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Song of the Day

Song of the Day

KEXP’s Song of the Day podcast features stand-out tracks from independent and emerging talent alongside the best new music from more established artists. Curated by KEXP DJs with listeners’ adventurous taste in mind, Song of the Day is delivered daily, Monday through Friday. Finding new music can be hard. Let KEXP help!

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Episodes

Bantu Spaceship - Bantu Cakes

Bantu Spaceship - "Bantu Cakes" from the 2023 album Bantu Spaceship on Nyami Nyami

Harare, Zimbabwe-based duo Bantu Spaceship celebrates the music of their homeland with their Afro-futuristic self-titled debut album, out now via Nyami Nyami. Vocalist Ulenni Okandlovu incorporates Ndebele chants to the laid-back production work of his partner Joshua Madalitso Chiundiza. As they explain in an interview with 15questions.net, "The both of us were in search of unique alternative Zimbabwean sound, having grown up listening to Mbaqanga, Mbube, Zamrock, Sungura, Jit, and Chimurenga. We wanted to create something that borrowed from these influences, but merging those styles with synth-wave, electro, and hip-hop elements."

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2024-03-28
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Ana Lua Caiano - Deixem O Morto Morrer

Ana Lua Caiano - "Deixem O Morto Morrer" from the 2024 album Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado on Glitterbeat Records

Based out of Lisbon, Ana Lua Caiano combines traditional Portuguese music with modern electronica on her debut album Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado, out April 5th via Glitterbeat. Ana studied classical music for eight years, and then studied jazz for four years ?  a pedigree that can be heard in her complex compositions. Today's Song of the Day examines a man's death, and in a Google-translated press statement, she states, "as the song progresses, sadness becomes joy and the tragedy of a death is seen in a more positive perspective. The song, despite having this strong and apparently sad theme, undergoes an inversion and is sung, from a certain point onwards, with enthusiasm, revealing itself to be an energetic, rhythmic and vibrant song.?

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2024-03-27
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Championne · Bilboquet

Championne - "Bilboquet" a 2024 self-released single

Vocalist/musician Mathilde Lejas has been active in the Rennes music scene for a while now, but has finally branched out on a solo project titled Championne. Her self-titled debut EP is a coldwave-tinged collection of dark dreampop, with Lejas's poetic lyrics spinning a web over it all. 

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2024-03-26
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Flore Laurentienne - Voiles

Flore Laurentienne - "Voiles" from the 2022 album Volume II on RVNG Intl.

Recording under the name Flore Laurentienne, composer, orchestrator, and musician Mathieu David Gagnon captures rich, romantic instrumentals, inspired by the wilderness in his hometown of Montreal, Québec. In fact, his latest album ? titled Volume II ? was inspired by Canada?s St. Lawrence River, with the instrumentation designed to "illustrate and illuminate the river?s flow."

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2024-03-25
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Mega Cat - Rat Fight

mega cat - ?Rat Fight? from the 2024 album mega cat on Share It Music

Sure, we've all been witness to a rat fight, but leave it to Seattle's own mega cat to capture the energy in today's Song of the Day. After co-founders Kim West (piano and synthesizer) and Ryan Devlin (bass and guitar) watched the melee in a neighbor's yard (the press release reveals "one rat picked the other up and threw him down with such force that the couple heard an audible thud"), the couple knew the song they'd been working on that afternoon with drummer Aaron Benson finally had its title. 

The cinematic single is accompanied by a music video featuring Molly Sides (of Thunderpussy), dancing in a boiler room. The clip perfectly captures the James Bond-esque quality of the dramatic, instrumental track. 

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2024-03-22
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Les Amazones d'Afrique - Flaws

Les Amazones d'Afrique - ?Flaws? from the 2024 album Musow Danse on Real World Records

On today's Song of the Day, all-female African supergroup Les Amazones d?Afrique ? which translates to "The Amazons of Africa" ? celebrate the so-called imperfections that make each of us unique.

?The song has a simple message,? Malian singer Mamani Keïta explained in a press release. ?The perfect person does not exist. We all have our flaws and imperfections which we carry with us through life. But there is beauty in imperfection, and that?s what we want people to realise.?

The group worked with acclaimed producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Modest Mouse, Taylor Swift) on their third album Musow Danse, released last month via Real World Records.  ?Jacknife Lee took time to listen to each of our voices,? says vocalist Fafa Ruffino, from Benin. ?He doesn?t understand the language but you can tell that he feels the emotion, understands that our souls are deeply invested in our words. I feel like he entered our minds. What he did is more than musical. It is spiritual.?

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2024-03-21
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Nusantara Beat - Kota Bandung

Nusantara Beat - ?Kota Bandung? a 2023 single on Bongo Joe

Amsterdam-based sextet Nusantara Beat is comprised of members of EUT, Alt?n Gün, Jungle By Night, POM, and Surf Aid-Kit. Together, they celebrate Indonesian classics, like on today's Song of the Day, which is a cover of a traditional '70s single. Their interpretation of "Kota Bandung" brings a modern vibe to its garage-surf-rock style, with psychedelic guitars and Megan De Klerk's alluring vocals. 

