I was super sick," she confessed on Facebook. "Still managed to create something I’m proud of." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Hakim - "QADIR" from the 2020 album WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD on ATO Records. On today's KEXP Song of the Day, New York-based artist Nick Hakim shares a deeply personal tribute to his childhood friend Qadir Imhotep West, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 25. (That's a photo of West that adorns the cover of Hakim's latest album, WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD.)  “He was a little younger than me, but we had a similar path,” Hakim says in a press release. “We both had trouble in school and switched schools a lot. He was the youngest in his family and his older sisters asked me to watch out for him. The song is my ode to him. It’s my attempt to relate to how he must have been feeling.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - "Honey," a 2020 single on Flightless Records. Earlier this month, Australian psych-rock royalty King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard shared their first new material of 2020 with the single "Honey."    “I wrote this song a couple of years ago,” frontman Stu Mackenzie revealed on Twitter. “It’s nice to have it out in the world.”  The track premiered alongside a video directed, edited, and photographed by John Angus Stewart, in a socially-distanced manner. "Shot at sunset during the apocalypse with a reeeeeeal long lens," Mackenzie confirmed on Twitter.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eggshells - "Unknown," a 2020 self-released single. Seattle trio Eggshells brings together the talents of the Verdoes siblings (Peter of In Praise of Folly, Can the Boy Tell Time, and Benjamin of Iska Dhaaf, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, In Praise of Folly) and songwriter Sera Han, who brings the perspective of a first-generation immigrant queer woman to their moody trip-hop sound. Today’s Song of the Day is an early look at their third and forthcoming full-length album, Hopeless Romancers, out later this year.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Jayhawks - “This Forgotten Town” from the 2020 album XOXO on Sham/Thirty Tigers. On their 11th LP, the members of long-running Americana band The Jayhawks all share songwriting duties for the first time ever. On today's Song of the Day, in particular, lead singer Gary Louris and drummer Tim O’Reagan share vocals on a track co-written by Louris and bassist Marc Perlman.  “Introducing different voices throughout the song added a new dimension to telling the story,” Perlman told Rolling Stone Magazine. “We approached it much like we did the whole record — more collaboration in the writing and more sharing of lead vocals than in the past.”  “Marc brought the chord progression for this song, and then I started singing a melody on top of it,” Louris added. “We wrote the lyrics together.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - “Inner City Blues,” a 2020 single on Colemine Records. Back in June, Colemine Records launched the Brighter Days Ahead singles series, a response to the stay-at-home orders and the subsequent loss of income from canceling tours, postponing release dates, and ceasing the manufacturing for LPs and 45s. "We wanted to come up with some way to give our fans and our artist's fans something to look forward to," explained label owner Terry Cole. Starting on May 22nd and running through the summer, Colemine will release a new track every Friday on their Bandcamp page with 100% of any revenues generated going directly to the artist. "Our goals are simple: put a little bit of money in our artist's pockets and get our fans some new tunes," Cole summarized. The series kicked off with Seattle's own Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio covering Marvin Gaye's 1971 track "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" off his landmark album What's Going On. The lyrics convey the despair of the bleak economic situation of the times, the lack of support from the government, and police brutality. (That sounds depressingly familiar.) But, in the hands of maestro Delvon Lamarr, the song sounds almost joyous as an instrumental. Guitarist Jimmy James adds a funky groove to the track, and drummer Dan Weiss picks up the pace from Gaye's original composition. Listening to it makes you believe, there might really be brighter days ahead. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDLES - “Grounds” from the 2020 album Ultra Mono on Partisan Records. Bristol-based post-punk band IDLES return this fall with their third LP, titled Ultra Mono, out September 25th via Partisan. They've previously shared the singles "A Hymn" and  “Mr. Motivator,” and for today's Song of the Day, we're sharing the single "Grounds." Frontman Joe Talbot explained in a press release: “We wanted to write a song that embodied self-belief, and gave us self-belief — a counter-punch to all the doubt we build up from all the noise we so easily let in. We wanted to make the sound of our own hearts’ marching band, armed with a jack hammer and a smile. We wanted to make the sound of our engine starting. So we did. Thank you.