Live on KEXP

Nashville, Tennessee's finest purveyors of mind-bending rock returned in fine form in 2018 with their fifth album, the self-referential and swirling ATW. Joining DJ Cheryl Waters at Avast! Recording Co., the band perform three songs from ATW and an old favorite. Recorded 11/16/2018. 4 songs - Diamond, Fishbelly 86 Onions, Workhorse, Blood And Sand / Milk And Endless WatersSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Be The Cowboy, Mitski's fifth album, is an instant classic, a snapshot of a singular songwriter crafting her most compelling and incisive work to date. Joining DJ Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room, Mitski and her band perform four songs and discuss the process of becoming the cowboy. Recorded 10/31/2018. 4 songs - Geyser, Why Didn't You Stop Me?, Nobody, Two Slow DancersSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marissa Nadler's increasingly consistent and intriguing discography expands excellently with her eighth album, For My Crimes. The Boston songwriter performs four icy, intricate songs from the record in this session with DJ Kevin Cole. Recorded 10/19/2018. 4 songs - For My Crimes, I Can't Listen To Gene Clark Anymore, Blue Vapor, Said Goodbye to That CarSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heaven, Dilly Dally's second album, is roaring and relentless, finding Katie Monks and co. more direct and dynamic than ever. In this session, the Toronto group perform four Heaven songs and in the KEXP Live Room and discuss making the album with DJ Troy Nelson. Recorded 10/30/2018. 74 songs - I Feel Free, Marijuana, Sober Motel, HeavenSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boy Azooga's colorful, charismatic debut arrived in 2018 to establish the Welsh rock outfit as one of the UK's breakout artists of the year. In this session in the KEXP Live Room, the band play four songs from their debut album, 1,2, Kung Fu! Recorded 10/29/2018. 4 songs - Face Behind Her Cigarette, Walking Thompson's Park/Jerry, Breakfast Epiphany, Loner BoogieSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrapped in echoing drums and cinematic synths, New Compassion, Nini Fabi and Benny Gebert's second album as HAERTS, is a glimmering slice of neon pop. The Munich-via-Brooklyn group highlight the new album in this KEXP VIP Concert. Recorded 10/22/2018. 7 songs - Healing, The Way, Matter, Your Love, Sign, In This Time, New CompassionSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lost Under Heaven's evolution as a thrillingly progressive outfit continues with their 2019 sophomore effort, Love Hates What You Become. Previewing the record on the Morning Show with John Richards, Ellery James Roberts and Ebony Hoorn perform five songs. Recorded 10/31/2018. 5 songs - Lost Under Heaven, Bunny's Blues, For The Wild, I and I, Post Millennial TensionSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natalie Prass's sophomore effort, The Future and the Past, is an elegant, kinetic collection of songs that finds the Virginia R+B songwriter in fine form. Joining DJ Sean Morrow in the KEXP Live Room, Prass and her band perform four songs from the album and discuss being in your twenties and dog clothing businesses. Recorded 9/24/2018. 4 songs - Never Too Late, Ship Go Down, Lost, Short Court StyleSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan Wilson's resume is one of the more accomplished ones of his generation, and his newest album, Rare Birds, is another left turn in a career full of them. Fresh off playing guitar on tour with Roger Waters, Wilson joins DJ Evie in the KEXP Live Room to perform five songs from Rare Birds. Recorded 09/25/2018. 5 songs - Over The Midnight, There's A Light, Trafalgar Square, Living With Myself, Loving YouSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than twenty years into their career, DeVotchKa remain as beguiling and enrapturing as ever. Returning to the KEXP Live Room, the Denver outfit perform four songs from their new album This Night Falls Forever. Recorded 09/20/2018. 4 songs - Angels, Straight Shot, Break Up Song, Empty VesselsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tacoma's Perry Porter rides crisp beats and slicky slides between verses with an effortless, magnetic confidence. Joining DJ Chilly in the KEXP Live Room, Porter performs four tracks from his excellent album Channel Surfing. Recorded 08/28/2018. 4 songs - Corners, Surf, Bling Bloaw, Bobby RozaySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Arthur Buck - the aptly-named project of Joseph Arthur and Peter Buck - finds both journeymen in fine form, with their self-titled debut an excellent addition to both artist's canons. The pair join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four songs. Recorded 09/07/2018. 4 songs - Wide Awake In November, The Wanderer, Can't Make It Without You, Fall In Love With MeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reverting back to a solo project for her second album as IAN SWEET, Jillian Medford wrangled dissonance to create a powerful document of moving forward. Medford and her band join DJ Atticus in the KEXP Live Room for a bracing session of four songs from Crush Crusher. Recorded 10/24/2018. 4 songs - Hiding, Spit, Bug Museum, Holographic JesusSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ten years after its release, The Helio Sequence's Keep Your Eyes Ahead remains a stark, stunning snapshot of 2000s indie rock, and on its anniversary, frontman Brandon Summers joins John Richards in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four songs from the record and to tell the story behind the . Recorded 10/26/2018. 4 songs - Lately, You Can Come To Me, Can't Say No, HallelujahSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fifteen years into their career, We Were Promised Jetpacks sound revitalized and resolved on their fourth album, The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream. The Edinburgh rock quartet perform four songs from that album live in the KEXP Live Room with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 10/03/2018. 4 songs - Hanging In, Someone Else's Problem, The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream, Repeating PatternsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harriet Pillbeam's shimmering dream pop under the moniker Hatchie emerged at the beginning of 2018 and closes out the year as one of the last twelve month's emergent artists. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, Hatchie performs four songs from her debut EP Sugar & Spice. Recorded 09/18/2018. 4 songs - Sugar & Spice, Try, Bad Guy, SureSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's difficult to think of a band that's had a bigger breakthrough in 2018 than IDLES, but then again, it's different to think about anything else when their furious and vulnerable songs pulverize speakers, venues, and ears in the way that they have all year. Performing four songs from their sophomore album Joy As An Act of Resistance, the Bristol quintet walk into the KEXP Live Room with John Richards and exit 30 minutes later with an instant classic KEXP session under their belts. Recorded 10/04/2018. 4 songs - Colossus, Never Fight A Man With A Perm, Television, Danny NedelkoSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A musician who needs no introduction, Johnny Marr is responsible for some of the most thrilling and innovative rock music of the last half century. The Mancunian guitar legend walks into the KEXP Live Room for a wide-ranging chat with Cheryl Waters and a four-song set spanning his career. Recorded 09/21/2018. 4 songs - Bug, Hi Hello, The Headmaster Ritual, Easy MoneySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018 is "the year of two EPs” from Smokey Brights, with a pair of releases bookending the band's busiest year yet. The pop-rock Seattle staples join John Richards on the Morning Show to perform a pair of tracks from each EP. Recorded 08/30/2018. 4 songs - Different Windows, Flash Your Lights, Come To Terms, The Other WaySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Incisively driving and immediately arresting, Bodega's slicing post-punk doesn't pull any punches. The Brooklyn outfit join Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room (“in the internet”, as singer Ben Hozie dubs it) for four songs from their debut album Endless Scroll. Recorded 8/14/18 - 4 songs: Jack In Titanic, Name Escape, Gyrate, Truth Is Not PunishmentSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jófríður Ákadóttir's work as JFDR is baroque and graceful, but remains powerful without ever relying on volume. The Samaris-member performs four songs from her solo catalog in this session from KEX Hostel during KEXP's 2017 Iceland Airwaves broadcast. Recorded 11/02/2018. 4 songs - Instant Patience, My Work, Anything Goes, White SunSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Somewhere between the ethereal and the emotional, Kiasmos glide with their atmospheric, stirring brand of electronic music. Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen kicked off KEXP's live broadcast from KEX Hostel during the 2017 Iceland Airwaves with a glistening set. Recorded 10/31/2017. 6 songs - Gaunt, Looped, Blurred, Thrown, Burnt, BentSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So fuzzy you can practically hear the fog leaking out of their amplifiers, Spirit Award's razor-sharp rock songs get gloriously filtered through a reverb-drenched filter as they blow through the speakers. The Seattle trio enter the KEXP Live Room with DJ Morgan to perform four songs from their debut album Muted Crowd. Recorded 09/14/2018. 4 songs - Witching Hour, Seven Sisters, Wasting Time, Supreme TruthSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of 2018's breakout bands (in either hemisphere), Auckland, New Zealand's The Beths exploded with their debut album Future Me Hates Me, a collection of clever, shimmering, and resonant rock songs. Liz Stokes and co. join DJ Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for four songs from Future Me Hates Me. 4 songs - Future Me Hates Me, Uptown Girl, Little Death, Happy UnhappySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DIY lifer Jeff Rosenstock has been shredding basements (and his vocal chords) for years, and his pointed, purposeful songwriting reflects the experience of a man who wants to change the world for the better one singalong at a time. Along with his band, Rosenstock joins Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a set of three songs from his 2018 album POST- and an older gem. Recorded 08/20/2018. 4 songs - USA, Yr Throat, All This Useless Energy, The Trash The Trash The TrashSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