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2024-03-20
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Francis of Delirium - Blue Tuesday

Francis of Delirium - ?Blue Tuesday? from the 2024 album Lighthouse on Dalliance Records

Francis Of Delirium ? a project of Luxembourg-based artist Jana Bahrich ? is set to release their debut LP, Lighthouse, on March 22nd via Dalliance Recordings. 

?For this album, hope is the prevailing feeling I?m left with after making it and listening to it,? Bahrich said in a press statement. ?The idea is that there is this light guiding you out into a space where you can be more open and accepting of love and joy. Even as you gain or lose love, it never really goes away; it just transforms itself, moving into other relationships with you.?

She says today's Song of the Day was "a chance to go back a little bit to our original sound, heavy guitars, uptempo, in-your-face music? We are a band that really loves to play live, sweaty, messy, and physical music, so it felt important to have this song be part of the album."

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2024-03-19
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Four Tet - Loved

Four Tet - ?Loved? from the 2024 album Three on Text Records

Long-running electronic artist Four Tet ? real name: Kieran Hebden ? returns with his twelfth studio album, titled Three, which came out last Friday via his own label, Text Records.

Four Tet's previous LP was 2020's Parallel. Last year, he teamed up with Skrillex and Fred Again for a sold-out five-hour show at Madison Square Garden.

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2024-03-18
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Clinton Fearon - LOL

Clinton Fearon - "LOL" from the 2024 album Survival Vibration on Kool Yu Foot / Boogie Brown Productions

Seattle's own reggae legend Clinton Fearon returns with his 14th full-length solo album on April 5th, titled Survival Vibration.

He declares today's Song of the Day as "one of my very favorites on the album," adding, "I love the simple ways of how it reminds us to take care of ourselves. For over 30 years I?ve been telling my friends and fans to do what they love and love what they do. Finally, it?s a song. On the musical side, I love what the thumb piano is doing: its tone and the parts it's playing do a lot for the song. And then from the moment the intro is done and the rhythm starts, I can?t help but want to dance."

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2024-03-15
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Summer Pearl - feel right

Summer Pearl - "feel right" from the 2023 album outmysystem on Kitto Records

London-based artist Summer Pearl taps into her Jamaican/Grenadian heritage on her debut mixtape, outmysystem, which was released late last year. Infusing reggae and dub influences into her neo-soul sound, her latest release features a guest appearance from reggae royalty Liam Bailey and production by the prolific broken beat pioneer, Kaidi Tatham.

"This project is a collection of songs, some of which I wrote almost eight years ago and some a lot more recent. These are songs that I needed to get out of my system in order for me to move on. To be able to move on and get over that relationship, romantic or platonic; to move on but not forget the loss of friends and family."

"I guess it?s somewhat of a release in order to get back to myself. This is the first project I?ve released in three years and I feel like it?s the most me. There are a few songs on love and having a good time, and then of course I?m a student of life and have to write what I see in this crazy world. outmysystem is allowing me to move on to the next chapter in my life and I?m excited to see what that looks like, feels like, and sounds like."

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2024-03-14
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GC OConnor - Love on High

GC OConnor - "Love on High" a 2023 single on Low Key Source

Australian artist GC OConnor makes a powerful introduction with her debut single "Love On High," capturing a jazzy alt-R&B sound that she describes as "stoner-soul." The single was produced by Sydney/Gadigal-based duo The Goods. 

In a press release, OConnor shares, ?This track speaks to all the years of chasing the dance floor ?love at first sight? feeling. The brief elation of fleeting entanglements. And the lows of not actually caring about long lasting human connection. All I took to the studio was the guitar, the hook, and words on a page. The Goods brought the rest to life all in a single session, along with it being mastered by Dave Cooley.?

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2024-03-13
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Quantic - Run (feat. Andreya Triana)

Quantic - "Run (feat. Andreya Triana)" from the 2023 album Dancing While Falling on Play it Again Sam

For the past twenty years, DJ/producer/multi-instrumentalist Will Holland has crafted a unique blend of dance music under the name Quantic, mixing in funk, soul, bossa nova, cumbia, jazz, and more. The British-born New York-based artist calls his latest LP ? titled Dancing While Falling ? his most "grown up release to date."

Citing disco influences like Bohannon and Larry Levan, Holland explains, "?I'm really interested in Latin music and Afro Caribbean rhythms and I think there's a really amazing point in history where the emergence of those rhythms and its combination with American soul sparked what we now know as disco."

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2024-03-12
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Samory I - Outside (feat. Lila Ike)

Samory I - "Outside (feat. Lila Iké)" from the 2023 album Strength on Overstand Entertainment / Easy Star Records

Kingston, Jamaica-based artist Samory-Tour Frazer ? who records as Samory I ? celebrates his progeny on his debut solo album, Strength. 

"It represents the struggles I?ve overcome, both mentally and physically," the roots reggae vocalist says in a press release, "and is also a representation of my son, who is my driving force behind this album." (His baby boy is featured with his proud papa on the cover art of the new album.)

