In Our Headphones

Margo Cilker - "Lowland Trail" from the 2023 album Valley of Heart's Delight from Fluff & Gravy For today's Song of the Day, Goldendale, WA-based singer/songwriter Margo Cilker shares an early listen of her sophomore LP Valley Of Heart’s Delight, slated for a September 15th release via Fluff & Gravy Records. The album was produced by long-time KEXP fave Sera Cahoone, and recorded with guest musicians from The Decemberists, Band Of Horses, and Beirut. She says of the new album: I wrote these songs surrounded by the wild landscapes of the Northwest, but I was leaning toward the place I’d come from. I felt cut off from my family and the valley that held them. I spent hours thinking about my sense of belonging. I’d traveled through many places and then, when the travel stopped, I ruminated on where I had ended up. Where were you when the music stopped? I was in Enterprise, OR. And there in Enterprise, my mind drifted back to the Valley of Heart’s Delight. I wrote about family — about death and rebirth, and the arcs of love and art through a family line. There are songs that hint at missteps and redemption. There are songs about trees: in orchard rows, family trees, redwoods. And water: agricultural runoff, wild rivers, dammed rivers, baptismal flows. And there’s a [cover] song about a fish, cause it’s a damn good song and I wanted to record it. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sea Lemon - "Cellar," a 2023 single from Luminelle Records. "Sometimes I imitate / Things that make me afraid" So sings Seattle-based singer/songwriter Natalie Lew — who records as Sea Lemon — in today's dreamy, yet eerie Song of the Day. “‘Cellar’ was inspired by my love of really classic horror and thriller films, like Blow Out and Misery, and how loving scary movies can sometimes feel like something is wrong with you," Lew shares in a press statement. "That idea of the ‘cellar’ in the song is based on the traditional horror trope where the protagonist can’t help but discover what’s lurking in the basement, and that what they find there often represents something really dark and horrifying. In the lyrics, I say ‘the cellar is where I belong’ which is me grappling with this idea that sometimes really terrifying imagery interests me the most.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spoon Benders - Dichotomatic, from the 2023 self-released album How Things Repeat. Spoon Benders are a face-melting band from Portland who are making the pilgrimage that any young band bursting with the kind of energy that their hometown just can’t keep up with - to LA. Since the release of their 2020 debut album Dura Mater, they’ve been blowing minds with their psychedelic spin on hardcore and garage punk and that momentum has continued with the recent release of their sophomore full-length How Things Repeat. Our Song of the Day, “Dichotomatic,” is the slow-burning lead single and opening track off the album. Led by a swirling drum beat from AJ Herald and Velvet’s sludgey bass line, Buffy Pastor adds fiery guitar licks and frontwoman Katy Black growls lines like “I hold hands with the business plan for the guillotine man,” as a final brush stroke to their ominous painting. Watch the Karlee Boon-video for “Dichotomatic" and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vagabon – Can I Talk My Shit?, a 2023 single on Nonesuch Records. Lætitia Tamko recently announced her third full-length as Vagabon, titled Sorry I Haven’t Called. The record sees the Cameroonian-American artist reinvent herself for her most exuberant and bold record yet. While her prior albums, 2017’s Infinite Worlds and her 2019 self-titled saw Vagabon pointed inwards for introspective indie rock, Sorry I Haven’t Called looks outwards, channeling dance music and effervescent pop. This new chapter is on full display with the album’s lead single “Can I Talk My Shit?” Released just in time to become a summer anthem mainstay, the bouncy track is full of sunshine with playful lyricism. “Can I talk my shit?” Tamko asks before admitting, “I got way too high for this.” “I didn't feel like being introspective,” says Tamko of Sorry I Haven’t Called. “I just wanted to have fun. This record feels like what I've been working towards. When I think of this album, I think of playfulness. It's completely euphoric. It's because things were dark that this record is so full of life and energy. It’s a reaction to what I was experiencing at the time, not a document of it.” Vagabon is going on tour this fall, with a date in Seattle on December 8th at Madame Lou’s *Watch the Zac Dov Wiesel-directed video for “Can I Talk My Shit?" and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's Songs of the Day were selected by Kennady Quille as part of KEXP's Pride celebration. Tune in on Saturday, June 24th for a special day of programming from noon to 6 PM, and then join us LIVE from Pride on Capitol Hill at the Wildrose on Sunday from noon to 4 PM Pacific with Riz Rollins and friends; continuing our on-air celebration till 6 PM. More information here. On today's Song of the Day, Seattle power trio Black Ends return with "My Own Dead," the band's first release since 2020's stellar Stay Evil EP. A staple of the "gunk-pop" purveyors' live set, the single was recorded by legendary producer Jack Endino. And the results are typically tremendous: Singer/guitarist Nicolle Swims adds a little twang to their distinctive guitar playing, while the rhythm section of bassist Ben Swanson and drummer Billie Jessica Paine adds the sort of heft to the Machiavellian tone of Swims's lyrics that would feel perfectly in place on a compilation like Sub Pop 100.