Fruit Bats - Getting In A Van Again

BumbleWasps - "Ill Be at Work for Christmas" from the 2021 self-released album F U Xmas. UK-based BumbleWasps describe themselves as “cute like a bee, scary like a wasp.” It’s an apt description for the project with its bubbly aesthetics and biting lyricism. No more is that better exemplified with their yearly Christmas music, especially last year’s F U Christmas. Stand out track “I’ll Be At Work for Christmas” captures the dismal capitalist nightmare of working on the holidays. While you’re smashing back that egg nog and roasting the Yule log, let BumbleWasps remind you that they and others are somewhere out there putting in the hours. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Des 20222min

Bat Hearse - “Coffin for Christmas,” a 2021 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 18th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 24th from 9pm -12am and then jump back on the mic Christmas day from noon - 9pm for his no standards, non-traditional Christmas broadcast, including a special holiday edition of Sunday Soul. Detroit-based Gothabilly band Bat Hearse lean into darkness and horror but with a humorous slant. The five-piece have released two records, their 2021 self-titled debut and 2022’s Transylvania Moonshine but before dropping either, their first single was a tune in celebration of a very unlikely holiday for a band gushing Halloween out of their pours. “Coffin for Christmas” barrels in like an undead force to be reckoned with. In between frequent howls, frontman Rick Ruiner sings of unrequited love and is either threatening them with a coffin for Christmas or is proclaiming that’s what he’s received. Either way, his anger is palpable. “Are you looking for stocking stuffer, baby?” asks vocalist/guitarist Nina Friday and Ruiner’s howls confirm the answer is most definitely affirmative. Watch the blast of a video for “Coffin for Christmas” at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Des 20223min

James Kochalka Superstar – “Christmas Muffin,” a 2017 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 18th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 24th from 9pm -12am and then jump back on the mic Christmas day from noon - 9pm for his no standards, non-traditional Christmas broadcast, including a special holiday edition of Sunday Soul. James Kochalka is a Vermont-based comic book artist and writer, animator, and rock musician. Under his James Kochalka Superstar moniker, it makes sardonic comic rock with nearly twenty releases to his name, going back to 1995. As you’d imagine, his take on a Christmas tune is wry and undeniably silly. “Christmas Muffin” grapples with the very adult reality of having to purchase gifts when you’re flat broke. With little dinero to his name, our narrator instead offers the most generous gift of a muffin - or at least half of it. The song is less than a minute long but his point is made quickly and succinctly. Over a spare high hat beat, Kochalka declares, “Ain’t got no money to buy you nothin’ /Ain’t got no money to buy you shit / Ain’t got no money to buy you nothin’ so I got you this muffin /But we’ll have to split it.” If that’s not the true spirit of Christmas, I don’t know what is. Watch the selfie-shot video for "Christmas Muffin" at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Des 202252s

Kennebec - Tall Tales (feat. Hemlock Ernst and Sudan Archives) from the 2022 album Without Star or Compass on Night Time Stories. While Eric Phillips has only been releasing cinematic instrumental soundscapes under the name Kennebec since 2020, his enchanting works have garnered attention and led to a number of incredible collaborations. Our Song of the Day, “Tall Tales,” sees the Portland-based artist team up with Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands under his rap moniker Hemlock Ernst and Brittany Denise Parks, better known as the LA-based musician Sudan Archives. The early single off his sophomore record Without Star or Compass is one of three tracks on the album that Herring contributes to but the only one under his rap alias. Over a guitar-strummed hook, Herring and Parks swap stream-of-consciousness verses and come together for heavenly harmonies on the chorus. While the lyrics are esoteric, ripe with references to nature, the seeming meaning revolves around our inability to fully know what another is thinking or feeling. Phillips had this to say about working with Herring: “I think our styles just resonated well with one another, and we clicked naturally. We sent some ideas back and forth remotely and then he flew out to Portland and we recorded all the vocals in three days together. It was so fun and inspiring – and really deepened my appreciation for his craft. He’s such a nice guy and a total genius. Sam’s lyrics really hit a beautiful balance between that sense of magic and folklore in the natural world that I’m after, while really bringing his own sense of narrative. He’s really amazing at constructing lyrical concepts in a way that I think compliments my own strengths (and weaknesses).” Watch Future Islands’ Live on KEXP at Home performance from 2020 and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Des 20223min

Archie Roach - One Song from the 2022 album My Songs: 1989 – 2021 on Bloodlines. Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter, activist, and author Archie Roach exited this mortal coil on July 30th of this year, leaving behind a legacy of powerful blues tunes telling the story of his painful personal history as well as those of the Aboriginal community. In his 66 years on the planet, 30 of them releasing music, he acquired numerous awards and accolades, including multiple ARIAs (Australia’s version of the Grammy’s), an International Human Rights Achievement award, and a hall of fame induction at the 2020 ARIAs. Shortly before his death, in February of 2022, Roach released the 44-tack anthology album My Songs: 1989 – 2021 which included a new song titled “One Song.” The softly-strummed six-minute song is sparse yet compelling, with Roach singing of a collective connection and the acknowledgment of and privilege to all come from one place. “Remember well what we have told you /And don't forget where you come from,” Roach warmly suggests. “Mother Earth will always hold you /And you are born of just one song.” Watch Archie Roach play the song live for Triple J’s Like a Version at read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Des 20226min

Weyes Blood - "Grapevine" from the 2022 album And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow on Sub Pop. Los Angeles-based artist Weyes Blood (real name: Natalie Mering) explores the ways we're tangled together on the wistful acoustic ballad "Grapevine." “Technology is harvesting our attention away from each other,” she said, via a press release. “We all have a ‘Grapevine’ entwined around our past with unresolved wounds and pain. Being in love doesn’t necessarily mean being together. Why else do so many love songs yearn for a connection?” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Des 20225min

Bleached - "Flip It" a 2022 self-released single. Los Angeles-based sibling duo Bleached return with a pop-punk pep talk, inspired by television dialogue and self care. “I heard this quote on Euphoria," Jennifer Clavin said in a press release, "‘Every day you get out of bed is an act of courage.' I really related that to the lyrics. During the time of writing this song, I felt like I had to find my inner warrior to make it through another day in LA.” Her sister Jessie adds, "“I was thinking of the way I speak to myself and I never realized how hard I could be on myself. I'm becoming way more aware of my inner voice. When I’m going through a day and I'm just feeling extra challenged, I now think about flipping it.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Des 20223min

Hannah Jadagu - "Say It Now" a 2022 single on Sub Pop. As we eagerly await a full-length debut from Hannah Jadagu, the 20-year-old artist gives us a sneak peek with the new single "Say It Now." In a press release, the Texas-born/New York-based artist explains, “"Say It Now" is my sort of inner reflection on where things have gone wrong in my past interactions and relationships with other people. Sonically and lyrically, I feel as though this song signifies me venturing into a new world that is even more intense and vulnerable.”  The new track is accompanied by a video directed by Jade De Brito and shot in Paris. Jadagu adds, "Making this video was so special because I got to make it during my first visit to Paris. We shot it in about 2 days, showcasing a sort of “day in the life” where I do studio work and get to go around the city. It’s a nice contrast to the lyrical content because there’s truly no time to be sad in Paris." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Des 20223min