Today's Song of the Day features guest vocals from fellow Jamaican artist Lila Iké, who adds, ?I have been waiting for this collaboration since 2016 when I moved to Kingston and my next-door neighbor was blasting unreleased songs from Samory I. The reverence in his voice captured me immediately, and I?ve been a fan since. I can?t wait for people to hear and feel the power in his sound. His new album will be a classic.? 

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2024-03-11
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PAPISA - Dores no varal

PAPISA - "Dores no Varal" from the 2024 album Amor Delírio on Costa Futuro

PAPISA is Rita Oliva, a musician, singer, songwriter, and producer based in São Paulo, Brazil. She released her first EP in 2016 and has graced some of Brazil's main stages, as well as the SXSW festival in Austin, TX, where she´ll be back this 2024 edition of the El Sonido showcase. The release of the single "Melhor Assim" in 2023 and "Dores no Varal" in early 2024 heralds the arrival of her next album. She now collaborates with Tagua Tagua in refreshing her indie dreamy pop. In her words, ?sometimes sounding acidic, sometimes sweet, but always Brazilian.?

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2024-03-08
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Mexican Institute of Sound - Bolero (feat. Foudeqush & Esteman)

Mexican Institute of Sound - "Bolero" from the 2024 album Algo-Ritmo : Mexican Institute of Sound Hits 2004-2024 on Soy Sauce

Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS) commemorated its 20-year journey with the release of "Algo + Ritmo 2004-2024" on February 2nd. Featuring 23 handpicked tracks, including two new collaborations with Ceci Bastida and Foudeqush + Esteman, this album encapsulates Camilo Lara's eclectic musical career. Blending mariachi soul, sonideros' spirit, and bold electronic beats, Lara's music reflects the rich tapestry of Mexican culture. Since its inception in 2004, MIS has resonated deeply, evoking a Mexico of bygone eras and captivating audiences worldwide. With the recent release of "Stop" featuring Ceci Bastida, Lara continues to captivate audiences, cementing his legacy as a trailblazer in Latin American music.

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2024-03-07
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Jarina de Marco - Boca Chica

Jarina de Marco - "Boca Chica" from the 2023 album Caribbean All-Inclusive Luxury on 3rd Culture Kid.

This week?s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico.

Dominican-Brazilian pop artist Jarina de Marco makes deliriously infectious music. Beneath the shine and gloss of her immaculately crafted music is a poignant message. This has been true going back to songs like 2016?s ?Release the Hounds? which sounds like stomp-clap club anthem but on a deeper level was drawing On her latest album, Caribbean All-Inclusive Luxury, she coopts the capitalist sheen of a ?dream vacation? as a biting protest satire. ?Boca Chica? opens the album sounding like an advertisement that draws many tourists to places like the Dominican Republic. Not just that but it feels luxurious with her pristine vocals and lively production. But a deeper listen reveals de Marco is singing from the perspective of locals, exasperated by the spectacle of it all. That the song can exist as both a poignant commentary and a dance floor anthem is a testament to de Marco?s incredible songwriting prowess. - Dusty Henry

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2024-03-06
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Pink Pablo - falco

Pink Pablo - "falco" from the 2023 self-released road 2 neverland EP

This week?s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico.

Pink Pablo's EP, road 2 neverland, signals a refreshing shift in Puerto Rico's music landscape, where artists like him are redefining the boundaries of genre. His musical journey, from church performances to LA, mirrors the island's evolving music scene. The EP's eclectic mix of electropop, rock, reggaetón, and disco, coupled with Pink Pablo's vulnerable lyrics, creates a deeply emotional and cohesive listening experience. As he gains momentum and connects with his audience through live shows, Pink Pablo's authenticity and commitment to his craft are undeniable, solidifying his position as a rising star in the Latin music world.

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2024-03-05
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Caribe Ácido - La Carrera de Los Perros

Caribe Acido - "La Carrera de Los Perros" from the 2024 self-released Ciudad Nueva EP

This week?s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico.

Caribe Ácido presents Ciudad Nueva, a four-track EP composed by Dominican multidisciplinary artist Ysmel Abreu. A 35-minute jazz-infused trance, delving into the Dominican scene's alternative and experimental sides. Produced by Adriano Sang, the well-known Diego Raposo, and Ysmel himself, the EP features Adriano on piano and bass, with Ysmel handling the electric and amplified trumpet along with percussion. Standout tracks like "La carrera de los perros" and "El Número" shine on this EP, which, according to the Dominican music website Discolai, also pays homage to Dominican history and culture, with nods to Luis Días and references to streets named after historical battles in the Ciudad Nueva neighborhood.

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2024-03-04
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Chrome Corps - Body Attestation

Chrome Corps - "Body Attestation," a 2024 single on Eskimo Recordings

Seattle's own Chrome Corps brings an industrial edge to their dystopic EBM sound, especially on today's Song of the Day, which can be found on the Eskimo Recordings compilation Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX - Secret Cuts. The comp is a companion to last year's collection, Curses? Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, also curated by Berlin-based DJ Luca Venezia, AKA Curses.

