In Our Headphones

Smokey Brights - "I Love You But Damn" from the 2020 album I Love You But Damn on Freakout Records. Seattle's own Smokey Brights — led by husband and wife duo Kim West and Ryan Devlin — return this summer with a new album titled I Love You But Damn, out in July via Freakout Records. Via their Facebook page, the band describe the song as "a love song for times of distance. Written about the early months of our relationship, we hope it serves as an audial salve for tired hearts in these strange times." Listen to the title track here.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coriky - "Clean Kill" from the 2020 album Coriky on Dischord Records. Combine the melodic energy of the Evens and the gruff bark of Fugazi and you've got Coriky, not surprisingly, 'cause they feature members of both those bands. The trio of guitarist Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Evens), bassist Joe Lally (Fugazi), and drummer Amy Farina (Evens) played their first show in late 2018, at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Washington D.C., but hadn't officially released anything 'til now. Their self-titled debut was recorded last year by Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios, a name you've probably seen in the liner notes of most of your Dischord Records albums. Due to the coronavirus and the resulting closure of distributors and shops, they've postponed the release of the LP for now, but you can enjoy today's Song of the Day here.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DJ Python - "ADMSDP (feat. LA Warman)" from the 2020 album Mas Amable on Incienso. New York-based producer Brian Piñeyro records under many names: Deejay Xanax, DJ Wey, Luis; but, it's under the moniker DJ Python that he takes things to a hypnotic level. On his sophomore full-length Mas Amable, released last month on Incienso, he combines ambient techno and what he calls "deep reggaeton" into a mesmerizing blend. There are no breaks between the eight tracks on the album, creating a dreamy vibe for almost an hour. On today's featured track, he teams up with Brooklyn writer and poet LA Warman, where her hushed verses echo against tribal beats.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holy Esque - "Reverence Falls" from the 2020 CPH EP on Beyond the Frequency. Scottish post-punk band Holy Esque are projecting a third album will be out in 2021, but until then, they've released their third EP, CPH, a collection of rarities, to tide us over in the meantime. The tracks on CPH were recorded back in 2014 at STC Studios, Copenhagen. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William McCarthy - "Ballad for the Unemployed," a 2020 self-released single. As the frontman for Pela and Augustines, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter William McCarthy has never shied away from difficult topics. (Augustine's 2011 album Rise Ye Sunken Ships was influenced by the deaths of his mother and brother.)  As a solo artist, McCarthy continues to explore darker subjects in his music, like on today's featured track “Ballad for the Unemployed.“ Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DJ Houseplants - "Just Don't Know," a 2020 self-released single. Seattle's own DJ Houseplants (aka DJ, producer, designer, and aspiring botanist Justin Av) says he's "driven by the vibrancy of the community there is at house & techno shows and wants everyone to thrive to the music." He certainly accomplishes that on today's Song of the Day. KEXP's own Alex Ruder tells us: "He first made a splash on the local music scene as HansmJustin, spinning rap at festivals and clubs around town, co-hosting the beloved monthly rap party FR FR, and creating his own trap-leaning rap songs. Now using the DJ Houseplants alias, Justin makes addictive lo-fi house tunes with an introspective touch, and he recently dropped his label debut EP titled Root Bound on Melbourne's clipp.art Records." Be sure to check out his exclusive mix for KEXP's Midnight in a Perfect World here. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Black Flowers Cafe - "Who" from the 2020 album Flow on La Lumaca Dischi. Keen-eared listeners of the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole may recognize this song from when it had its global debut on the KEXP airwaves in late April.  Italian indie rock quartet Black Flowers Cafe craft what they call "flower pop," mixing influences from Bombay Bicycle Club to Caribbean folk to Afrobeat. Formed in 2010, band members Angelo Zicca (guitar), Antonio Nicoletti (drums, percussion), Gaetano Lidonnici (bass), and Fernando Rennis (vocals, guitar, synth) imagine the "Black Flowers Cafe" as a physical place. "Who" will be out on the band's second full-length album, Flow, out May 29th.    Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ALTA - "Figured Out" from the 2019 album Reasons on Soothsayer. On their debut album Reasons, Melbourne-based duo ALTA strived to create what they call "emotional dance music." Vocalist Hannah Lesser and producer Julius Dowson spent ten months at home recording the album themselves. "We get a little obsessive and care a lot about the feel of the vocal take, and when we’ve tried we can’t recreate that feel later in a better environment, even though it’s a better recording," they explained in an interview with Wonderland Magazine. Their D.I.Y. spirit got them the results they wanted, as reflected in the intimate, emotional resonance on today's Song of the Day. "We really poured a lot of ourselves into the album, we’ve definitely come out of the process different people. We hope that it resonates with some people like it did with us when we were writing it." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daníel Hjálmtýsson - "Birds," a 2020 self-released single. Icelandic singer/songwriter Daníel Hjálmtýsson kicked off 2020 in a big way: by releasing his debut solo single "Birds" back on January 3rd.  Hjálmtýsson may be better known as half of the experimental duo HYOWLP, a project with producer and multi-instrumentalist Hjalti Steinn Sigurðarson (and a KEXP podcast alumni)! On his own, he continues to produce dark, emotional music in the vein of Nick Cave or Mark Lanegan. He explains online that "Birds" is "inspired by the tragic, personal and familiar, struggles of being yet the glory of overcoming and acceptance," adding, it's "a homage to all the friends and fellow travelers that have gone too soon." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lee Fields & The Expressions - "Don't Give Up," a 2019 single on Big Crown Records. Plainfield, NJ-based artist Lee Fields just celebrated his 70th birthday last week, and he's spent 50 of those years performing old-school soul, funk, and R&B. His first single was released in 1969, and he went on to work with artists like B.B. King, Clarence Carter, Kool & The Gang, and more. Last year, he released his seventh full-length (and fifth with his power-house backing band The Expressions) titled It Rains Love. Today's featured track was recorded during those sessions, but was unreleased until late 2019, when it was shared as a digital single. While the passionate ballad most likely reflects a love gone wrong, it bears a message of hope and solidarity that's perfect for these times. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.