Exitmusic - Iowa

Pom Pom Squad - "Popular (feat. Matthew Caws of Nada Surf)," a 2021 single on City Slang. Back in December, Pom Pom Squad turned a joke tweet into reality when they covered Nada Surf’s “Popular” and remade the classic video shot by shot. “I’m gonna recreate the video for “Popular” by Nada Surf but I’m gonna play every character,” Mia Berrin tweeted in March 2021. Nine months later, that dream was realized. It’s a fitting tribute for a band that’s built their imagery around cheer parody. Their latest album Death of a Cheerleader saw Berrin explore the coming-of-age high school stories that Matthew Caws was subversing on Nada Surf’s 1996 hit. There are different implications or meanings, though, hearing some of these lines from the voice of a queer woman of color rather than a straight white man. “Being attractive is the most important thing there is,” goes one the more iconic spoken-word lines from the song. “If you wanna catch the biggest fish in your pond, you have to be as attractive as possible.” For the video, Pom Pom Squad journeyed back to the same high school the original video was shot and enlisted real students to star alongside Berrin, who plays the teacher, football star, coach, and, of course, cheerleader. For an extra boost of authenticity, Caws joins the band on the football field to play guitar and sing backing vocals. Watch the video for “Popular” at the link below and catch Pom Pom Squad at Neumos on Friday, March 11th. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Helmi 20223min

Greg Cypher & Def Dee - "Right On (feat. 10isee Williams)" from the 2021 album Third Stone on Nine Six Intl. For over a decade Greg Cypher climbed the ranks of Seattle hip hop as one-half of Kung Foo Grip alongside fellow rapper Eff Is H. Never disappointing with their live show, the duo concocted a hip hop, trap rap, and punk cocktail that saw them looking beyond a single genre for influences. Everyone from Pink Floyd to Nirvana had a hand in shaping their sound. Since releasing their celebrated 2018 record 2KFG, it’s been quiet on the KFG front. Cypher, on the other hand, has been busy releasing his debut solo material. In 2020, he dropped the vibey EP Homebass featuring contributions from Aaron King, Dex Amora, Rick Rude, and even Mr. Hentvii aka Eff is H himself. A year later, his debut album Third Stone was unveiled. A collaboration with producer Def Dee, the record once again sees a number of names hop on the mic over its seven tracks. Our Song of the Day, “Right On,” features the very clever yet possibly not yet recognizable name 10isee Williams. The Seattle-based artist joins Cypher on the loungey track for effortless flows about ignoring what others say and focusing on elevating yourself. On February 25th Cypher is throwing a cassette release/birthday show at Vermillion featuring performances by AJ Suede, Blake Anthony, Edibles, and Mile. Watch Kung Foo Grip’s KEXP in-studio performance from 2018 at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11 Helmi 20225min

A La Una - "On My Way (feat. Kimmortal)," a 2022 single on Palms High Records. A La Una is the just the latest iteration of a long-running collaboration between Lex Junior and Romeo Candido. Formerly known as DATU, the duo has progressed from focusing on contemporizing traditional Filipino music to a vast landscape of various tempos, stories, and textures as A La Una. Our Song of the Day, “On My Way,” represents just one side or facet of the sounds A La Una is making and sees the duo put Vancouver rapper Kimmortal to the front. Over a ferocious beat, Kimmortal spits a story of resilience in the face of hardship with an allegory for being considered too short to play basketball. Written for the NBA, the song is the lead track in a short film directed by Candido called “Shorty.” Kimmortal said this about the song on Instagram: “Wagkang Mahiya!” - my parents would say this to my siblings and i growing up. It would jolt me up and forward to just do it, to not be shy, to use my voice. Don’t hesitate, don’t hold back, Go in! i wish you all fearlessness, courage and bravery when navigating this terrain. Practise being in your power because you are not powerless, you are powerful, divine and whole.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Helmi 20223min

Lucius - "Next To Normal" from the 2022 album Second Nature on Mom + Pop Records. After spending the past few years lending their voices to their friends’ records such as The War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore and Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe are finally unveiling their latest album as Lucius. Titled Second Nature, the record is due out April 8th and features contributions from Drew Erickson, Rob Moose, and Gabriel Cabezas, plus backing vocals from Carlile and Sheryl Crow. Our Song of the Day is the album's lead single “Next to Normal.” An absolute banger of a track, the song is a groovy disco earworm that sees the duo channel the Bee Gees to great effect. If this is what the whole album sounds like then there’s no way it doesn’t end up on all the year-end lists! “It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” Wolfe said of Second Nature in a statement. “It touches upon all these stages of grief—and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That’s why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness.” Watch the appropriately kaleidoscopic video for “Next to Normal” at the link below and check out Lucius’ upcoming tour dates here (unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a Seattle show). Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Helmi 20223min