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SAULT - “Wildfires” from the 2020 album Untitled (Black Is) on Forever Living Originals. "The bloodshed on your hands Another man Take off your badge We all know it was murder" As we reported last year, not much is known about the mysterious London-based band SAULT, but their feelings on police brutality and systemic racism couldn't be clearer on their third LP titled Untitled (Black Is). On today's powerful Song of the Day, vocalist Cleo Sol somberly sings, "We are dying / it's the reason we are crying." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Akasha System - "Warped Shadow" from the 2019 album Echo Earth on 100% Silk. With his project Akasha System, Portland-based producer Hunter P. Thompson brings the lush nature of the Northwest to his electronic beats. On his Bandcamp page, he says the new album, Echo Earth, was inspired by “days and nights spent in the forests,” “long stretches of back road trails,” and “sitting alone under moss-covered trees,” calling it "club music for misty mornings, towering redwood canopies, and overcast skies above uninhabited terrain." Since the release of Echo Earth, Thompson has since released the remix album Echo Versions, which features "refracted" renditions of his work by producers PkaCarl, MC/beatmaker Emeska, and pslzy, just to name a very few. Proceeds from this album will go directly to the contributing artists and also donated to the Black Lives Matter Movement, NAACP, and the ACLU. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India Jordan - "For You" from the 2020 album For You on Local Action Records. London-based producer and DJ India Jordan recently released a six-track EP titled For You, a release they call their “largest and most personal” release to date. The album photography was shot in the bathroom of London’s Dalston Superstore venue, a legendary LGBTQ+ venue. In a press release, they explain:  I’ve always been really into toilets, I did a photography project at college writing messages in toilets for people. I’m drawn to the idea that they’re public but ultimately isolated and individual, so writing a message was a way to show another human had been there. They’re spaces for me to decompress, sort my head out and get some time away. They’re also places I’ve experienced to be queer. When I was growing up, it wasn’t necessarily safe for me to show any public displays of affection with people, so toilets were a safe option. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Land of Talk - "Weight of That Weekend" from the 2020 album Indistinct Conversations on Saddle Creek. Montreal-based singer-songwriter Elizabeth Powell revived her Land Of Talk project, releasing the new album Indistinct Conversations earlier this year. As hinted in its title, today's Song of the Day does, indeed, look at heavier topics. In a press release, Powell explained: “Weight of That Weekend” is a recognition of having been on the receiving end of a lifetime of sexual coercion, assault, boundary violations, and subsequent gaslighting. It all just came to light after an especially heavy weekend a few summers back. I was so sick of carrying all this weight that wasn’t mine to bear. So sick of being owned by all of this. Imposed on me mostly by men. I grew so sick of suffering and being slowed down by this weight. The song is a prayer for a lightness of being. A prayer for capital “L” Love. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mourn - "Call You Back," a 2020 single on Captured Tracks. Barcelona-based trio Mourn returned this Spring with their first new music since last year's full-length Sorpresa Familia. Today's Song of the Day was appropriately, but unintentionally, released in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. “Parts of the song talk about the anxiety of phone calls and the emotions around them,” Carla Pérez Vas explained to Billboard.  “It’s pretty ironic that now we are looking at the phone all day, and everyone is anxious. If I’m not connected, I feel like I should be talking to my friends or family.” Originally, they had grander ideas for the accompanying video. “We had thought about locations like the woods and a pool, or riding bikes, all the time wearing a poker face,” Pérez remembered. “The song is about when around you everything is beautiful, but you have this constant battle going on inside of you.” Instead, they filmed the clip in quarantine using their phones, with Pérez in her boyfriend's apartment, and her bandmates (sisters Jazz Rodríguez and Leia Rodríguez) recording from their home.