Kexp Song Of The Day

Nation of Language - Spare Me the Decision (Cutouts Remix) a 2024 single on PIAS Brooklyn trio Nation of Language revisit last year's single "Spare Me the Decision" with a remix by their bassist Alex MacKay, who also records under the name Cutouts. The original version of the track appears on the album Strange Disciple, which was voted the #2 album of the year by KEXP listeners.  “I knew pretty instantly “Spare Me the Decision” was the track I’d have the most fun trying to remix from Strange Disciple as it’s a personal favorite," MacKay shared in a press statement. "However, my time management isn’t always the best so while I thought I’d have turned it in before we started touring last year, I ended up finishing the master in the lobby of our Barcelona hotel, just a few hours before our set at Primavera Festival. As a result, to me that day represents a beautiful duality, wearing two very different hats from the afternoon into the evening. In the daylight a focused (albeit jet-lagged) moment of solitude and c

Gustaf - "Starting and Staring" from the 2024 album Package Pt. 2 on Royal Mountain Brooklyn-based no-wave band Gustaf share the lead single from their upcoming sophomore full-length Package Pt. 2, out April 5th via Royal Mountain. The new album was produced by Erin Tonkon, who worked on David Bowie’s final album Blackstar. With its driving bass and anxiety-ridden performance from vocalist Lydia Gammill, it's easy to see why this group is a tour mate of bands like IDLES, Sleaford Mods, and Yard Act. Check out the video below, directed by Alex Ross Perry.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ride - "Peace Sign" from the 2024 album Interplay on Wichita Shoegaze pioneers Ride return with the album Interplay, out March 29th on Wichita Recordings/PIAS. It'll be their seventh full-length overall, and their third since reuniting in 2014.  “This album has taken a long time to make, and has seen the band go through a lot of ups and downs; maybe the most of any Ride album,” co-founder Andy Bell said in a press release. “But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to shake off the past, and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.” Today's Song of the Day first began to come together during a jam session in band member Mark Gardener's recording studio, OX4 studio. "We called it ‘Berlin’ and initially it featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass, and myself on a prophet 5 synth," Bell continued. "About six months later I got hold of the recording and wrestled it into song form. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called Th

TR/ST - "Robrash" a 2023 single on Dais TR/ST — a project of producer Robert Alfons — shares the first single from his latest release, a self-titled EP from his new label, Dais Records. Formed in Toronto, and now based in Los Angeles, he continues to craft darkwave synth perfect for haunting the dance floor.  Today's Song of the Day was co-produced by Nightfeelings and mixed by the legendary Nick Launay, who has worked with everyone from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to IDLES to Kate Bush.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brittany Davis - "Sepricon" from the 2024 album Image Issues on Loosegroove Records Last we spoke with Seattle artist Brittany Davis, they had released an EP via Loosegroove Records, the label ran by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard (who is also Davis's bandmate in the side project, Painted Shield). Now, they've returned with their debut full-length album, titled Image Issues, out March 1st on Loosegroove. It's an ambitious 26-track, concept-driven release, interspersed with spoken word pieces by Davis, and with deeply personal lyrics touching on their "discrimination as a Black, non-binary, blind musician, to traumatic family experiences touching on abuse, gun violence, and the prison system." The LP was co-produced by Josh Evans (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Brandi Carlile), with Gossard's full support. (“He is everywhere in spirit and conception and love and vision,” Evans told Spin Magazine.) Davis describes today's Song of the Day as "definitely born to funk...to soul funk! The record is an ode to James Brow

Izzy and the Black Trees - "F-16" a 2024 single on Antena Krzyku. Polish punk rockers Izzy and The Black Trees tap into some COVID anxiety for today's Song of the Day. As vocalist Izabela “Izzy” Rekowska explains to music blog Vanadian Avenue: "Back then, I was watching many movies and Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb really got stuck in my head. Plus, there was a constant hum of jet planes flying over our apartment. So, you get the story. The song was recorded with our producer Marcin Bors at his home studio in the mountains. Marcin also produced our second album Revolution Comes In Waves. We really loved working on that album as well as on 'F-16' and our previous single, 'Shutdown City.'" The band are currently working on a new EP with their sights set on a third full-length in the future. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waxahatchee - "Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)" from the 2024 album Tigers Blood on ANTI- On today's Song of the Day, singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield — best known as Waxahatchee — enlists the talents of MJ Lenderman (of the band Wednesday, as well as a solo artist) for an unconventional love song. “I wrote it backstage at Wolf Trap when I was on tour opening for Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow,” Crutchfield says in a press statement. “I’m really interested in writing love songs that are gritty and unromantic. I wanted to make a song about the ebb and flow of a longtime love story. I thought it might feel untraditional, but a little more in alignment with my experience to write about feeling insecure or foiled in some way internally, but always finding your way back to a newness or an intimacy with the same person.” The track will appear on her forthcoming full-length, Tigers Blood, out March 22nd via Anti-. The LP was recorded with Brad Cook at Sonic Ranch in Texas, and features guest appearances from

SPRINTS - "Adore Adore Adore" from the 2024 album Letter To Self on City Slang Dublin, Ireland-based garage rockers Sprints rage against the patriarchy on today's Song of the Day, as vocalist Karla Chubb explains on Bandcamp: “'Adore Adore Adore' is a guttural reaction to my experience of criticism, gender, and misogyny. People can't seem to stop pressing their idea of what being a woman or acting like a woman is or should be upon us. You can't act like this, you can't say that, you have to be born with this or that and it's exhausting. There is still a different standard of behaviour expected from me vs even the other members in Sprints. There is a different set of invisible rules I am supposed to abide by — I am supposed to fit their mould and give them what they want — and not deliver what it is I am here to do. So at a time when trans rights are under attack, people are trying to force upon us what they think a woman is or should be, this is the outward expression of my own frustration, struggle and rage.

Arcwelder - "Lafayette" from the 2024 self-released album Continue Minneapolis trio Arcwelder return with their first new album in 24 years. During their '90s heyday, they released six albums on Touch & Go and Big Money Records before their double-decade hiatus. Their latest LP was mixed by J. Robbins of Jawbox, Burning Airlines, and Government Issue. And it's all too appropriate that "Lafayette" is today's Song of the Day, as the band say the track is drummer/vocalist Scott  Macdonald's tribute to "music, radio stations, and the childhood radio that delivered it all to him." Check out Morning Show Producer Owen Murphy's 2017 chat with Scott here. Read the full story at KEXP.org  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spoon Benders - "Dichotomatic" from the 2023 self-released album How Things Repeat With their sophomore full-length, How Things Repeat, psych-rock group Spoon Benders continue to elevate the glam-garage sound we first fell in love with on their 2020 debut LP Dura Mater. As they explained to Be in a Band or Die, "Since April of 2019, the band has been writing, rehearsing, and performing live together multiple times a week. I think How Things Repeat has captured that growth and is an excellent representation of our evolution together as a band and individually as players and songwriters. For How Things Repeat we are building on our sound and looking to express similar energy through the recording as we do on stage in the live setting." The accompanying music video — directed by Karlee Boon — aims to capture the opposite: the monotony they experience in their day jobs. "People often forget that musicians work grueling 9-5 jobs to survive while balancing their band and personal lives," they added. Read the full s

Skating Polly - "Hickey King" from the 2023 album Chaos County Line on El Camino Media Tacoma-based punk-pop trio Skating Polly describes today's Song of the Day as "the most Skating Polly song" on their latest LP, a double-album titled Chaos County Line, out now via El Camino Media. Songwriters (and step-sisters!) Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse trade off vocals on the stripped-down single, inspired by a bad date Kelli went on. “In Peyton’s verse she’s talking about never knowing how far to go or how much of yourself to give to someone, and when my part comes crashing in it’s about guys being possessive and always trying to leave their mark on you,” Kelli says in a press release. “To me, it’s the most Skating Polly song on the record because it’s all these different energies happening at once.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hurry - "Beggin' For You" from the 2023 album Don't Look Back on Lame-O Records Philadelphia-based group Hurry released their sixth album last year, titled Don’t Look Back, a nod to a 1995 Teenage Fanclub song, if that gives you a hint to their influences. And today's Song of the Day brings that same jangly, power-pop goodness.  The new album was produced by Ian Farmer (of Slaughter Beach, Dog, and Modern Baseball), and is out now via Lame-O Records.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Pond PA - "Imagining Everything" from the 2024 album Call and Response on 131 Records Today's Song of the Day marks a homecoming for singer/songwriter Matt Pond who launched his career in 1998 as matt pond PA, but tried to ditch the name the past few years, releasing an album under the moniker The Natural Lines in 2022. But now, he's re-embraced his original band name with the release of this new single. "Our album as The Natural Lines was one of my favorite experiences in making music,” Matt told Brooklyn Vegan last year. “We thoughtfully built songs and a band that represented the inner world of the post-pandemic return to reality. But as it stands now, I’ve said everything I can in that incarnation. I gave myself a strange band name back in Philly and it’s been impossible to shake. As much as I love to run, there’s no running from who I am.” “In the song and video for ‘Imagining Everything,'” he adds, “I can hear the worst thoughts about myself — about all of us. Nevertheless, I want to find a way bac