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Palehound - "The Clutch" from the 2023 album Eye On The Bat from Polyvinyl. El Kempner — the singer/songwriter behind Palehound — found inspiration for today's Song of the Day right after the band's last tour ended. The track will appear on their forthcoming full-length, Eye On The Bat, out July 14th via Polyvinyl Record Co. It'll be Palehound's first new LP since 2019’s Black Friday.  “‘The Clutch’ is the very first song I wrote for this album, back in 2020 right when lockdown started,” Kempner says via a press release. “I had been on a tour that was sliced in half by the onset of the pandemic and we had to apocalypse road trip back to New York across the country from Oregon, where our next show had been scheduled for. While that was happening, I was also having a triggering romantic experience with somebody I didn’t know too well, and by the time I got home my whole body seemed to be spinning in turmoil. Writing and producing this song grounded me and helped me process a new future and self that I hadn’t anticipated.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nonbinary Girlfriend - "BIG AND KIND" from the 2023 self-released album BIG AND KIND On today's Song of the Day, Portland pop-punk band Nonbinary Girlfriend champions the philosophy that being "kind is not the same as being small" and "sometimes, many times, kindness requires you to be big and tall." It's a spirit of compassion that carries through their debut full-length, also titled BIG AND KIND, that came out back in February. Vocalist Anaïs Genevieve shares vulnerable lyrics around gender and sexuality, inviting the listener to feel less alone.   Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day Soul Exquisite - clair des antilles a 2023 single on La fem records. While the pandemic was obviously a long and fraught-filled time, the bands formed and sowing their seeds during the first two most difficult years are now blossoming. Seattle-based sextet Day Soul Exquisite are one of those bands. Fronted by singer Francesca Eluhu, the group makes Latin American and French Caribbean-fused neo-soul that fits into a variety of arenas, all of which make you want to shimmy. While they've only released a string of singles since their 2021 formation, they've been mesmerizing audiences on stages and at festivals like Capitol Hill Block Party, Folklife, Barboza, The Sunset Tavern, So Dreamy Festival and more.like  Our Song of the Day is the early 2023 single, “clair des antilles,” which starts with a French spoken-word introduction and bursts into a dynamic jazzy production that’s a wistful ode to the French Caribbean. Eluhu describes the meaning behind the song as this: “My family is from Guadeloupe and I wrote these lyrics while reflecting on how leaning into nature can cleanse the mind of colonial rhetoric disguised as intrusive thoughts. The second verse acknowledges imperialism and calls for a redistribution of wealth: “Hear what they call me? Savage like a pirate…let me follow my instincts and I’ll take back a piece of what the white man stole baby.” Bob Marley’s lyrics, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds,” is one direct influence that summarizes the message of self love in the song.” Catch Day Soul Exquisite at Timber Fest on Friday, July 28, get a sneak peek at their live stage show with a VHS-style recording of their performance at 2022’s So Dreamy Festival, and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Witch Prophet - Memory from the 2023 album Gateway Experience from Heart Lake Records. Toronto-based neo-soul artist Ayo Leilani aka Witch Prophet recently unveiled her third studio album, Gateway Experience, which delved into her personal experience with focal aware seizures, sometimes known as Déjà vu or Déjà reve. They’re out-of-body experiences that include lucid dreaming and memory loss. “If I came out with an album like this five years ago, it would probably be a little too witchy,” says the former Polaris-shortlisted artist. “Now it’s a lot less scary to talk about.” Our Song of the Day, “Memory,” deals directly with the memory loss aspect of her unique condition. “I’m at a loss for words /Can’t remember the last time /I’ve been here /Yeah my memory keeps fading fast /Trying to hold on to the bit I have,” croons Leilani over a downtempo R&B beat. She receives backup from another shining Canadian artist, Begonia, who was nominated for a JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album Of The Year for her critically acclaimed 2017 EP Lady In Mind and was shortlisted for The Polaris Music Prize for her 2019 debut full-length. "’Memory’ is about my struggle with memory loss and brain fog,” Leilani explains. “There are some days where I can't get the right words out, where I can't remember something as simple as someone's name or whether I've taken my medication (moments after taking it). While working on the album I had a dream where I was singing with Begonia. When I woke up she just happened to be on TikTok live. I joined and told her about my dream and she turned it into a reality." Watch the Francesca Nocera-directed claymation video for “Memory” and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SoulChef & Uptown Swuite - "Wheels Fall Off" from the 2023 album LUA on SoulSwuite Music New Zealand-based artist SoulChef teams up again with west coast MC Uptown Swuite for today's Song of the Day. (We spotlighted the duo last year with another of their singles.)  The latest in their "SoulSwuite" series is titled LUA, or "two" as translated from Samoan. The duo have long used their music to celebrate their shared heritage. As Uptown Swuite told HipHopDX, "We really just wanted to capture the Samoan experience all around via our eyes — whether it be a Samoan living in California, New Zealand. or even the motherland Samoa/American Samoa.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.