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Petite Noir & Kingdom - "Alive" from the 2020 single CoeurWorld on Roya Records. South African artist Petite Noir [real name: Yannick Ilunga] has teamed up with Los Angeles-based producer Kingdom for the new double A-side single CoeurWorld.  In a press release, Ilunga declared, “I have been a huge fan of Kingdom since the early Fade to Mind days and I was very excited for this collaboration as it sparked new ideas for the future. CoeurWorld is an EP dedicated to sending love out to the world during these trying times.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gabriel Teodros - "If They Come for Me in the Morning... (feat. Aisha Fukushima)" from the 2020 self-released album What We Leave Behind. Seattle artist (and KEXP DJ) Gabriel Teodros celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first solo show at Rainier Valley Cultural Center with this new collection of previously unreleased tracks, "with a few new songs recorded specifically for this project," he adds, continuing, "Wanted to give y'all something special for all the love you've given me these past few decades. There's a completely new album coming this year as well... but for now you can enjoy these lost tapes." Today's KEXP Song of the Day was originally written and recorded in 2015, inspired by Sandra Bland, letters between Angela Davis and James Baldwin, and the 400+ year legacy of Black freedom fighters. Public speaker, educator, singer, and 'RAPtivist' (rap activist) Aisha Fukushima appears on guest vocals.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Beths - "I'm Not Getting Excited" from the 2020 album Jump Rope Gazers on Carpark Records. New Zealand pop band The Beths return this month with their sophomore album Jump Rope Gazers, out July 10th via Carpark Records. But frontwoman Elizabeth Stokes is keeping her cool about it. In a press release, she states: “People always ask ‘are you excited!?’ and it’s a fair question, because exciting things do happen to us sometimes. Support slots, overseas tours, music releases. Stuff we’ve dreamed about for years. So the correct answer is always ‘yes.’ But the truth is that deep down there’s a tiny Liz saying, ‘don’t get excited.’ She is certain that anything good that could happen will most likely not happen, because of a freak accident. Or because somebody finally realises that we aren’t worthy, shouts ‘phony!’ and takes everything away. I wrote ‘I’m Not Getting Excited’ last year, well before everything really did get taken away. From everyone. It feels like the song has a new context, but we don’t know what it is yet. And now we all share a blurry, uncertain future.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fontaines D.C. - "A Hero's Death" from the 2020 album A Hero's Death on Partisan Records. Don't ask Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten about the meaning behind today's KEXP Song of the Day. "I'm not sure myself," he confesses to the BBC. "I purposefully keep the things I write open to interpretation, even to myself." But the track also serves as the title of the Irish post-punk band's forthcoming full-length, out July 31st via Partisan Records. "I found the idea quite funny — because I'm half-expecting people to dislike [the album]," he continued. "So, the idea of calling it A Hero's Death is kind of laughing about that and setting people up for disappointment." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gordi - "Sandwiches" from the 2020 album Our Two Skins on Jagjaguwar. On her latest LP Our Two Skins, Australian folktronica artist Gordi (real name: Sophie Payten) mourns the passing of her beloved grandmother, Alisa, whose spirit fills the gorgeous new album. It was even recorded in her hometown. "Her whole life was in Canowindra, and that's why I wanted to make the record there," Payten explains via a press release. "We made it in a house that's a hundred meters from her house." The title of today's Song of the Day was derived from a moment during Alisa's last day in the world. Payten explained to ABC that she and her mother were making sandwiches to disperse among those visiting around her grandmother's hospital bed. “It was one of those moments where everyone was finally taking their first breath of the day that she chose to quietly slip away.” “I’d been wanting to write a song about her and all of it, but I didn’t want it to be this terribly dreary, melancholic song, because it was a celebration of a life. So, I tried to focus on the tiny details.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phoebe Bridgers - "Kyoto" from the 2020 album Punisher on Dead Oceans. Singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers has always brought a vulnerability and candidness to her lyrics, but especially on her highly-anticipated sophomore album Punisher, where she tackles themes of loneliness, disappointment, and feeling like an outsider. And on today's featured track, in particular, Bridgers works through her complicated feelings about her father.  