As Curses states in a press release, "Curating Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX was a big puzzle, figuring out how to fit all these tracks across 6 different 12?s required a lot of calculations and, to be quite frank, I was never that great at maths. Unfortunately, this meant we had to cut some real heaters off of DEUX. But Eskimo and I decided that we couldn?t let these gems go to dust. I?ve been DJing them loads in my sets, so it was only fair to share them with y?all to DJ and rage to yourselves. So, here it is? the final blast of bonus tracks for Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX: Secret Cuts."

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2024-03-01
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Sugartin - Breakdown

Sugartin - "Breakdown" from the 2024 album Breakdown on exlove records

Synthpop duo Sugartin spin a dreamy web on today's Song of the Day, the title track off their latest three-song EP, released via exlove records.

Formed in Stuttgart, Germany by songwriters Iris and Daniel in 2022, the pair take inspiration from their Krautrock forefathers while infusing modern-day electronic influences. 

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2024-02-29
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Sol y Santi - Have You Heard

Sol y Santi - "Have You Heard," from the 2024 album Sol y Santi on Casa/Teca

A project of producer Santiago Salazar and vocalist/lyricist Soltera, Sol y Santi released their self-titled LP last month via Casa/Teca.

"We started making this album right before the pandemic hit," Soltera states on Instagram. "Santi sent me a hundred songs that he had been archiving for years and I began to write lyrics for them. After completion we sat with the album for a while and it wasn?t until recently that we finally made the decision to release it independently thru @casaxteca and share it with the world."

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2024-02-28
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Ortrotasce - Seeing Red

Ortrotasce - "Seeing Red," a 2023 self-released single

Ortrotasce (pronounced: or-tro-task) is the moniker for minimalist-synth artist Nic Hamersly, who has been crafting his unique brand of dramatic darkwave for over a decade.

As he told the Orlando Weekly last year, as a teenager, he fell in love with experimental punk label 31G Records and its founder's band, The Locust, before moving on to bands like Coil and Throbbing Gristle. "I was more so into the harsher realm of electronic music," he tells the Weekly. "Power electronics and dark ambient and so on." He notes that his later influences leaned in poppier directions. "Hard Corps, SPK ? Machine Age Voodoo, specifically ? Fad Gadget, to name a few," he adds. "The juxtaposition between synth-pop and industrial in these groups just do it for me. You can probably hear this in most of my recent output."

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2024-02-27
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The KVB - Labyrinths

The KVB - "Labyrinths," a 2024 single on Invada Records UK

Manchester coldwave duo The KVB share the lead single off their forthcoming full-length, Tremors, to be released April 5th via Invada Records. Band members Nicholas Wood and Kat Day describe today's Song of the Day as "the most aggressive track on the album and a nod to some of our early releases." They add, "Lyrically, it was inspired by the collection of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges and its references to historical subjectivity; the flexibility of truth and construction of narratives."

They describe the new album as "dystopian pop," noting that they've "expanded on previous album themes of dystopia, apocalypse, and the human condition, but with a more pessimistic outlook and deeper distrust than before. It also touches on themes of loss, and the resistance, lament and acceptance of inevitable change.?

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2024-02-26
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Day Soul Exquisite - Mosaic

Day Soul Exquisite - "Mosaic" from the 2024 album Sanguine & Cardamom on La fem Records

Seattle-based, QTBIPOC-led sextet Day Soul Exquisite released their debut EP last month via La fem Records, an indie label founded by the band's vocalist/guitarist Francesca Eluhu. Today's Song of the Day is, indeed, a work of art, pieced together by Josh Pehrson's gentle percussion, Lillian Minke Tahar's hypnotic keyboard riff, and Seboulisa's soulful vocals, just to name a few of the elements that comprise this languid lullaby. 

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2024-02-23
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Salt Cathedral - Terminal Woes

Salt Cathedral - "Terminal Woes" from the 2024 self-released album Before It?s Gone

With today's Song of the Day, New York-based Colombian duo Salt Cathedral share a sneak peek at their forthcoming full-length Before It?s Gone, to be self-released on March 22nd. In a press statement, the band share:

??Terminal Woes? are the woes that will bring us (humanity) to our demise ? in this song, climate change. How do I bring a child into a world that is getting, by all predictions, physically worse? How is capitalism/corporate interest & greed steering the wheel (or not steering the wheel?). We live in bubbles where we forget nature and animals exist too. Powerful people making decisions have their wallet, not the planet in mind. The only solution is reaching a point where the planet and the wallet align, where the most profitable business plan is to be sustainable. Sonically, it?s a march of sorts, a chorus that bursts into stacks of voices to show collectivism and a lot of inspiration from Ravi Shankar?s music.?

