Camp Saint Helene - Farfisa Song

ODESZA - "The Last Goodbye (feat. Bettye LaVette)," a 2022 single on Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune. In Early February, ODESZA returned from a four-year hiatus to drop the cinematic soulful single, “The Last Goodbye.” Featuring reworked vocals from Bettye LaVette’s 1965 soul/R&B track “Let Me Down Easy,” the track is a six-minute spine-tingling epic blending the Grammy-nominated duo’s electronic grooves with LaVette’s heartwrenching vocals to stirring effect. “This song was born out of the concept of trying to bring these lasting, defining musical pieces like the 1965 release of “Let Me Down Easy” by Bettye LaVette into a modern and contemporary electronic setting,” explained Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills of the song. “The idea of bringing two worlds together, that at first seem distant, has always been something we’ve been drawn to. It was an absolute honor to be able to work with Bettye’s voice over the course of writing the track. She’s able to convey emotion with her vocal work unlike any other. To date, this has been one of the more fulfilling songs we’ve had the chance to work on as artists.” The song comes from ODESZA’s forthcoming fourth studio album of the same title, which according to a press release, is said to be their most ambitious and personal album to date and includes contributions from a number of notable artists including Låpsley, Ólafur Arnolds, Julianna Barwick, Izzy Bizu, and Charlie Houston. The video for “The Last Goodbye” artfully highlights the power of the instrumentation (including KEXP’s Eva Walker on bass!) and features archival footage of LaVette performing “Let Me Down Easy.” Watch it at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Apr 20226min

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - "The Way It Shatters" from the 2022 album Endless Rooms on Sub Pop. In early February, Australian rockers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever announced their third studio album, Endless Rooms, due out May 6 via Ivy League/Sub Pop. Following up 2020’s acclaimed Sideways to New Italy, the record is described by the band as “almost an anti-concept album,” with the title reflecting “our love of creating worlds in our songs. We treat each of them as a bare room to be built up with infinite possibilities.” The first room to be shared by Rolling Blackouts C.F. and today’s Song of the Day is “The Way It Shatters.” Automatically, it’s clear that the extra time the band had during lockdown to work on their new record has paid off because the song is an expansive new step. Adding synth for the first time into their usual jangle-rock, the song is blistering but also has darker lyrical undertones, dealing with the human race and our various places within it. The band had this to say about the song: “It’s about how ending up in your particular situation in life is the result of absolute randomness. If you happen to be born into wealthy Australia or happen to be born into a war zone in Syria. That’s just the way it shatters. So it’s when this good luck is mistaken for a sense of pride in one’s self or their country they become confused and deluded about what’s important. It’s when those on the other side of the luck scale are completely othered and considered not worthy.” The song comes with video by Nick Mckk, who also worked with RBCF on the videos for “Sideways To New Italy,” “Cameo,” “Cars In Space,” and “She’s There.” He had this to say about the video: “The new album has a night time feeling, so we wanted to explore shooting the whole thing from sundown. Fran [Keaney, vocals/guitar] had the idea of revisiting memories, of resetting groundhog day style, but each time we come back the world is a little different. The attraction of light works as a narrative device, coaxing Joe into this house of memories, and back out again.” Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are, at long last, embarking on an international tour this summer, with dates in the US starting in August. Catch them in Seattle on August 18th at Neumos. Watch the video for “The Way It Shatters” at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

31 Mars 20223min

Body Type - "Buoyancy" from the 2022 album Everything is Dangerous But Nothing's Surprising on Poison City Records. You never know when creative inspiration will strike, and for Australian quartet Body Type, it was over text. “'Buoyancy' started as a playful text message exchange between Annabel and me," bassist/vocalist Georgia Wilkinson Derums said of her bandmate, guitarist/vocalist Annabel Blackman. "In many ways, the song is about grappling with internal inconsistencies and moral ambiguities in an incoherent style. It’s had a few iterations – when I brought it to the group it had more of a slow Big Star spirit. Soph and Annabel made it more angular, more tongue in cheek with the guitar, which further injects the song with distorted meaning. It’s also a personal reminder that when certain things are rendered uncertain those you love are an eternal rudder.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Mars 20223min

