Live on KEXP

Tommy Stinson put Bash & Pop on hold for just over two decades before reviving it last year, but the Minneapolis group's raucous, delightfully unhinged energy remains intact because, as the onetime Replacement says, “I'm not pretending to be anything other than what I am.” Stinson and the band run through five cuts from their 2017 LP Anything Could Happen and tell the story of why the band came back together after the Replacements' brief reunion to DJ Kevin Cole in this session where, at moments, it really feels like anything could happen. Recorded 2/28/2017 - 5 songs: Not This Time, On The Rocks, Bad News, Anything Can Happen, Anybody ElseSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After taking time to do projects that allowed him to, in his own words, “take some time off from being Jens Lekman,” the Swedish musician has returned to his day job of being himself with his latest LP, the cleverly-titled Life Will See You Now. Returning to the KEXP Live Room with DJ Stevie Zoom, Lekman and his band play a quartet of dance-friendly tunes from Life and discuss how interviewing others led Jekman back to his own artistic vision. Recorded 3/05/2017 - 4 songs: What's That Perfume That You Wear?, Hotwire The Ferris Wheel, Our First Fight, How We Met, the Long VersionSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With their latest album HeartTones, Julia Massey and the Five Finger Discount have sharpened their kinetic pop-rock more than ever before, building their latest batch of songs with an agile energy that belies their emotional resonance. The Seattle trio return to KEXP on a cold February day for a session on Audioasis featuring four songs from HeartTones. Recorded 2/4/2017 - 4 songs: A Bit Of Hard Time, Wrapped, This is How We're Gonna Say Goodbye (feat. Chris Blount), Wish You WellSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ranging from searing heat to sludgy gravel, Meatbodies' powerful, muscular, and meaty (of course) garage rock is an immediate rush of blood to the head, more than ever on their latest album, Alice. Joining DJ Morgan in studio, the band runs through six Alice tracks, discusses their guilty pleasures, and helps Morgan name her potential Meatbodies cover band. Recorded 2/23/2017 - 6 songs: Kings, Creature Feature, Disciples, Alice, Gyre, Haunted HistorySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paris Combo's most recent album, this year's Tako Tsubo, is named for the Japanese-named condition of what's commonly known as “broken heart syndrome”, but it's hardly morose. If anything, the colorful, flowing sounds of this session imply that there's anything but sadness in the multinational group's spirit. The vibrant, jazz-influenced outfit join Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop in a long-awaited session featuring three songs from Tako Tsubo and an old favorite. Recorded 2/16/2017 - 4 songs: Anémiques Maracas, Tako Tsubo, Living Room, Je suis partieSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While everyone else in Seattle was decked out in rain boots and all-weather jackets, the dapper Los Angeles quartet Chicano Batman returned to the KEXP studio dressed to the nines, bringing a bit of psychedelic sunshine to one of the wettest Seattle winters in recent memory. The band's ebullient tropicalia- and psychedelia-tinged rock has only grown sharper on their latest album, Freedom is Free, which shines through in this contagiously bright session with Troy Nelson. Recorded 2/08/2017 - 4 songs: La Samoana, Freedom is Free, Right Off The Back, RunSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Well, we couldn't get faster.” That's how Cloud Nothings frontman Dylan Baldi explains the (relatively) slower tunes on their latest album Life Without Sound, but the Ohio crew has hardly slowed down. The quartet join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room to play four searing songs and talk about the process of making Life Without Sound, as well as why bands should stop in for the green room cold brew when at KEXP. Recorded 2/17/2017 - 4 songs: Modern Act, Sight Unseen, Enter Entirely, Darkened RingsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cherry Glazerr's rip-roaring rock and roll documents, to paraphrase band leader Clementine Creevy, “the struggles of a 17 year-old”, at the only volume that makes sense for that age - loud. Cherry Glazerr's latest album, 2017's perfectly-named Apocalipstick, is loaded with guitar-heavy jams that channel that youthful energy with a barely-contained chaos that shines through in this frenetic session in the KEXP Live Room with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 2/08/2017 - 4 songs: Told You I'd Be With The Guys, Only Kid On The Block, Trick or Treat Dance Floor, Chewing CudSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last time Ty Segall was in KEXP's studio, he ripped off a baby mask and squealed into the mic before he'd even played a single song. About