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2024-02-22
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Seven Davis Jr - Soul Music

Seven Davis Jr - "Soul Music" from the 2024 album Stranger Than Fiction on Secret Angels

Singer/songwriter Samuel Lonnelee Davis ? known to us as Seven Davis Jr. ? dug into the vault for today's Song of the Day. The track was originally recorded back in 2016 around the time of his LP Universes. As he explains on Bandcamp, "It was supposed to go on the next album but did not match the tracklist. It was released on an underground EP but never officially. Detroit's Kyle Hall began playing this track out in 2022 which led to us deciding to officially release it."

The soulful (no pun intended) single can now be found on new album Stranger Than Fiction, which came out last month via his own Secret Angels imprint. "I wanted to make a tribute album reflecting all the music that has played a huge role in forming who I am as an artist and as a person," he writes. "Each track showcasing a different audio aesthetic but connecting to the next like scenes in a film, creating my own world."

"This project is for others like me who fit into multiple categories and none at the same time," he concludes. "While bringing it back to an old school-ish energy, simply about humble songs, good vibes and fun beats."

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2024-02-21
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Art Feynman - Chasing My Life

Art Feynman - "Chasing My Life" from the 2023 album Be Good The Crazy Boys on Western Vinyl

Long-time KEXP fave Luke Temple has been recording under the alias Art Feynman for a few albums now; his press release says, as a way to "explore surprising sonic landscapes without the burdens of identity." And now, on his third LP under the pseudonym, Be Good The Crazy Boys, he's joined by a full band, and the release was recorded live in the studio. "Sonically, I was inspired by records that were recorded at the late Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas such as Grace Jones? Private Life, Lizzy Mercier Descloux?s Mambo Nassau, and Talking Heads? Remain in Light,? he shares. 

He adds, ?To me, there was a lot of energy that needed to be released as the result of living in isolation for six years. It also seems to speak to a general anxiety we?re all holding, but it?s expressed in a cathartic way.?

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2024-02-20
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Butcher Brown - Down With the King

Butcher Brown - "Down With the King" a 2024 single on Concord Jazz

For today's Song of the Day, Virginia-based jazz/hip-hop collective Butcher Brown brings their take on the 1993 Run DMC classic ?Down With the King.? The track was created in collaboration with the ACC Network, ESPN?s 24/7 national network dedicated to Atlantic Coast Conference sports, and the song can be heard in promotional spots that kicked off last month. 

?Virginia music is one-of-a-kind, and always has been, just like the ACC,? said Butcher Brown?s lyricist and horn player Marcus Tennishu in a press release. ?The Richmond aesthetic comes from a place where everyone is really diehard and blue collar ? you work for what you get. We wanted this remake to be derivative of the original, but we had to put our own twist on it.?

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2024-02-19
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Lesser Angels - Burn It Away

Lesser Angels - "Burn it Away," a 2024 self-released single

Lesser Angels is a goth/darkwave project out of Eugene, OR, that brings dreamy musical vibes from a trans-feminine perspective. Today's Song of the Day examines the duality of life, as they explain on Bandcamp:

"'Burn It Away' is a song meant to evoke the meditative concept of fire as a type of rebirth and the cycle of positive and negative experiences in life. A beautiful day can't last forever or it wouldn't be beautiful, just like how a terrible day seems more terrible in contrast to better days. No light without shadow."

"We go through these things in life like a rosebush. In that moment the thorns get caught on our blue jeans but on the outside we get to look back and see the beauty of it. And we must singe the frayed edges of our jeans so that we can keep going and stay unfettered."

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2024-02-16
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Tisiphone - The Sound Of His Voice

TISIPHONE - "The Sound of His Voice," a 2024 single on Icy Cold Records

French coldwave trio Tisiphone returned this month with their sophomore LP Riot Puppets. 

Band members Léo and Suzanne met as music students at the Conservatoire de Lyon, with Clara later meeting Léo in the drumming program. In an interview with Threshold Magazine, Clara explains, "We love rock, jazz, classical, but is true that we wanted to make this band around this coldwave thing, post-punk. It was also an aesthetic style that we loved."

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2024-02-15
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Zanias - Earthborn

Zanias - "Earthborn" from the 2024 album Ecdysis on Metropolis Records

Today's featured track comes from a KEXP Song of the Day veteran, the Berlin-based project Zanias, led by Australian-born multidisciplinary artist Alison Lewis.

"Earthborn" is the first single off her forthcoming full-length Ecdysis, out this Friday, February 16th. The album was created around the same time as 2023's LP Chrysalis, but Lewis points out on Instagram that these tracks have a "far more alien quality to them." She continues, "This one?s a serious healing venture, a spiritual exercise, a deep dive into all those things we feel and have no words for (hence, there are no words)."

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2024-02-14
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Glaring - Burn The Snow

Glaring - "Burn the Snow" from the 2024 self-released EP DR666

Over the past few years. Germany-based coldwave artist Anna Nin has been recording her melancholy medleys under the name Glaring. Her latest EP ? the self-released DR666 ? reflects the cold winter month of January in which it was released: chilly synths, glacial pacing, and a vapor-breath vocal delivery. 