Mitski - "The Only Heartbreaker" from the 2022 album Laurel Hell on Dead Oceans. Mitski's latest album, Laurel Hell, went through a few different phases during its creation. "This album has been a punk record at some point, and a country record," she told Rolling Stone. "Then, after a while, it was like, 'I need to dance.' Even though the lyrics might be depressing, I need something peppy to get me through this." Today's Song of the Day definitely fits the bill. "I needed that Breakfast Club dance-sequence music." Today's Song of the Day also marks the first time Mitski has teamed up with another songwriter: Dan Wilson, formerly of the band Semisonic. "I was just sitting on it forever. I have so many iterations of it. Nothing felt right," she told Apple Music. Wilson was able to give her the guidance she needed. "It turned out he's really good. He helped me solve so many of the problems and kind of lead me out of the labyrinth of it. And yeah, I'm really glad that I took that chance with him." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

29 Mars 20223min

What is the Black Constellation? If you know, you'll want to listen to this podcast. If you don't, you'll want to listen, too. "Fresh off the Spaceship" is the newest podcast from KEXP, telling the story of the highly influential yet scarcely documented artist collective. The Black Constellation has included such varied musical acts as Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, Ya Tseen and Porter Ray. Hosted by KEXP's Larry Mizell Jr. and Martin Douglas, each episode in this 10-part series takes listeners on an audio journey connecting the stars of the Constellation, shedding light on their art and their ethos along the way. New episodes come out every Friday from March 18 - May 27, 2022. Find out more at KEXP.org/fresh-off-the-spaceship. Watch a video version of the trailer and explore more work from the artists of the Constellation on KEXP's Fresh off the Spaceship YouTube playlist.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Mars 20225min

Sudan Archives - "Home Maker," a 2022 single on Stones Throw. Leave it to Sudan Archives to make domestic life sultry and seductive. After making the move from Cincinnati to her current home of Los Angeles, the acclaimed violinist/vocalist/producer (real name: Brittney Denise Parks) turned to home making to feel more grounded. Her first new single in three years reflects that. “It took nesting — building a home, investing in partners that were worth my investment — to shake my anxiety and depression,” she said in a press release. “For me, homemaking is a service to mental health and coping with fear and isolation. This song is about the effort put into making a relationship work and giving love a place to live.” Check out the video at the link below, directed by Jocelyn Anquetil, and revisit her 2019 KEXP session, filmed at THING! Fest in Fort Worden, WA. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Mars 20223min

Acid Tongue - "Take Me To Your Leader (feat. Death Valley Girls)" from the 2021 album Arboretum on Freakout Records. This past November, local chairmen of psych-rock Acid Tongue dropped their celebrated third record Arboretum. Their most fully-formed album to date, Arboretum is a joyful, intoxicating psychedelic glam rock opus that employs the many friendships Guy Keltner and Ian Cunningham have made in the music scene for a highly collaborative effort. Our Song of the Day, “Take Me to Your Leader,” sees L.A.-based psych-garage group Death Valley Girls jump in for one of the most rousing tracks on the album. Furious and rollicking, the song blazes in with a message that essentially says, “If the country’s burning down, we might as well have fun while it lasts.” Something I can certainly get behind. Watch the VHS-style, cult-themed video by CULT NUG at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 Mars 20222min

King Hannah - "Big Big Baby" from the 2022 album I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me on City Slang. While the duo that make up King Hannah - Craig Whittle and Hannah Merrick - hail from Liverpool, the music they make feels more fitting for the deep American south. Taking inspiration from the dark, mystical elements of that region, the band makes smokey, heavy Americana with tinges of dusky, rambling post-rock. Our Song of the Day, “Big Big Baby,” epitomizes this, utilizing slow, ominous drums, fuzzy guitars, and Merrick’s sultry vocals for an ominous effect. But these tones belie the song’s darkly humorous lyrics. Lines like “I heard you got a lady pregnant, well I can only wish her well /‘Cause soon you’ll have a bigger baby, in the family than yourself” and “I hope you choke on a dumpling, at least that would be mildly fun” read as the punchlines of some harsh burns. The video for the song leans into the elements of the songs sound rather than lyrics, with Merrick slow dancing in a dark, slighted distorted room. The clip was directed by Whittle, proving the duo are a creative force to be reckoned with. Watch it at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Mars 20223min