Kexp Live Performances Podcast

Mint Field's debut album, Pasar De Las Luces, found sisters Amor Amezcua and Estrella Sánchez spending two years crafting its beautiful, gauzy shoegaze tones, and in their debut appearance in the KEXP Live Room, the Tijuana, Mexico group's shimmering tones echo with an aqueous glow. Joining DJ Chilly, the group perform four songs from the album and discuss the process of making the record. Recorded 03/25/2018. 4 songs - Quiero Otoño De Nuevo, Cambios Del Pasar, Ojos En El Carro, Boötes VoidSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Starting a new chapter in her career, Lee Ann Womack's The Lonely, The Lonesome, & the Gone is a stunning slice of rich country that underscores her status as one of the finest singers East Texas has produced. Joining Don Slack in the KEXP Live Room, Womack and her band run through four songs and discuss returning to country clubs and the value of making records at a slow pace. Recorded 03/08/2018. 4 songs - Someone Else's Heartache, Mama Lost Her Smile, Hollywood, All The TroubleSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brandi Carlile's seventh LP, By The Way, I Forgive You, is among her most intense recordings, but it also contains some of her most affecting songs, centering in on family dynamics, turbulent times, and addiction. Joining Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live room, Carlile and longtime collaborators Tim & Phil Hanseroth perform four songs from the new album. Recorded 02/27/2018. 4 songs - Most of All, The Joke, The Mother, Whatever You Do, The Times They Are A Changin'Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twenty years into their existence, Antibalas is still a vessel for beautiful grooves and vibrant sounds, and to quote the band, a sanctuary for listeners. Performing songs from Where The Gods Are In Peace, the Brooklyn outfit join DJ Miss Ashley in the KEXP Live Room for some music and a discussion on creating music that serves as a healing space and a tool to change society. Recorded 03/16/2018. 3 songs - Tombstone Pt. 1, Hook & Crook, Gold RushSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What A Time To Be Alive, the latest album from independent stalwarts Superchunk, is easily the band's most politically-charged work, so it's no surprise it ranks among their most furious. Joining Cheryl Waters in the Live Room, Mac McCaughan and co. rip through three tunes reflecting on tumultuous times and a Superchunk classic.  Recorded 02/27/2018. 4 songs - Break The Glass, Lost My Brain, What A Time To Be Alive, Throwing ThingsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"All the way from Seattle, Tacoma, and the Pacific Northwest,” is how DJ Troy Nelson cleverly introduces Unlikely Friends, the group of PNW musicians featuring members of Math & Physics Club and BOAT whose glimmering, powerful rock outshines the KEXP Live Room's ample lighting. The group join Nelson for this session featuring five songs from their latest LP, Crooked Numbers.. Recorded 02/08/2018. 5 songs - The Strangest Kind, Broken Again, Kool-Aid Smell, Fifteen Rounds, 39 StepsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Losing, Bully's second full-length album, is more ragged and furious than its predecessor, but the heart of the band - Alicia Bognanno's reflective lyrics and fiery howl - remain front and center despite the increase in intensity. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the band perform four Losing songs that sound best turned up.  Recorded 02/27/2018. 4 songs - Either Way, Feel The Same, Guess There, RunningSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the sometimes New Pornographer is always steady for a clever pop tune or two on that group's records, Dan Bejar's primary project remains excitingly difficult to pin down. On Destoyer's latest album, ken, Bejar's synth-soaked set of songs is full of side-eyed bewilderment and cutting turns of phrase, all of which is on display in this session with DJ Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 02/08/2018. 4 songs - Stay Lost, Tinseltown Swimming In Blood, Saw You At The Hospital, Sky's GreySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sharp, booming, and a hell of a lot of fun, 2KFG, Kung Foo Grip's aptly titled second album, is an early 2018 standout for Seattle hip-hop. Joining Stas THEE Boss on Street Sounds, the Seattle group perform four tracks from their Keyboard Kid-produced LP.  Recorded 03/09/2018. 4 songs - Mic Check, Blvck Hollywood, Sposed Ta B, I Quit (feat. Misunderstood)Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roots musicians Dori Freeman's voice floats with "a certain purity”, to quote Roadhouse host Greg Vandy, that cuts through the noise and grabs the listener. Playing songs from her sophomore record, Letters Never Read, the Virginia songwriter runs through four songs and discusses her musical journey in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 02/09/2018. 