a year later, he's definitely more coherent in his interview - he doesn't ask Cheryl Waters to be his mommy this time around - but he's still anything but boring in this explosive session. Joining his “surrogate mommy” Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, Segall and The Freedom Band rip through three songs, the lessons a musician can learn from Steve Albini, and why EQs are not your friend. Recorded 3/2/2017 - 3 songs: Break a Guitar, Freedom, Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a wave of fantastic music coming out of Sydney at the moment, but Australia's Middle Kids never get overshadowed by their scene siblings. The silvery rock trio's knack for steely hooks and gleaming tones made them a breakout artist in summer 2016, and nine months later, they're continuing to realize their potential. Joining DJ Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room, the youthful Aussie trio show off how much they've grown since their debut single and hint at things yet to come. Recorded 2/21/2017 - 4 songs: Edge of Town, Your Love, Fire In Your Eyes, Old RiverSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first thing that jumps out listening to Seattle's Maiah Manser is her loping, almost acrobatic vocals. But as the session goes on, it's just as impressive to see how her electronic compositions work themselves around her evocative voice to create swirling, hypnotic sounds. Joining DJ Sharlese on Audioasis, Manser displays the enrapturing characteristics that have made her debut EP such an anticipated release. Recorded 2/3/2017 - 4 songs: Sweet Hell, Top of My Lungs, I Put A Spell On You, Second SkinSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Howe Gelb's multiple-decade catalog is hard to pin down, but the one current that runs through it all is the Tucson, Arizona musician's warm-burning songwriting. The sometime Giant Sand leader pares down to a piano for his latest record, Future Standards, and accompanied only by a bassist, Gelb doubles down on the songwriting skills he's honed over his decades in this incandescent session with DJ Morgan. Recorded 2/4/2017 - 4 songs: Irresponsible Lovers, Sweet Confusion, A Book You've Read Before, Impossible ThingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a reason Seattle's Nail Polish called their most recent release Authentic Living. The trio's rapid-fire punk pulls no punches when it comes to documenting the struggle for finding authenticity in an ever-evolving Emerald City. Joining DJ Sharlese on Audioasis, the band cuts straight to the point with their ferocious six-song set and an interview where they expand on their observations of the changing Capitol Hill neighborhood that formed the record. Recorded 1/18/2017 - 6 songs: Selected Comments, Visual Presence, Chromophobia, Body Double, Paper Houses, Authentic LivingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greta Morgan went into an “intense headspace” for her latest album as Springtime Carnivore, and the result was Midnight Room, her most finessed and melodic set of songs to date. Morgan returns to the KEXP studios for a semi-acoustic session featuring four Midnight Room tracks and a conversation with Cheryl Waters about the process of working with producer Chris Coady to make a song “sound like cobalt blue". Recorded 1/12/2017 - 4 songs: Raised By Wolves, Double Infinity, Midnight Room, Nude PolaroidsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Including her rich new album Impossible Dream, Haley Bonar has released seven albums of resonant, roots-refined rock and in her debut session in the KEXP studios with fellow Minnesotan DJ Kevin Cole, her experience as a songwriter and performer shines through. Playing four Impossible Dream tunes, Haley and her band tell the story of her songwriting evolution from a high schooler putting out an album with graduation money to the journeywoman she is today. Recorded 12/8/2016 - 4 songs: Hometown, Your Mom Is Right, Skynz, Kismet KillSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For their fourth album, Amen and Goodbye, Yeasayer spent the longest time they've spent to date working on writing songs, and the end result contains some of their richest, most nuanced music yet. The Brooklyn outfit brings four Amen and Goodbye tracks into this session with Troy Nelson and discuss what goes into a Yeasayer record, working with Joey Waronker, and making an effort to play the Dakotas. Recorded 10/24/16 - 4 songs: Cold Night, Silly Me, Sunrise, I Am ChemistrySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hamilton Leithauser is a veteran of the KEXP studios by this point in his career, but his rough and tumble brand of doo wop-damaged rock has never sounded as rich as it has on his 2016 collaborative album with Rostam, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine. The New York City songwriter is in fine form as he and a three-piece band run through four tracks from the album in this session with DJ Morgan. Recorded 1/21/2017 - 4 songs: You Ain't That Young Kid, A 1000 Times, In A Black Out, Sick as a DogSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"This is the music of the spirit," proclaims host John Gilbreath ahead of Jaimeo Brown's Transcendence's majestic set. It's high praise, certainly, but the trio of percussionist Jaimeo Brown, guitarist Chris Sholar, and saxophonist Jaleel Shaw create music that is truly impossible to box into any one category. Dive into this three-song performance transcendent performance on Jazz Theatre. Recorded 10/28/2016 - 3 songs: Happy Serving, For Mama Lucy, Power of GodSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With three songwriters and a wave of melodic guitars behind them, LVL UP have more depth and nuance than most of their peers, but their music is never ostentatious about its DIY majesty. The Brooklyn quartet join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP studio to tell the story of how they went from being three musicians' side project to a unified band and to play a vibrant, expressive set of indie rock on the Midday Show. Recorded 10/17/2016 - 4 songs: Spirit Was, Pain, The Closing Door, Five Men On The RidgeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're wearing clothes and are normally sized (at least in this session), but make no mistake - Naked Giants rip and roar as powerfully as they would even if they were the unclothed titans their name implies. The Seattle trio enter the KEXP studio, plug in, and charge ahead so hard that two out of the three members don't finish the session with their headphones on (only because the third member taped his to his head) in this session featuring out a pair of tunes from their debut EP R.I.P. and two as-yet-unreleased ones on the Morning Show with John Richards. Recorded 01/11/2017 - 4 songs: Twist, Dead/Alien, Slow Dance II, Ya YaSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Moscow-via-New York songwriter Regina Spektor has been writing songs to capture a wide spectrum of vivid anecdotes, observations, and narratives for more than 15 years now, but for her latest record, 2016's Remember Us to Life, she atypically anchored herself to one inspiration: her pregnancy and the subsequent birth of her son. Performing solo on a grand piano, Spektor joins Larry Rose in the KEXP studio for a four-song set of songs from Remember Us to Life and a conversation about writing songs with “imaginary production” in mind. Recorded 01/6/2017 - 5 songs: The Grand Hotel, Older and Taller, Black and White, Bleeding Heart, The Trapper and the FurrierSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's always a special night (or day) when the soul journeymen Lee Fields enters KEXP's studios. Fields' energy is as infectious as that of any frontman half his age, to say nothing of the explosive, colorful sounds of his backing band the Expressions. Joining Larry Rose in the KEXP studio, Fields walks in and conquers the room moments after starting his first song with a confidence that only a man who's been doing it for decades has. Recorded 12/6/2016 - 4 songs: Special Night, I'm Coming Home, Let Him In, Make The WorldSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Their name implies that they have bad posture, but Sloucher are definitely not slackers leaning back in their desks at the back of the classroom. The Seattle outfit's locktight songwriting shows they've been paying attention to their Pacific Northwest indie rock predecessors in this brilliant session on Audioasis with Sean Nelson. Recorded 10/2/2016 - 6 songs: Flower Girl, Constant Questions, Dreams, Certainly, Dear, Waiting To StartSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Finn Andrews first entered the KEXP studios in 2004, he was barely 20 years of age, but his evocative songwriting was already fully-formed. Returning in 2017, The Veils leader is more refined and potent than ever on the Auckland-via-London group's fifth album Total Depravity. Embracing "the chaos of not knowing what going on", Andrews shines through the dark in his return to the KEXP studios with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 11/14/2016 - 4 songs: Swimming With The Crocodiles, Low Lays The Devil, Do Your Bones Glow At Night?, AxolotlSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"With the challenges in our lives, sometimes you have to go in order to truly blossom." That's the theme behind Industrial Revelation's "No Way Out But In", but it could really apply to the musically adventurous Seattle jazz outfit's entire ethos. Their energetic, unpredictable, and beautiful performances have only sharpened over their decade-plus as a group, which is on full display in this session on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 11/23/2016 - 4 songs: Wait. No. Sound., No Way Out But In, Lord, Let This Be the Last Time, PopKingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ragged, scrappy, and gloriously