In Our Headphones

Lightning Bug - "The Right Thing Is Hard To Do" from the 2021 album A Color of the Sky on Fat Possum Records. On today's Song of the Day, Audrey Kang — lead vocalist for shoegaze sensations Lightning Bug — shares her personal battle with self-worth against a delicate wash of guitars.  "Here I wanted to connect how the struggles and flaws within the individual are mirrored in the greater problems of society," she reveals in a press release. "How do we as individuals know we are on the right path? How do we as a society, as a species, know we are on the right path? So I started with myself, and my own struggles, touching on how I hide myself away from other people, on my stage fright, on my inability to be vulnerable, on this feeling I used to have that I needed to prove I was worthy of being alive. Then I tried to connect these struggles outward to global issues like xenophobia, arbitrary borders, the lines we draw between ourselves and the environment, and the ways we sacrifice the health of the planet for human convenience." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mochipet - "Godzilla League of Legends" from the 2021 self-released album Godzilla Resurgence. David Wang has long had an obsession with dinosaurs, from wearing a purple costume of the prehistoric creatures in his musical alias of Mochipet, to the recent release of his EP Godzilla Resurgence, named for the mythical kaiju who has starred in films since the 1950s.  “I saw my first Godzilla movie when I was around 10 years old in Taiwan. I think my cousin showed it to me or something," Wang told MixMag Asia late last year. “I actually didn’t like it at first. I didn’t understand why Godzilla was destroying Japan and I didn’t like that it was in black and white. It was not till later in my life I began to appreciate Godzilla for its representation of the human need for control and the Atomic Bomb that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki and destroyed many lives during World War II. Godzilla is a constant reminder of man’s need for control which usually ends in death and destruction." The new EP is dedicated to the memory of Wang's father, who passed away as this release was nearing completion. Proceeds are going towards the cost of his funeral and burial costs. More information here. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollis - "Grace Lee," a 2021 self-released single.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Essam - "Free Palestine," a 2021 self-released single. South Seattle-based rapper/poet and community organizer Essam wrote his first rap at the age of eight. “I wrote a personal narrative essay – it was the first time it wasn’t research – and I realized that writing is for me,” he told the University of Washington at Bothell.  He's since released two albums: 2018's 12.12 and last year's LP Chapter20six; early last month he shared the powerful new single "Free Palestine," stating, "my grandfather used to say when she calls then we always gotta answer." Check out the video below, shot/edited by Muzammil Siddiqee against a mural by artist Gabril.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Little Simz - "Woman (feat. Cleo Sol)," a 2021 single on AGE 101 MUSIC / AWAL. U.K. rapper Little Simz returns with her fourth full-length this fall, the relatably-titled Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, out September 3rd. In a press release, today's Song of the Day has been called “a soulful love letter to women around the world.” “I love it when I see women doing their thing and looking flawless; I’m here for that!” Simz said. “It’s empowering, it’s inspiring; I wanted to say thank you and I wanted to celebrate them.” The 70s-tinged summer jam reunites Simz with vocalist Cleo Sol, who also guests on the track “Selfish” from Simz's 2019 LP GREY Area. And, the self-directed accompanying video features guest appearances from Jourdan Dunn, Joy Crookes, Denai Moore, two of her cousins (Zeze Millz, Kesewa Aboah), and her best friend of 15 years. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mara TK - "Grew Up Inna Chaos (feat. 2MY)" from the 2021 album Bad Meditation on Extra Soul Perception. Scottish-Māori artist Mara TK has lent his velvety vocals to neo-soul trio Electric Wire Hustle for years, and with his deeply personal debut solo album, Bad Medication, he takes center stage. The album brings him back to his home of Aotearoa (or "long white cloud," the Māori name for New Zealand). He says in a press release, “writing this album has been a form of therapy over the last few years trying to figure out what kind of music I wanted to make next.” He adds, "I was offered what was basically a whole studio worth of gear from a friend who was moving overseas. I took a gamble and bought that gear and have spent the last five years learning how to use this shit. I had to bet on my own ability to learn new things so it was scary, but also keep in mind that music, like any other creative form doesn’t have to be perfect — the brush strokes don’t have to be exactly straight.”Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Children of Zeus - "No Love Song" from the 2021 album Balance on First Word Records. Manchester duo Children Of Zeus return with their first new music in three years, since the release of their acclaimed debut Travel Light.  Today's Song of the Day reunites band members Tyler Daley and Konny Kon with producer Beat Butcha (Jay-Z, Beyonce, Nipsey Hussle) who worked on their earlier album. The lush production adds a lush, soulful vibe to the smooth slow jam, providing a velvety platform for Daley's vocals and Kon's riffs.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle shoegaze band Shine combines the talents of band members from Regional Justice Center and Seattle’s New Gods. This new project, they say, "channels the noise and driving aggression of these bands, but through a more playful, Britpop-tinged lens." Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darkwave duo Cold Cave deliver their distinctive synth-driven psychedelic sound on their latest EP, Fate In Seven Lessons. Today's Song of the Day finds the long-running project of Wesley Eisold drawing influence from their former tour mates The Jesus and Mary Chain and Nine Inch Nails. The accompanying video was directed by Travis Shinn and Jeremy Danger, and finds the group encircled by 23 candles given to Eisold from his friend and collaborator Mark Lanegan.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With her sophomore LP Stand For Myself, Grammy-nominated artist Yola reclaims her crown as the self-described "queen of country soul." She teams up again with producer Dan Auerbach in his studio and on his record label, both named Easy Eye Sound.  On the album's title track, Yola finds her footing again. As she says in a press statement: "The song’s protagonist “token,” has been shrinking themselves to fit into the narrative of another’s making, but it becomes clear that shrinking is pointless. This song is about a celebration of being awake from the nightmare supremacist paradigm. Truly alive, awake and eyes finally wide open and trained on your path to self actualisation. You are thinking freely and working on undoing the mental programming that has made you live in fear. It is about standing for ourselves throughout our lives and real change coming when we challenge our thinking. This is who I’ve always been in music and in life. There was a little hiatus where I got brainwashed out of my own majesty, but a bitch is back." Stand For Myself will be released 7/30 on Easy Eye Sound.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.