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2024-02-13
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Anja Huwe - Rabenschwarz

Anja Huwe - "Rabenschwarz" a 2024 single on Sacred Bones

As the frontwoman for German post-punk band Xmal Deutschland, vocalist Anja Huwe was at the forefront of the 4AD avant-garde art-rock scene in the 1980s. When the band broke up in 1989, Huwe left music to pursue her visual art career. 

But now, nearly 30 years later, Huwe re-emerges with her debut solo album, Codes, scheduled for release on March 8th via Sacred Bones Records. Huwe's long-time friend Mona Mur managed to coax her back into the recording studio, and over the span of eighteen months, they crafted a collection of dark, dramatic soundscapes for Huwe to wrap her distinctive vocals around.

?Since I sing multilingually, and often work with metaphors, I hope that the listener can grasp the moods without understanding them literally," Huwe shared in a press statement. "I believe that voice, expression, and sound can achieve an overall atmosphere. Sometimes melancholic and blue, but also uplifting, vibrant, or subliminally aggressive."

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2024-02-12
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Polyrhythmics - Clydesdale

Polyrhythmics - "Clydesdale" from the 2023 self-released album Filter System

Now on their 13th year as a band, Seattle's own psych-funk septet Polyrhythmics released their latest LP last fall titled Filter System.   

?When I listen to this music I feel comforted and excited at the same time,? saxophonist Art Brown said of the album in a press statement. ?I really feel like we've created some beautiful musical spaces that can transport you. And in that way I think it can provide a source of inspiration, and maybe revitalize the hearts and minds of folks who listen.?

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2024-02-09
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Nation of Language - Spare Me the Decision (Cutouts Remix)

Nation of Language - Spare Me the Decision (Cutouts Remix) a 2024 single on PIAS

Brooklyn trio Nation of Language revisit last year's single "Spare Me the Decision" with a remix by their bassist Alex MacKay, who also records under the name Cutouts. The original version of the track appears on the album Strange Disciple, which was voted the #2 album of the year by KEXP listeners. 

?I knew pretty instantly ?Spare Me the Decision? was the track I?d have the most fun trying to remix from Strange Disciple as it?s a personal favorite," MacKay shared in a press statement. "However, my time management isn?t always the best so while I thought I?d have turned it in before we started touring last year, I ended up finishing the master in the lobby of our Barcelona hotel, just a few hours before our set at Primavera Festival. As a result, to me that day represents a beautiful duality, wearing two very different hats from the afternoon into the evening. In the daylight a focused (albeit jet-lagged) moment of solitude and creation. After sunset, an evening onstage performing in front of a jubilant congregation of Spanish fans, far more frenzied than I could have ever imagined when I woke up that morning."

He continued, "As far as the song itself: I love the drum tracks Ian and Nick came up with, especially the slinky hi-hat pattern? and Ian is a true singer, so it?s an absolute joy working with his vocals. I preserved those parts but had a go at replacing almost everything else. I thought it?d be fun to stretch the length, and try different chords under the chorus melody every time it comes around. I also slowed it down a couple BPM. I like seeing how slow I can make songs without losing the groove. Sometimes there?s a second pocket in there, a little slower than you might expect??

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2024-02-08
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Gustaf - Starting and Staring

Gustaf - "Starting and Staring" from the 2024 album Package Pt. 2 on Royal Mountain

Brooklyn-based no-wave band Gustaf share the lead single from their upcoming sophomore full-length Package Pt. 2, out April 5th via Royal Mountain. The new album was produced by Erin Tonkon, who worked on David Bowie?s final album Blackstar.

With its driving bass and anxiety-ridden performance from vocalist Lydia Gammill, it's easy to see why this group is a tour mate of bands like IDLES, Sleaford Mods, and Yard Act. Check out the video below, directed by Alex Ross Perry. 

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2024-02-07
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Ride - Peace Sign

Ride - "Peace Sign" from the 2024 album Interplay on Wichita

Shoegaze pioneers Ride return with the album Interplay, out March 29th on Wichita Recordings/PIAS. It'll be their seventh full-length overall, and their third since reuniting in 2014. 

?This album has taken a long time to make, and has seen the band go through a lot of ups and downs; maybe the most of any Ride album,? co-founder Andy Bell said in a press release. ?But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to shake off the past, and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.?

Today's Song of the Day first began to come together during a jam session in band member Mark Gardener's recording studio, OX4 studio. "We called it ?Berlin? and initially it featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass, and myself on a prophet 5 synth," Bell continued. "About six months later I got hold of the recording and wrestled it into song form. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called The Alpinist about the visionary free climber Marc-André Leclerc. Soon after I?d finished working on the song I remember I was raving to my bandmates about Leclerc at OX4, and a good memory of that time was us all watching that film at Mark?s studio."

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2024-02-06
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TR/ST - Robrash

TR/ST - "Robrash" a 2023 single on Dais

TR/ST ? a project of producer Robert Alfons ? shares the first single from his latest release, a self-titled EP from his new label, Dais Records. Formed in Toronto, and now based in Los Angeles, he continues to craft darkwave synth perfect for haunting the dance floor. 