unfiltered, Tucson, Arizona's Foxx Bodies only play one kind of music: loud. Leading with the dual-pronged attack of guitarist Bailey Moses and singer Bella Vanek, the punk quartet conjure a magnetically-jagged riot in this eruptive set with Troy Nelson in the KEXP Studio. Recorded 12/1/16 - 4 songs: The Walk, New Recording 25, Annie, HauntingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grant Eadie's loping, colorful electronic compositions have been bubbling on tastemaker radars for some time now, but with his self-titled debut LP, the Bellingham-via-Seattle musician has crafted his most kinetic set of songs to date. Accompanied by vocalist Moorea Masa, Eadie joins Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Studio to perform a flowing, aqueous set. Recorded 12/9/2016 - 4 songs: What We've Got, Clay, The Garden Song, Pull Me In, Pts. 1 & 2Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may not be able to expect how little time the prolific Californian garage rock luminaries will take between albums or what their lineup will look like, but you can always be sure that you'll end up feeling like frontman John Dwyer looks: frenzied, smiling, and seemingly perpetually covered in sweat. Setting up as a trio for a rip-roaring, career-spanning set in the KEXP Gathering Space, Thee Oh Sees burn with so much scrappy energy you can practically hear the mosh pit before it begins. Recorded 11/25/16 - 6 songs: I Come From The Mountain, Tidal Wave, The Dream, Sticky Hulks, Gelatinous Cube, Encrypted BounceSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To name your debut LP The Epic takes quite a bit of confidence, but in the case of Kamasi Washington, it's the only title that would make sense. The Californian saxophonist, composer, and bandleader's sweeping style of jazz is nearly overwhelming in its scope and scale, but Washington's virtuoustic performance (and those of his impeccable band) captures its stirring energy with aplomb in this two song (but 20+ minute) set from the KEXP studios with DJ Larry Rose. Recorded 12/2/2016 - 2 songs: Re Run, The Rhythm ChangesSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Angel Olsen excels in hitting those long, sustained notes that speak volumes, and her songwriting pairs perfectly with her rich vocals, unwinding slowly to unfurl affecting, personal narratives. Her 2016 album MY WOMAN is full of those stories - accented by plenty of those heart-shattering vocal lines - many of which are on display in this stellar session from the Cutting Room Studios in New York City. Recorded 08/30/2016 - 4 songs: Heart Shaped Face, Those Were The Days, Give It Up, Shut Up Kiss MeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Against Me! have always operated with as much self-awareness as they have articulate, external fury, and their latest album, 2016's Shape Shift With Me, continues the more introspective-leaning trend that Laura Jane Grace began on her 2014 opus Transgender Dysphoria Blues. But that hardly means their music is any less blisteringly anthemic, so it's easy to shape shift with Laura Jane Grace and co. on this incendiary session on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 10/26/2016 - 4 songs: 333, Crash, Delicate, Petite, and Other Things I'll Never Be, Suicide BomberSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Drive-By Truckers have never shied away from writing about social themes, but in the light of recent events, the long running Georgia outfit recorded one of their most striking and overtly political records to date in 2016's American Band. Joining Greg Vandy in the Roadhouse, the band play four incisive and honest tunes from the record and Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley discuss the events and tensions that led “the record to write itself”. Recorded 09/29/2016 - 4 songs: Ramon Casiano, Ever South, What It Means, Once They Banned ImagineSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since their formation in 1979, Fishbone's kinetic, funky mixture of rock and ska has remained a singular sound, not least because of Angelo Moore and company's blend of social commentary and clever humor that, thirty years on, seems more incisive than ever. Still vibrant, still relevant, and still stuck in your throat, the Los Angeles group performs four songs from their catalog on the Afternoon Show. Recorded 11/10/2016 - 4 songs: Forever Moore, The Suffering, Chim Chim's Badass Revenge, Kung Fu GripSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just over twenty years after their initial dissolution, Digable Planets took the stage for their longest reunion to date in 2016 and it's not only remarkable how in step with each other Butterfly, Ladybug Mecca, and Doodlebug are, but also how prescient their astute, complex lyrics and aqueous, groove-laden production would turn out to be twenty years later. Backed by a full band, the Brooklyn trio are in full force in this session from Kex Hostel during KEXP's Iceland Airwaves 