5 songs - Lovers On The Run, If I Could Make You My Own, Ern and Zorry's Sneakin' Bitin' Dog, Cold Waves, Just Say It NowSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of his second album, Full Circle Nightmare, Kyle Craft's swampy storytelling got sharper and it shows all over the Louisiana songwriter's newest record. Melding golden-toned rock with a glammy sneer, Craft and his band join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for four Full Circle Nightmare songs. Recorded 01/31/2018. 4 songs - Heartbreak Junky, Fever Dream Girl, The Rager, Exile RagSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Spook School's music is certainly political - written from the crucial voice of a trans person's perspective - but its vital message has a razor-sharp catchiness and chiming dynamic that makes the Scottish group's songs soar with a stinging grace. Joining DJ Miss Ashley in the KEXP Live Room, the band play four songs from their latest album, Could It Be Different? Recorded 02/09/2018. 4 songs - Less Than Perfect, Body, Keep In Touch, Still AliveSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle Zauner's second album as Japanese Breakfast, 2017's Soft Sounds From Another Planet, may have a space-adjacent angle to many of its songs, but it's all a lens to an intimate, personal LP that cuts to the bone. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, Zauner and her band discuss space and personal exploration alongside four Soft Sounds songs. Recorded 02/15/2018. 4 songs - Diving Woman, Road Head, The Body Is A Blade, BoyishSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The origins of Johnny Goss and Ola Hungerford's latest LP as Cock & Swan, Dream Alone, lie in a live soundtrack the band created for the Nicolas Winding Refn film “Only God Forgives”. Filled the with sleek, stylish, and dark tones of the film, the Seattle duo join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a performance of four Dream Alone tracks. Recorded 02/09/2018. 4 songs - SILM, PERG (Honing), What Was Life? (What's Your Problem?), Never Been So LostSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wolf Parade's return from hiatus in 2016 found the band with renewed energy, plenty of which went into the recording of Cry Cry Cry, their vibrant fourth album. Filled with the spiky, art-damaged energy that runs through their best work, the band perform three Cry Cry Cry tracks and a Wolf Parade classic live from the KEXP Gathering Space. Recorded 01/03/2018. 4 songs - Lazarus Online, Soldier's Grin, You're Dreaming, Baby BlueSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Portland musician Kelli Schaefer channels a trembling thunder on her latest album, No Identity, bursting with power and control with the finesse that only a seasoned songwriter can channel. Schaefer roars into the KEXP Live Room on Audioasis with DJ Sharlese with four No Identity songs. Recorded 02/09/2018. 4 songs - Big Black Box, Underground, Machine, Shiny Black FeathersSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jen Cloher's self-titled record isn't just her most dynamic, it's likely her most self-reflective as well. Wrapped in these spiraling, sprawling songs is a top-class songwriter expanding her sound with intricate Rust Never Sleeps-esque guitar work. Joining DJ Morgan in the KEXP Live Room, Cloher and her band run through four songs off her self-titled record. Recorded 01/27/2018. 4 songs - Analysis Paralysis, Sensory Memory, Regional Echo, Forgot MyselfSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After reuniting in 2015 for a series of live dates, Dean Wareham and the other members of Luna gradually worked back into a recording mindset, resulting in an instrumental EP and cover album combo, A Sentimental Education. Joining Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room, the band run through two songs from Sentimental and a pair of Luna classics, as well as a top-drawer Prince anecdote. Recorded 1/23/2018. 4 songs - GTX3, Fire In Cairo, Speedbumps, Sideshow by the SeashoreSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Auerbach's prolific streak has run for two decades now, but after an eight-year break between solo albums, he gathered a number of top-notch musicians for the sublime Waiting on a Song. Joined by the Easy Eye Sounds Revue and Robert Finley (who sings two of his own songs), Auerbach brings a warm, intimate set of songs in this acoustic session in the KEXP Live Room with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 02/12/2017. 5 songs - Waiting On A Song, Never In My Wildest Dreams, Trouble Waits For You, Medicine Woman, Get It While You CanSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The London-via-Seattle duo FKL's crisp electronic sounds channel kinetic energy with silvery tones, not unlike the grey-skied cities that Sage Redman and Joe Gillick hail from. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the pair discuss the project's inception and relocation to Seattle from London alongside a performance of songs from their debut, Out of Tune. 4 songs - Even, A Different Street, All I Got, ViolenceSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.