Okkervil River - Pulled Up The Ribbon

Elizabeth M. Drummond - "Crisis," a 2022 single on Young Poet. While the idea of starting a band with your childhood friends that almost immediately breaks it big, tours the world, and even works with Aaron Dessner sounds like an absolute dream, the pressure can take a toll. That’s the simplified backstory behind Elizabeth M. Drummond's new path as a solo artist, after leaving the popular Australian indie folk band Little May. Her experiences and the overwhelming feelings that accompanied leaving the band are told through her recent singles “Crisis” and “Congratulations.” Our Song of the Day, “Crisis,” is particularly gutting. While the instrumentation is light and lovely, the lyrics tell the story of someone who knows it's time to move on from painful past relationships but is having trouble sorting out who they are without them. “There’s a hurricane/ It’s in your eyes,” Drummond coos. “I don’t want to be a part of this thing anymore/ I’d rather run into a fire.” Speaking of the song, Drummond had this to say: "I wrote 'Crisis' when I had moved cities after leaving Little May and a long relationship. I felt like everything I ever identified with had just exploded in front of me. I also realised I had been living on auto-pilot for as long as I could remember, and that I had been ignoring what I actually wanted for my life. At this point, I had started to feel a huge amount of relief and humour in surrendering to the idea that things couldn’t get any worse. In many ways I felt like I had become 'no one,' and this started to become liberating. This song marks that time and those feelings for me." Watch the video for “Crisis,” directed and edited by Richard Clifford, at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Heinä 20223min

Brimheim - “can't hate myself into a different shape” from the 2022 album can't hate myself into a different shape on W.A.S. Entertainment. Copenhagen-based artist Helena Heinesen Rebensdorff chose Brimheim as her recording name, as a tribute to her roots in the Faroe Islands. The word translates to "home of the breaking waves," which gives a visual reference to her emotionally-rich alt-pop, and the musical rise-and-fall on today's dramatic Song of the Day.  On her debut LP can’t hate myself into a different shape, Brimheim explores the topic of self love, inspired by her own experience with a "deep depression hole" she experienced during the pandemic. In an inspiring interview with Get In Her Ears, she says, "I felt like I’d been in this black muddy place, not able to see anything and kind of drowning, and then I slowly started emerging from that through this process of transforming these ideas into arrangements and recorded music with a structure. It was so life affirming." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 Heinä 20223min

Alvvays - "Pharmacist" from the 2022 album Blue Rev on Polyvinyl. Canadian indie-pop quintet Alvvays return this fall with Blue Rev, despite numerous misfortunes that came before it. A thief stole a recorder full of demos from frontwoman Molly Rankin's apartment. The very next day, a basement flood nearly ruined all the band’s gear. On the plus side, they recruited two new band members — drummer Sheridan Riley and bassist Abbey Blackwell  — but, on the bummer side, COVID-related border closures prevented band rehearsals.  But the band persevered to craft their most mature (and longest!) LP yet. Keyboardist Kerri MacLellan and guitarist Alec O’Hanley contributed more to the songwriting process this time, adding fresh perspectives to their melodic sound.  Blue Rev is named for a "sugary alcoholic beverage Rankin and MacLellan used to drink as teens on rural Cape Breton," and the songs within express that sweet, dizzy, exuberant feeling.  Blue Rev will be released October 7th via Polyvinyl, with an October 22nd date at The Moore Theatre in Seattle.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Heinä 20222min

Stone Gossard and Ani DiFranco - "Disorders," a 2022 single on Loosegroove/Righteous Babe. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard unearthed a six-year-old demo and teamed up with alt-folk icon Ani DiFranco for an anthem for abortion access. The music was composed by Gossard, along with Josh Evans, Skerik and Stanton Moore, with vocals and lyrics by DiFranco. All proceeds will be donated to the National Network of Abortion Funds, which aims "to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice." "...Women in every Republican stronghold in this country are left treading in a sea of unnecessary suffering, just trying to keep their heads above water," DiFranco declared. "Poor women will be drowned by the score. That is why this track is a fundraiser for abortion access — to help women who don’t have resources but who desperately need abortions. I am so grateful for men like Stone, Skerik, Stanton — not just for the blessing of this track and the honor of being invited into it, but for actually seeing women in their full humanity and being willing to stand with them.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 Heinä 20224min