2016 broadcast. Recorded 11/4/2016 - 5 songs: The May 4th Movement, Black Ego, Pacifics, What Cool Breezes Do, Jettin'Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only a little over a year before the release of their debut full-length, What I Saw On The Way To Myself, Moji Abiola and Frosti Jón Runolfsson had met on an otherwise unnoteworthy night in a Reykjavik whiskey bar. The result of that chance meeting, however, was a powerful, stirring group whose blues-streaked rock music feels far more lived in than the songs' actual age. Performing live from the Kex Hostel in Reykjavik during KEXP's Iceland Airwaves 2016, Moji and the Midnight Sons' session is one for nights both fueled and untouched by whiskey. Recorded 11/4/2016 - 5 songs: Another Mile, Keep My Memory, Carmen's Lament, Island, Cut Me DownSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Kate Tempest released a song titled "Europe Is Lost" in late 2015, she showed a eerily foreshadowing fury that preceded the seemingly unending discord of 2016. On the track's parent album, 2016's Let Them Eat Chaos, Tempest reaffirms her status as a singular figure that's both thrillingly evocative and frighteningly prescient. Tempest doesn't hold anything back during this performance on KEXP's broadcast from Iceland Airwaves 2016, which is a marvel from start to finish. Recorded 11/04/16 - 7 songs: Picture a Vacuum, Lionmouth Door Knocker, Ketamine For Breakfast, Europe is Lost, We Die, Whoops, Brews/Don't Fall InSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fufanu's electrifying live performances are what the Reykjavík outfit's sterling reputation is built on. After previously displaying it during a remote broadcast from Iceland Airwaves, the group finally made their long awaited debut in the KEXP studio in Seattle this fall, joining Cheryl Waters to rip through a whirlwind set (featuring songs from their as-yet-unreleased album) and discuss their creative process. Recorded 10/14/2016 - 4 songs: Sports, Circus Life, Bad Rockets, NowSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fémina's take on acoustic rock music has plenty of melody, but the San Martin de los Andes, Argentina trio don't ever let their harmonious voices take the backseat to their hip-hop influenced rhythms and almost percussive vocal arrangements. Clara Miglioli and sisters Sofia and Clara Trucco join Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop to share four songs, the story of the band's beginning, and the state of being an independent artist in Argentina today. Recorded 10/11/2016 - 4 songs: Brillando, Mi Eje, Arriba, Palpita y GozaSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of the band's previous tour, Okkervil River leader Will Sheff returned to a Bob Dylan lyric that he's always circled back to: "He not busy being born is busy dying". With rebirth in mind, Sheff gathered a new group of musicians and created a new musical mindset that eventually evolved into the Austin, Texas band's eighth album, Away. Joining Troy Nelson in the KEXP studios, Sheff and his bandmates display a band that sounds intriguingly reborn and hungry for adventure once more. Recorded 10/8/2016 - 4 songs: Okkervil River R.I.P., The Industry, Judey On A Street, Unless It's KicksSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From trip-hop to R%26B to bossa nova - to name only a few styles incorporated in the Washington D.C. collective's music - Thievery Corporation's diverse rhythms and textures remain a vibrant touchstone to numerous styles of music 20 years after the band's formation In a career-spanning session on Wo' Pop, Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and co. flow through five songs from their catalog and discuss the band's origins, initiative to stay independent of major labels, and the secret of keeping a band together for two decades. Recorded 11/10/2016 - 5 songs: Forgotten People, Le Monde, All That We Perceive, Amerimacka, Culture Of FearSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On their third LP, Sunlit Youth, Local Natives created their darkest and densest record to date, but in this pared-down performance in the KEXP Gathering Space, they're anything but that. Agile and direct, the quintet's performance shows that the festival anthems that built their reputation outside of their native Los Angeles work just as well in an intimate setting as they do in an open-air park in this session with four Sunlit Youth cuts and an old favorite. Recorded 09/20/2016 - 5 songs: Past Lives, Coins, Wide Eyes, Dark Days, Fountain of YouthSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the legendary dub musician starts this session with a spiritual thesis statement ("Let Scratch arise... let Scratch enemies be scattered"), it's only the first sign that the vibe of the room is about to be elevated. Lee "Scratch" Perry may be 80 years old, but his ability to conjure otherworldly, reverb-drenched atmosphere is still inimitable. Backed by