With their 2014 sophomore effort, Painted Shut, Hop Along went from Philadelphia's best kept secret to one of the most feverishly beloved bands on their circuit. Frances Quinlan & co.'s follow up, this year's Bark Your Head Off, Dog, is just as heartfelt and brilliant, with four of its songs on display in this session with Stevie Zoom in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 08/13/2018. 4 songs - How Simple, Somewhere a Judge, What the Writer Meant, Prior ThingsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

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

How To Socialise & Make Friends, the brilliant sophomore album from Camp Cope, finds Georgia McDonald and co.'s sharp, incisive songs hit harder and with more aplomb than on their debut. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the Melbourne trio perform four songs from one of the year's finest rock albums. Recorded 07/02/2018. 4 songs - UFO Lighter, How To Socialise & Make Friends, The Face of God, The OpenerSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Zola Jesus has performed live on KEXP a number of times, and each time, she's a tour de force of vocal and physical energy, often roaming the room with the same unbridled energy she brings to her shows. Joining Kevin Cole on the Afternoon Show, Zola performs six fantastic songs live from Little London Plane during the Upstream Music Festival. Recorded 06/01/2018. 6 songs - Veka, Soak, Witness, Siphon, Bound, RemainsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Josiah Wise's music as serpentwithfeet is rapturous and revelatory, often conjuring considerable emotional heft with the quietest sounds. Performing four tracks off his debut album, soil, Wise joins Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 06/22/2018. 4 songs - bless ur heart, messy, mourning song, waftSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emerging with a wave of buzz in 2016, Middle Kids took their time working on their debut album, this year's Lost Friends, and the result is some of the year's most affecting rock songs. The Sydney trio join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four Lost Friends tracks. Recorded 06/29/2018. 4 songs - Bought It, Mistake, Don't Be Hiding, On My KneesSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.