Lady Wray - "Melody (feat. Melody Bloom Bacote)" from the 2021 album Piece of Me on Big Crown Records. Nicole Wray’s musical career is a long and winding one, with a series of highs like collaborating with Missy Elliot and then getting signed to her label, a certified gold single with 1998’s “Make It Hot,” and doing background vocals for The Black Keys and Lee Fields. Her lows, on the other hand, were devastating. A series of re-signings to various labels from Goldmind to Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam to Dame Dash Music Group led to album pushback after album pushback, stalling her career in a massive way. In truth, she should’ve been an R&B superstar. Thankfully, Wray didn’t give up because her latest record under the name Lady Wray, January’s Piece of Me, is a brilliant blend of soul, R&B and hip hop that feels like an instant classic. Our Song of the Day, “Melody,” is a touching ode to the profound love she’s come to feel from her daughter. A stripped-down guitar ballad, Wray exudes raw emotion over the finger-picked melody. The voice of her daughter sweetly asking, “Is that a star?’ comingles with her sometimes strained, cracked voice for a moment that feels intimate and very real. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Helmi 20223min

JusMoni - "Reckoning," a 2021 self-released single. Here at KEXP, we’ve long been fans of JusMoni aka Moni Tep. Back in 2018, alongside the release of her latest album Sweet to Me, she curated a Midnight in a Perfect World set, the track “Characters” was chosen as Song of the Day, and she played her first KEXP in-studio. Finally, after three years, she’s ready to release something new. Released in November, “Reckoning” appears to be the first taste of an upcoming album titled your body, your skin tone. While a release date has yet to be revealed, this single is great enough to tide us over until she decides to deliver. Typically vibey and celestial, the track is led by a downtempo beat by frequent collaborator Martín Saucelíto that pairs perfectly with JusMoni’s heavenly hums about the effort it takes to heal. “I remember laying on my living room floor, high as hell, piecing all these words together,” JusMoni said in an Instagram post about the song. “I hadn’t started therapy yet. My triggers were creepin up on all sides of me and I was just trying to make way. Sitting in grief, swallowing me full. But for whatever reason, all the reasons- I seen somethin better for me.” Watched the video for “Reckoning,” directed by Abdul Kassamali, at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Helmi 20223min

Chastity Belt - "Fear," a 2021 self-released single. Local faves Chastity Belt recently returned with the limited 7” ‘Fake/Fear,’ the quartet’s first release since 2020’s “The Process,” a digital split release with Melbourne trio Loose Tooth. “Fear” was the first of the two to be shared and is an anxiously dreamy slow-burner about going through life with uneasy trepidation. Lead guitarist Lydia Lund penned this one and had this to say about the song: “I wrote the song a few summers ago based around a dream I had. At one point in the dream, I was opening door after door, noticing the fear build, then dissipate upon opening, then build again when I realized there was yet another door. It felt like my dream was giving me practice in noticing my fear as something separate from the thing causing the fear, as something potentially more harmful and unbearable. About a year later I was recording vocals out at my parents’ place. My mom knocked on the door – ‘is there anything you want to talk to me about? Is there something you’re afraid of?’ At that point I’d become so detached from the lyrics of the song it took me a minute to realize she thought I was doing some kind of primal scream therapy. And I guess in a way I am.” The song came with a medieval-themed video directed by Eleanor Petry, who chatted with KEXP about her relationship with Chastity Belt and the making of the videos for both “Fear” and “Fake” back in December. Watch the video at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 Helmi 20224min

Boy Harsher - "Give Me a Reason" from the 2022 album The Runner on NUDE CLUB. The Northampton, MA-via-Savannah, GA duo Boy Harsher recently added filmmaker to their resume with the release of their debut feature film The Runner. Obviously, any arthouse horror film wouldn’t be complete without a killer soundtrack and vocalist/lyricist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller have been readying themselves since 2013 by making cold darkwave that makes for a perfect backdrop to horrifying tension. Our Song of the Day, “Give Me a Reason,” is the second track on the original soundtrack for the film and strikes a perfect balance of spooky and sensual with its throbbing, droney ambiance. “Did you mean to touch me that way?” asks Matthews with a gruff. “Come and tell me /I'm the only one /Speak of the devil /And she will appear.” “With ‘Give Me a Reason,’ we wanted to write something that encapsulates that feeling of yearning — the way we feel when we catch eyes from across the room,” said Matthews in a statement. “Our music can be flirty and crushable, and it’s fun to play with that.” Boy Harsher is taking The Runner on tour this spring, with a date in Seattle on April 15th at the Crocodile. Watch the trailer for The Runner at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 Helmi 20224min