Kexp Live Performances Podcast

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.