Today's Song of the Day was co-produced by Nightfeelings and mixed by the legendary Nick Launay, who has worked with everyone from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to IDLES to Kate Bush. 

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2024-02-05
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Brittany Davis - Sepricon

Brittany Davis - "Sepricon" from the 2024 album Image Issues on Loosegroove Records

Last we spoke with Seattle artist Brittany Davis, they had released an EP via Loosegroove Records, the label ran by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard (who is also Davis's bandmate in the side project, Painted Shield). Now, they've returned with their debut full-length album, titled Image Issues, out March 1st on Loosegroove. It's an ambitious 26-track, concept-driven release, interspersed with spoken word pieces by Davis, and with deeply personal lyrics touching on their "discrimination as a Black, non-binary, blind musician, to traumatic family experiences touching on abuse, gun violence, and the prison system." The LP was co-produced by Josh Evans (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Brandi Carlile), with Gossard's full support. (?He is everywhere in spirit and conception and love and vision,? Evans told Spin Magazine.)

Davis describes today's Song of the Day as "definitely born to funk...to soul funk! The record is an ode to James Brown and filled with thoughtless greatness...there really is no rhyme or reason to it...all primal instinct." Check out the music video below, directed by Tony-nominated modern dance choreographer Donald Byrd (The Color Purple, The Minstrel Show). 

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2024-02-02
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Izzy and the Black Trees - F-16

Izzy and the Black Trees - "F-16" a 2024 single on Antena Krzyku.

Polish punk rockers Izzy and The Black Trees tap into some COVID anxiety for today's Song of the Day.

As vocalist Izabela ?Izzy? Rekowska explains to music blog Vanadian Avenue: "Back then, I was watching many movies and Stanley Kubrick?s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb really got stuck in my head. Plus, there was a constant hum of jet planes flying over our apartment. So, you get the story. The song was recorded with our producer Marcin Bors at his home studio in the mountains. Marcin also produced our second album Revolution Comes In Waves. We really loved working on that album as well as on 'F-16' and our previous single, 'Shutdown City.'"

The band are currently working on a new EP with their sights set on a third full-length in the future.

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2024-02-01
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Waxahatchee - Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)

Waxahatchee - "Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)" from the 2024 album Tigers Blood on ANTI-

On today's Song of the Day, singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield ? best known as Waxahatchee ? enlists the talents of MJ Lenderman (of the band Wednesday, as well as a solo artist) for an unconventional love song.

?I wrote it backstage at Wolf Trap when I was on tour opening for Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow,? Crutchfield says in a press statement. ?I?m really interested in writing love songs that are gritty and unromantic. I wanted to make a song about the ebb and flow of a longtime love story. I thought it might feel untraditional, but a little more in alignment with my experience to write about feeling insecure or foiled in some way internally, but always finding your way back to a newness or an intimacy with the same person.?

The track will appear on her forthcoming full-length, Tigers Blood, out March 22nd via Anti-. The LP was recorded with Brad Cook at Sonic Ranch in Texas, and features guest appearances from Spencer Tweedy and Phil Cook, in addition to Lenderman.

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2024-01-31
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SPRINTS - Adore Adore Adore

SPRINTS - "Adore Adore Adore" from the 2024 album Letter To Self on City Slang

Dublin, Ireland-based garage rockers Sprints rage against the patriarchy on today's Song of the Day, as vocalist Karla Chubb explains on Bandcamp:

?'Adore Adore Adore' is a guttural reaction to my experience of criticism, gender, and misogyny. People can't seem to stop pressing their idea of what being a woman or acting like a woman is or should be upon us. You can't act like this, you can't say that, you have to be born with this or that and it's exhausting.

There is still a different standard of behaviour expected from me vs even the other members in Sprints. There is a different set of invisible rules I am supposed to abide by ? I am supposed to fit their mould and give them what they want ? and not deliver what it is I am here to do.

So at a time when trans rights are under attack, people are trying to force upon us what they think a woman is or should be, this is the outward expression of my own frustration, struggle and rage.?

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2024-01-30
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Arcwelder - Lafayette

Arcwelder - "Lafayette" from the 2024 self-released album Continue

Minneapolis trio Arcwelder return with their first new album in 24 years. During their '90s heyday, they released six albums on Touch & Go and Big Money Records before their double-decade hiatus. Their latest LP was mixed by J. Robbins of Jawbox, Burning Airlines, and Government Issue.

And it's all too appropriate that "Lafayette" is today's Song of the Day, as the band say the track is drummer/vocalist Scott  Macdonald's tribute to "music, radio stations, and the childhood radio that delivered it all to him." Check out Morning Show Producer Owen Murphy's 2017 chat with Scott here.

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2024-01-29
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Spoon Benders - Dichotomatic

Spoon Benders - "Dichotomatic" from the 2023 self-released album How Things Repeat

With their sophomore full-length, How Things Repeat, psych-rock group Spoon Benders continue to elevate the glam-garage sound we first fell in love with on their 2020 debut LP Dura Mater.