Bayonne - "Right Thing" from the 2023 album Temporary Time on Nettwerk Today's Song of the Day from Bayonne (a solo project from Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Roger Sellers) is extra potent, not just for being a total new wave nostalgic groove, but because it was the last song Roger was able to play for his father before he passed away from cancer.  “Approaching my mid 30s, I was having a lot of anxiety about life, music and the future – contemplating where I wanted to go creatively, which among other things, caused me to fall into a state of depression. It’s a deeply meaningful song to me, conveying feelings of stagnancy and self-doubt while maintaining a poppy format,” he says in a press statement. “One of the reasons it’s so meaningful to me is because it was the last song I remember showing my Dad before he passed. In the middle percussive section, I added samples from old home VHS tapes, wherein you can faintly hear him and other family members chattering lightly in the background. I’ll never forget

Ghoul Talk - I Just Like To Watch from the 2024 album I Want to Consume on Death Certificate Records Seattle's Ghoul Talk — a solo project of local artist Rachel King — brings an exhilarating ferociousness to today's Song of the Day, a track she declares her "favorite and most polarizing song so far." She describes the single as "a two-and-a-half minute relationship horror story about ignoring your intuition, written in a 100+ degree room." She tells KEXP, “I re-recorded the vocals many times, and nothing stuck until I was able to get out of my head and lock into the true emotion of the song. I wanted the recording to capture the messiness and desperation of the feeling beneath it all. Towards the end of recording, I found mice in my studio and finished some of the takes standing on a chair. There was something very punk about having them as an audience.” "I Just Like To Watch" will appear on Ghoul Talk's forthcoming visual horror album I Want to Consume, to be released later this year on Death Certificate Re

IDLES - "Dancer (feat. James Murphy & Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem)" from the 2024 album TANGK on Partisan Records Today's Song of the Day teams up two powerhouse KEXP faves: UK band IDLES and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang. It's the first single from IDLES' forthcoming fifth full-length, Tangk, due for release on February 16th via Partisan Records. IDLES frontman Joe Talbot says the new album will be full of enchantment. "I needed love. So I made it," he says in a press release. "I gave love out to the world and it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love." This cross-Atlantic collaboration came to be following some shows the two bands played together. As Talbot told NME, "If you don’t ask, you don’t get. By that point we’d been touring with them for a few weeks and knew they were lovely human beings. They took time out of their day off and took us to their studio. They were really accommodating and lovely, so hard-working, patient and awes

Stepan i Meduza - "О​с​е​н​ьs," a 2018 self-released single Ukrainian duo Stepan i Meduza evoke the spirit of early Depeche Mode on this captivating synthwave track. Kiev-based musicians Burkov Aleksandr (vocals, guitar, synth, programming, mixing) and Mashkin Dmitry (bass guitar, vocals, synth, programming) have been releasing music together for over a decade, starting with their 2012 debut LP Bludnitsa.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dharmacide - "Horses/Divorces" a 2023 self-released single Hailing from Madrid, Spain, shoegaze quintet Dharmacide thrilled with their dreamy debut LP, Cult Band Member, in 2021.  With today's Song of the Day, they achieve one of the ultimate shoegaze honors of working with Mark Gardener of genre-icons Ride, who mixed, mastered, and produced the track from his OX4 Studios.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bien et Toi - "Haiku" from the 2023 Voici EP on Temple Records L.A.-based producer Gianluca Buccellati has been racking up accolades, especially for his work on the 2021 Arlo Parks album Collapsed in Sunbeams. He crafts just as much beauty on his own music, which he records under the name Bien et Toi.  With its warm, sunny vibes, his latest EP — the six-song release Voici — is the perfect antidote to grey winter weather. "This collection of songs was created when I was in a completely carefree state of flow,” Buccellati said in a press statement. “After my last EP [2022's London Safari], I wanted to create a body of work that had less features and felt more personal. This EP is for people to let loose to, a soundtrack for pool parties or warmer nights."  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bella Cuts - “Until Everybody Is Free” from the 2023 album Rise Up: BDS Mixtape Vol. 2 on Amplify Palestine “The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free”— Dr. Maya AngelouBerlin-based artist Bella Cuts originally wrote today's Song of the Day as an anthem for the Internationalist Queer Pride Berlin. It has since gone on to become the theme song for The Solidarity Index, a podcast "exploring cultural power for collective liberation." The track was built around a vocal sample taken from an interview with Dr. Maya Angelou, and as such, Bella Cuts is donating all proceeds from the track to the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.