Mt Fog - "Behind a Silent Door" from the 2022 self-released album Spells of Silence. KEXP's own Jasmine Albertson spotlighted today's Song of the Day in her recent segment of Living Singles, introducing us to the gorgeous, melodic synth-pop of Mt. Fog, a project of local artist Carolyn B. During a lonely time in Olympia, WA, living in a house with no internet, she began experimenting with making loops on her sister's old keyboard with a pirated version of Reason, she says in this interview with Tape Deck Podcast. She brings to Mt. Fog her previous experience as a classical violinist and as a member of a Slavic chorus who sang mostly traditional Bulgarian women’s music. The result is a unique sound she dubs ''forest folktronica'' on her Bandcamp page. Stay tuned for her upcoming sophomore LP, Spells of Silence. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

22 Heinä 20223min

Courting - "Tennis" a 2022 single on Play It Again Sam. UK band Courting set the course with their 2020 single "Football" and the title track off last year's EP, Grand National. Now they return with another sporting track, the playful post-punk ode "Tennis," featuring frontman Sean Murphy-O’Neill talk-singing over a Krautrock beat.  “‘Tennis’ is a paypig’s personal redemption narrative, set in “the city”, and told in two parts,” the band in a press release. “A twisted tale of two lovers’ back and forth, bound by cricket, bodybuilding, and money. A story as old as time.” “We named the song 'Tennis' as a logical (but unrelated) sequel to our two previously released sports-related songs. To us, this felt like a natural ending to that idea. Dynamically, the second part of the song is supposed to represent a shift in tone for the character in which they realise their own worth and leave the situation that is set within the first part of the song.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Heinä 20224min

Hello Mary - "Looking Right Into the Sun" from the 2022 album Looking Right Into the Sun on Frenchkiss Records Brooklyn trio Hello Mary continue their ascent with a recent signing to Frenchkiss Records. They followed the announcement with a melodically gritty new single, today's Song of the Day, which they say touches on the "general themes of feeling stuck and restricted by circumstances out of one’s control." "For us specifically it relates to us having to practice as a band during COVID, not being able to play shows, and being stuck in the thick of writing songs out of a need to cope," they shared in a press release. "The main repeating line of the song ‘Looking Right Into the Sun,’ plays with the idea of confronting something with such duality — the sun is beautiful and mesmerizing yet looking directly at it will blind you — kind of like confronting a hard truth and turning it into a sick song." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Heinä 20222min

Jasmyn - "Crystal Ball" from the 2022 album In the Wild on ANTI- Having unraveled herself from the band Weaves, Toronto singer/songwriter Jasmyn Burke was ready to slow down. She moved from the city to the quiet of Hamilton, soaking in the outdoors and the serenity of Lake Ontario. Inspired by her surroundings, she decided to embark on a solo career under the name Jasmyn. She speaks to the experience in today's Song of the Day. "“I was writing about being afraid of moving into the future but also getting excited by it," she said in a press release. "I knew that I had to change my life and follow my heart in order to evolve and be happy. I think I leaned on nature to do that. Staring at the sun go down, watching birds just float. Nature seems to move without regret or worry. I wanted to write about leaning on my intuition and charging forward into the future with what felt right. I was hit with fresh love and fresh air and a new beginning -- it was exciting. I think this song is about the concept of having a personal renaissance. Looking inward and finding that consistency for yourself even if it means letting go sometimes. Happiness is on the other side.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Heinä 20224min