As they explained to Be in a Band or Die, "Since April of 2019, the band has been writing, rehearsing, and performing live together multiple times a week. I think How Things Repeat has captured that growth and is an excellent representation of our evolution together as a band and individually as players and songwriters. For How Things Repeat we are building on our sound and looking to express similar energy through the recording as we do on stage in the live setting."

The accompanying music video ? directed by Karlee Boon ? aims to capture the opposite: the monotony they experience in their day jobs. "People often forget that musicians work grueling 9-5 jobs to survive while balancing their band and personal lives," they added.

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2024-01-26
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Skating Polly - Hickey King

Skating Polly - "Hickey King" from the 2023 album Chaos County Line on El Camino Media

Tacoma-based punk-pop trio Skating Polly describes today's Song of the Day as "the most Skating Polly song" on their latest LP, a double-album titled Chaos County Line, out now via El Camino Media. Songwriters (and step-sisters!) Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse trade off vocals on the stripped-down single, inspired by a bad date Kelli went on.

?In Peyton?s verse she?s talking about never knowing how far to go or how much of yourself to give to someone, and when my part comes crashing in it?s about guys being possessive and always trying to leave their mark on you,? Kelli says in a press release. ?To me, it?s the most Skating Polly song on the record because it?s all these different energies happening at once.?

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2024-01-25
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Hurry - Beggin? For You

Hurry - "Beggin' For You" from the 2023 album Don't Look Back on Lame-O Records

Philadelphia-based group Hurry released their sixth album last year, titled Don?t Look Back, a nod to a 1995 Teenage Fanclub song, if that gives you a hint to their influences. And today's Song of the Day brings that same jangly, power-pop goodness. 

The new album was produced by Ian Farmer (of Slaughter Beach, Dog, and Modern Baseball), and is out now via Lame-O Records. 

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2024-01-24
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Matt Pond PA - Imagining Everything

Matt Pond PA - "Imagining Everything" from the 2024 album Call and Response on 131 Records

Today's Song of the Day marks a homecoming for singer/songwriter Matt Pond who launched his career in 1998 as matt pond PA, but tried to ditch the name the past few years, releasing an album under the moniker The Natural Lines in 2022. But now, he's re-embraced his original band name with the release of this new single.

"Our album as The Natural Lines was one of my favorite experiences in making music,? Matt told Brooklyn Vegan last year. ?We thoughtfully built songs and a band that represented the inner world of the post-pandemic return to reality. But as it stands now, I?ve said everything I can in that incarnation. I gave myself a strange band name back in Philly and it?s been impossible to shake. As much as I love to run, there?s no running from who I am.?

?In the song and video for ?Imagining Everything,'? he adds, ?I can hear the worst thoughts about myself ? about all of us. Nevertheless, I want to find a way back to loving this world.?

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2024-01-23
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Bayonne - Right Thing

Bayonne - "Right Thing" from the 2023 album Temporary Time on Nettwerk

Today's Song of the Day from Bayonne (a solo project from Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Roger Sellers) is extra potent, not just for being a total new wave nostalgic groove, but because it was the last song Roger was able to play for his father before he passed away from cancer. 

?Approaching my mid 30s, I was having a lot of anxiety about life, music and the future ? contemplating where I wanted to go creatively, which among other things, caused me to fall into a state of depression. It?s a deeply meaningful song to me, conveying feelings of stagnancy and self-doubt while maintaining a poppy format,? he says in a press statement. ?One of the reasons it?s so meaningful to me is because it was the last song I remember showing my Dad before he passed. In the middle percussive section, I added samples from old home VHS tapes, wherein you can faintly hear him and other family members chattering lightly in the background. I?ll never forget showing him how I implemented these old recordings into the song. He was highly amused by this.?

The track appears on Bayonne's third full-length Temporary Time. He adds, "To me the overall narrative of Temporary Time is the events following my Dad?s cancer diagnosis in early 2019. The record explores the emotional journey we went through as a family coming to terms with his declining health. Not every song covers this, but that presentiment is lingering in the back of my mind through it all.?

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2024-01-22
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Ghoul Talk - I Just Like To Watch

Ghoul Talk - I Just Like To Watch from the 2024 album I Want to Consume on Death Certificate Records

Seattle's Ghoul Talk ? a solo project of local artist Rachel King ? brings an exhilarating ferociousness to today's Song of the Day, a track she declares her "favorite and most polarizing song so far." She describes the single as "a two-and-a-half minute relationship horror story about ignoring your intuition, written in a 100+ degree room."

She tells KEXP, ?I re-recorded the vocals many times, and nothing stuck until I was able to get out of my head and lock into the true emotion of the song. I wanted the recording to capture the messiness and desperation of the feeling beneath it all. Towards the end of recording, I found mice in my studio and finished some of the takes standing on a chair. There was something very punk about having them as an audience.?

"I Just Like To Watch" will appear on Ghoul Talk's forthcoming visual horror album I Want to Consume, to be released later this year on Death Certificate Records.

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2024-01-19
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