Bridgers has written about her complicated feelings for her dad before, but on today's KEXP Song of the Day, she tackles it from a new perspective. “I feel so much fucking empathy and so much fucking anger toward him,” she told The New Yorker.  She elaborated in an interview with NPR Music: "This record, in a lot of ways, kind of feels like a graduation, but I feel like I'm trying to be self-aware about my resentments. I feel like I have strong opinions weakly held. So that's what 'Kyoto' is about. There's a lot of just straight up hatred and resentment on the first record — about all kinds of people — and then on this record I'm exploring just how quickly that all goes away with a little bit of examination." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deep Sea Diver - "Stop Pretending," a 2020 self-released single. Seattle's Deep Sea Diver has managed to adapt creatively to the stay-at-home orders. As we reported via our Sound & Vision series in April (listen here), band members Jessica Dobson and Peter Mansen have been doling out "stems" — a drum beat or guitar riff to play with and create a song out of — and then featuring the best songs every weekend via Instagram Live. The project even resulted in today's featured track, “Stop Pretending.” "We recorded this song, 'Stop Pretending', this week, as we were continuing to stay at home," they explained via their Bandcamp page. "The song was written using a collaboration exercise that we had given to our fans as an outlet to create and find connection in a time of duress & isolation (we called it the "Stay Home Stems" series) — and it ended up also working for us — this song was written, recorded, mixed and mastered in two days at our house, & this what we have to show for it. [I] often write apocalyptic songs as way to enter a new world that juxtaposes despair with hope.. I hope it can bring a little bit of light in a dark season." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liv.e - “SirLadyMakemFall “ from the 2020 Bout These Pipedreams / Lessons from My Mistakes.. but I Lost Your Number EP on In Real Life Music / AWAL. Following a tour with Earl Sweatshirt and appearances on both his and Pink Siifu’s recent albums, Dallas-bred, Los Angeles-based artist Liv.e (pronounced "liv") somehow found time for a forthcoming full-length, titled Couldn't Wait To Tell You, out later this year via In Real Life Records. Today's featured track is a sneak peek at the upcoming release. On today's Song of the Day, Liv.e taps into her roots for a little Western swing behind the soulful R&B sounds. She gave some insight into the track to The Fader, explaining, "'SirLadyMakemFall' started off as a conversation I was having with myself about how I would view myself from a feminine and masculine stand point. Hence 'sir lady.' Like what them boys gotta say about Liv? And what them girls gotta say?" Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sibille Attar - “Hurt Me,” a 2020 single on PNKSLM Recordings. Swedish singer/songwriter Sibille Attar shares a first listen of her forthcoming full-length out this fall via PNKSLM Recordings, a follow-up to her 2013 debut album Sleepyhead. Formerly a member of bands like The Tourettes and Speedmarket Avenue, Sleepyhead was the Scandinavian songstress's first solo effort, and her first on a major label.  “Sleepyhead was my first attempt [at going solo] and I got signed to a big label and it was kind of overwhelming,” she told BTR Today. “Being told what to do was not my favorite thing, which meant it was a lot of unnecessary struggles, and I realized I should be independent… So I had to recollect myself — I was questioning my entire motive of doing music at all because I thought the industry was so shitty. I kind of lost my confidence. When everyone starts having opinions on what you do… I started questioning myself.” Since signing with beloved indie label PNK SLM (hear our spotlight on KEXP's Weekly Mix podcast here), her confidence has returned, as evident on today's featured track. Listen below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jake Blount - “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” covered by Jake Blount from the 2020 album Spider Tales on Free Dirt Records. The song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" has been covered hundreds of times before — the track is often associated with blues musician Lead Belly, but the Nirvana version from their 1993 MTV Unplugged performance is perhaps the best known rendition. And now, banjo player and fiddler Jake Blount has added his own interpretation, influenced by his research into Black and Indigenous cultures, as well as his own experiences as an LGBTQ activist.  “Connecting with my family history and my father’s childhood history, he’d talk about people disappearing,” he reflected in a press release. “Those lynchings didn’t all happen in broad daylight; my dad talked about people in his community ‘disappearing’ and you’d kind of assume what had happened. For me there was a very direct connection between what I’d gone through in the queer community and this narrative of disappearance and loss that surrounded the Black community in the South throughout much of our nation’s history, and still arguably does.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SPECSWIZARD - “Floyd,” a 2020 self-released single. Michael Hall is a long-time fixture of Seattle's hip-hop scene, recording under the names Specs One and Specs Wizard. (Seattle's bi-weekly alt-paper The Stranger dubbed him "the Holy Ghost of Northwest Hiphop.") He began rapping and making beats while growing up in the High Point neighborhood of West Seattle in 1979, began releasing albums in the late '80s, and made waves with his crew The Elevators throughout the '90s.  Today's Song of the Day is a powerful reflection on the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. "And if you Black, you know that this is nothing new," he raps solemnly against a wistful piano loop. Hear his musical memorial below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danny Denial - "I'm Not Your Type (feat. DoNormaal)" from the 2020 album fuck danny denial on Cruisin' Records. On his third solo album, "goth-punk auteur" Danny Denial teams up with The Black Tones’ Eva Walker, Rat Queen, Razor Clam, and, on today's Song of the Day, DoNormaal. When KEXP premiered this track late last year, Denial told our writer Martin Douglas:  "I approached this solo record mainly wanting to experiment with genre and work with artists and bands I admire, and 'I'm not your type' felt like the right song to push the envelope. I created the foundation for the beat cutting up pieces of Courtney Love's breathing and screaming, and worked with a producer called Bibz in New York, and then took it to DoNormaal in Seattle to write and record the rest of the song, so its journey has been a very unique one. And, honestly, I think it's the first song I've ever made that I'd describe as 'fun.'" Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baronhawk Poitier - "Temperado Tornado" from the 2020 Temperado Tornado EP on Honey Soundsystem. Baronhawk Poitier is a busy man: not only is he a long-running DJ/producer, but he's also a professional dancer and co-founder of the NeedlExchange crew and club night in his hometown of Washington, D.C. When Honey Soundsystem Records asked Baronhawk Poitier to make them an EP "he would want to dance to", he replied, "Oh Honey, I have never made any that I didn’t." Check out the title track from his latest dancefloor soundtrack.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Princess Nokia - "Gemini" from the 2020 self-released album Everything Is Beautiful. Earlier this year, New York-born Puerto Rican MC Princess Nokia (real name: Destiny Nicole Frasqueri) released not one, but two albums: the perfectly-titled Everything Sucks and Everything is Beautiful. In a press release, Everything Sucks is described as “a brash, ruthless and insistent collection,” and Everything is Beautiful as “a representation of the sensitive, feminine side of the gender fluid artist.” Today's Song of the Day reflects that duality as Frasqueri reflects on their astrological sign, the twins of the zodiac. “I am Gemini / Like Pac, André, Lauren / and Kanye, Boy George, and Anne Frank,” they rap. “And all the famous rappers got a sign like me / And all the famous rappers got a heart like me / But I know that I’m different and they’re not quite me.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zebra Katz - IN IN IN - from the 2020 album LESS IS MOOR on ZFK Records. Following a worldwide tour with Gorillaz in support of their 2017 album Humanz, Jamaican-American artist Zebra Katz returns in a big way with his long-awaited debut solo album Less Is Moor. In an interview with PAPER, Katz talks about KEXP's featured track: "This single is very much a re-introduction to the music sphere. 'IN IN IN' is a sonic reflection to how I see the world. I'm taking ownership of my narrative. While doing so, I want to explore social issues surrounding race, sexuality, and the black experience. I wanted to stay true to the minimalistic style that introduced me to the world while also taking a sonic risk and evolving as an individual and musician. I wanted to tell a story in a fun, energetic way while still touching on issues of everyday life. To me, it's a grandiose dark dance anthem with elements of house, ballroom, and Qgom. I hope it leads my listeners back into the Zebra zone." We'll meet you there. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.