In Our Headphones

박혜진 Park Hye Jin - "Beautiful" from the 2020 How Can I EP on Ninja Tune. On her sophomore EP How Can I, DJ/producer/rapper 박혜진 Park Hye Jin continues to expand on the dreamy production style she introduced with her 2018 debut If U Want It while expanding into heavier house sounds, pulsing with energy.  Originally from Seoul and now based in L.A., Park has expanded her sonic palette, bubbling beneath her hypnotic vocals, sung in both English and Korean. "I actually believe Korean to be the most beautiful language. Is there a more delicate or emotional language? That I do not know. Of course, it may be because I don’t know the languages of other countries well. For example, when I try to write lyrics in English, I can’t clearly express the feelings I want to convey," she said last year in an interview with Hypebeast.  On today's Song of the Day, Park eschews vocals entirely, relying on punchy percussion and a repetitive, echoey voice in the distance. The result is, well... beautiful. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Candace - "Still Phase" from the 2020 self-released album Ideal Corners. Portland dream-pop band Candace have had a long journey to their latest album, titled Ideal Corners. Originally formed in 2009 in Minneapolis under the moniker Is/Is, the trio released an EP and a 7" single until drummer Mara Appel Des Lauriers relocated from the midwest to Portland. Remaining band members Sarah Rose (bass/vocals) and Sarah Nienaber (guitar/vocals) tried to keep Is/Is going without her, but eventually relocated to Portland themselves, starting anew with the name Candace.  The albums New Future and New Ruins followed in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Their newest release was recorded with Larry Crane at Jackpot! Recording Studio in late summer 2019, and finds the trio experimenting with drum machines, adding an otherworldly-ness to their shoegaze-tinged sound. Today's Song of the Day, they say, "is about coming to terms with the senselessness of inaction, about learning over and over again that there is no “right time,” nothing is ever definite."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dylan Cartlidge - "Yellow Brick Road," a 2020 single on Glassnote/AWAL. “I’m this kid who’s from a place you’ve probably never heard of, who has a weird background and a weird musical journey. And yet I'm being able to hold my own in my industry.” So says newcomer Dylan Cartlidge, a 23-year-old songwriter who combines rock and rap in a way that's garnered him comparisions to "everyone from Beck to Andre 3000," his press release confirms. On today's featured track, he teamed up with produer James Dring (Jamie T, Gorillaz) for his first song written and recorded in a "big fancy studio." In a press release, he shared: “This song to me is about the juxtaposition of dreams & expectations. It’s about how fear and self-sabotage can dump the weight of the world on your shoulders in your most hard-earned moments. But it’s also about how overcoming all of this can be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and stepping into the unknown..." Dylan Cartlidge will be LIVE on KEXP at HOME on Wednesday, September 2nd at 2:00 PM PT. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blimes and Gab - "Baptism" from the 2020 album Talk About It on B.A.G. Enterprises. Over the past few years, Seattle's own Gifted Gab and San Francisco-based artist Blimes Brixton have been teasing our ears with a handful of singles (like their 2017 breakthrough track “Come Correct”), but earlier this summer, they finally released their debut full-length album, Talk About It.   “In order to talk about it, you got to be about it. Me and Gab have loved to prove time and time again that we’re about it,” Blimes said in a recent interview with the GRAMMYS. "I think the vision behind [our album] is just, they’re always going to have something to say, always going to have something to talk about, so might as well give them something to talk about." Blimes & Gab will be LIVE on KEXP at HOME on Tuesday, September 22nd at 3:00 PM PT.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ana Tijoux - "Pa Que" from the 2020 single Antifa on Victoria Producciones Spa. The phrase "Pa Qué?" roughly translates into "So why?", and it's a question French-Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux has been asking herself since the pandemic has begun. On her forthcoming full-length, titled Antifa Dance, Tijoux vents her frustration with the current political climate during such a difficult time. Today's featured track even borrows a quote from former Chilean Health Minister Jaime Mañalich, who resigned in June after criticism of the way he handled the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting it could mutate into a "better person."  “This song is a reminder to everyone that we are still attentive, inside and outside, to those above us,” Tijoux said in a press statement. “While we are at home, we are not not asleep. To those below us, we continue to weave the nets, holding ourselves up with open hearts. From the confinement, the deficiencies have become evident. There are thousands of us and solidarity makes us one.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Postcards - Fossilized - from the 2020 album The Good Soldier on T3 Records. Beirut-based trio Postcards continue to expand on the shoegaze sound they shared on their 2018 debut full-length I'll be here in the morning. With their latest LP, titled The Good Soldier, they explore darker post-punk territories while still keeping it dreamy with Julia Sabra's angelic vocals. In an interview with Joy Zine, she revealed the story behind today's Song of the Day: "The first track we wrote for this album, right after our first full-length came out, and it’s one of those tracks that had like 5 different versions before we settled on this one. There’s a lot of underlying tension in the music. Initially it started out as a way to talk about my anger issues, how in a matter of minutes everything turns sour, how it all fades within a couple of hours, and the inevitability of the whole cycle. Eventually as I was writing and re-writing it, the song shifted towards more of a shared anger about the living situation in Lebanon – the feeling of wanting to fight but also knowing you won’t be able to change anything." Lebanon recently endured one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, leaving 170 people dead, over 6,000 people injured, and more than 300,000 people displaced from their homes. The band report that they're safe, but add, "Our city and its people are in ruins. Please donate if you can." Impact Lebanon Relief Lebanese Red Cross Lebanese Food Bank Domestic Workers Fund Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nation of Language - "Rush & Fever" from the 2020 self-released album Introduction, Presence. It will come as no surprise that Brooklyn synth-pop band Nation Of Language found inspiration in early new wave — specifically, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s 1980 single “Electricity.” Their debut LP, titled Introduction, Presence, shimmers with synths and vocalist Ian Devaney's post-punk-inflected vocals. In a press release, Devaney explains: "It occurred to me that a moment in time existed when it seemed everyone still had a kind of ‘beginner's mind’ about how synthesizers could be used and fit into the musical landscape. They were wielding this technology as a blunt instrument, and it felt like I had been given permission to do the same..." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Desire - "Escape" from the 2020 album Escape on Italians Do It Better. It's been nearly a decade-long wait, but Italians Do It Better outfit Desire return with a new album titled Escape.  Fronted by Montreal-based vocalist Megan Louise, and featuring production by label impresario Johnny Jewel, Desire continue to craft dreamy disco/synth-pop. As they describe it, "Megan Louise sings tales of love & lust cloaked in an analog sheen. Shrouded in a cinematic haze. Throbbing with violent rhythm. Fresh Blood for the new you." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE NEVERLY BOYS - "Never Come Down" from the 2020 self-released album Dark Side of Everything. THE NEVERLY BOYS finds Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio teaming up with Swedish singer/songwriter Daniel Ledinsky to explore "the unknown, the magic, the heartbreaks, and the aspirations," as they put it, on their debut album Dark Side of Everything. (The two teamed up previously to co-write songs for Blondie, Pussy Riot, and TV on the Radio.)  “I’m not really good at personalizing it. We just tell stories, but I think you can find a song on this record, no matter who you are or what you’re going through. Some might not speak to you at the moment, but there is a wide range of emotion,” Sitek told American Songwriter. “We were trying not to conceal doubt or vulnerability. There’s been a lot of emphasis in modern music on escapism and things are better than they seem.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lomelda - "Wonder" from the 2020 album Hannah on Double Double Whammy. From the swamps of Silsbee, TX emerges singer/songwriter Hannah Read, who records under the name Lomelda, but she re-embraces her birth name for the title of her forthcoming fifth full-length, Hannah, out September 4th via Double Double Whammy. Read recorded the album with her brother Tommy over the span of a year, apparently re-recording it three different times before she was satisfied.  Via a press release, Read describes today's Song of the Day as "about working hard," adding, "It is my most fun song to play. And I got to play drums on it, so it's my favorite Lomelda song forever. May it motivate you to move and smash like it does me."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.