Subatomic Sound System, the Jamaican pioneer's potent energy shines through in this four-song session and wide-ranging interview on Wo' Pop with Darek Mazzone. Recorded 09/18/2016 - 4 songs: Happy Birthday, I Am A Madman, Black Ark Vampires, Dread LionSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"When I was a kid, they didn't allow rappers to reach 44 years old." Atmosphere MC Slug may joke about his middle age ("dad rap - it's what I do now!"), but it belies his sense of pride in the Minneapolis group's two decade career. Joining Kevin Cole in the KEXP studio, Slug and his partner in crime Ant discuss the experience of having a two decade hip-hop career and rock four tunes that show that the pair haven't lost a step as they enter their "brush your teeth, wear your seatbelt" phase. Recorded 09/15/2016 - 4 songs: Seismic Waves, Pure Evil, Perfect, HappymessSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Much was made of Nao's jazz backgroud when she was a buzzy artist in 2015, but the London musician's debut full length, this year's For All We Know (named for a jazz standard) displays a singer with significant funk credentials and forward-thinking, electronic-tinged production. In this kinetic session, Nao joins Larry Rose to play four songs and discuss growing up in a music-centric household, the original name for her record label, and singing backing vocals for Pulp at Glastonbury. Recorded 09/23/16 - 4 songs: Happy, DYWM, Apple Cherry, Bad BloodSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When DJ Sharlese asks MASZER frontman STITCX about growing up in Tel Aviv, he immediately, enthusiastically replies "Born and raised!" As the Israeli musician points out, however, there's musical influences from all over the globe that go into the Seattle-based group's roaring, percussive rock. Even if you don't speak Hebrew (which some of these songs are sung in), there's plenty of rich musical landscape to dig into during this session on Audioasis. Recorded 09/30/16 - 4 songs: California Sees You, Ma Nia, Dancing Mice, DecisionsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Michigan outfit Heaters took the “space rock” tags that were put on the band after their debut to heart, naming their sophomore outing, Baptistina, after the asteroid that was once presumed to have ended the dinosaur. Doubling down on the heavier, more gauzy elements of their music for their second album, Heaters expand the KEXP studio a swirling, acid-lined universe in session with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 09/09/2016 - 4 songs: Dali, Elephant Turner, Centennial, Ara PacisSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtney Marie Andrews isn't out of her twenties yet, but she's spent more time on the road than most musicians ever will. Yet the inspiration from her newest album, Honest Life, came from her experience getting off the touring circuit and bartending in a small town, and the results are some of her most affecting songs to date. Courtney joins Greg Vandy in the Roadhouse to discuss the characters that inspired the songs and learning how to live on and off the road. Recorded 09/07/2016 - 4 songs: How Quickly Your Heart Mends, Irene, Table For One, Rookie DreamingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When My Bubba entered the studio for their third LP, this year's Big Bad Good, they didn't have any songs, but the Swedish-Icelandic duo didn't take that as a reason to not craft a new set of tunes on the spot. Joining DJ Morgan in the KEXP Studio, Guðbjörg Tómasdóttir and My Larsdotter share four songs from Big Bad Good and a short history of the perpetually-traveling group. Recorded 07/30/2016 - 4 songs: Big Bad Good, Charm, Carolina / Going Home, Ghost SweatSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Franti will, without hesitation, say that his 20-plus year career was built on one thing: tenacious optimism. And even if you can't see it in the room, Franti's optimism radiates just as brilliantly through the songs of his new album Soul Rocker as anything else in his catalog. Franti, along with his band Spearhead, join Kevin Cole for a semi-acoustic session of songs and emotional stories from both the artist and the host. Recorded 09/02/2016 - 5 songs:Get Myself To Saturday, Good To Be Alive Today, I Got Love For Ya, Crazy For You, My LordSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xenia Rubinos' evocative, electrifying voice is a singular one to say the least, and in her sophomore album, this year's Black Terry Cat, she has a set of songs that have just as broad of a musical spectrum. Painting with a hard-to-categorize set of sounds drawing from R&B to punk, Rubinos' return to KEXP is an engaging and rhythmic gem that vividly captures the musical and social experiences of the Brooklyn songwriter's Afro-Caribbean heritage. Recorded 09/15/2016 - 4 songs: Lonely Lover, Black Stars, Mexican Chef, Don't Wanna BeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.