In Our Headphones

Denise Chaila - "CHAILA" from the 2020 album GO Bravely on narolane. Denise Chaila will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22 and has also been nominated for a Music Moves Europe Award. The past two years have been ones of extreme highs and lows for Zambian-Irish rapper Denise Chaila. On one hand, 2020 saw her release her debut full-length GO Bravely to rave reviews, prominent television performances, and a slew of nominations, leading her to become the highest ranking Irish woman in the country’s charts that year. She then followed that up with November’s five-song release It’s A Mixtape that saw her boldly exploring new sonic territories to acclaim. At the same time, the giant push into the spotlight has led to an egregious amount of racism being thrown at the rapper on the internet. When GO Boldly won Chaila an RTÉ Choice Music Prize (the first time a mixtape has ever won the crown), the vitriol being aimed at Chaila in the comment sections was so disturbingly cruel that she asked RTÉ to stop tagging her in posts so that she wouldn’t have to witness the abuse.  “CHAILA,” our Song of the Day and the hit that made people start paying attention to the rapper, is a fun and clever jab at all the people that haven’t been able to pronounce her name. “My name’s not that hard to pronounce /Pre-K it’s not profound,” she deadpans with a roll of her eyes.  Watch the video for “CHAILA,” directed by Mark Logan, at the link below and catch Denise Chaila’s virtual performance at Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Takeshi’s Cashew - "Sterndüne (Kosmodr∞m)" from the 2021 album Humans In A Pool on Laut & Luise. Takeshi’s Cashew will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. Blending genres, cultures, and regions into their own sound that they’ve titled “cosmofunk,” Takeshi’s Cashew can be seen taking just as much influence from sunny ‘60s surf as they do flute-filled Scandinavian folk, German krautrock, and Latin cumbia. Formed in 2020, the young band - name after the iconic Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle - unveiled their debut album Humans In A Pool in June of 2021. Recorded in their tiny DIY studio in Vienna, the album weaves a magical tapestry of sounds for something unique and timeless. Our Song of the Day, “Sterndüne (Kosmodr∞m),” represents their lush sound impeccably. Spanning seven-and-a-half minutes of melodic synths, dancing flutes, and bright guitars - just to name a few of the many, many sounds introduced - the song goes on an epic quest in the name of the groove. Probably unsurprisingly, the song is only the second-longest track on the record, following the nearly eleven-minute closer “There Is No Harmony.” Ahead of their virtual performance for Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference on January 19-22, watch a video of them performing “Akihi” at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna B Savage - "Corncrakes" from the 2021 album A Common Turn on City Slang. Anna B Savage will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. In 2015, Anna B Savage released a straightforwardly titled EP titled just EP, with the four songs named after their tracklist placement. While it may have lacked appellative flair, the warmth and heart that radiated from her trembling vocals caught the ears of some big names like Father John Misty and Jenny Hval, who both brought her on tour. Turns out, it was all a bit too much too soon and the Dublin artist retreated. Thankfully, last year she returned with the debut full-length A Common Turn. Our Song of the Day is the incredible “Corncrake,” an early single off the record. Brooding and beautiful, the song expresses both Savage’s depth of emotion and breadth of range - jumping from deep, rich croons to glistening falsetto with operatic ease. While starting out forlornly whispered, the song cathartically builds near the end with the repeating refrain of “I don’t know if this is even real / I don’t feel things as keenly as I used to,” for a dynamically emotional and visceral experience. “At this moment in my life, I was entering a seismic shift,” Savage says of the song. “I felt like I was getting clues from the universe, and all I needed to do to ‘work it all out’ was piece them together. These clues came in the form of birds – in this instance a corncrake. I now see the corncrake as a layout for a theme: something tangible, but imperceptible, evident but not necessarily visible.” For those unfamiliar with the species of bird known as corncrakes (they’re not common in America), they’re known for being easy to hear but often difficult to spot - hence the metaphor of imperceptibility. She goes on further to explain what exactly she was experiencing within her relationship at the time that made her think of the corncrake. “It just appeared twice in a short space of time, not having known what it was, it being this thing you can hear but can’t certainly see, and it’s noticeable but not overwhelming or overbearing. When I was much younger, when I’d feel something for someone, I’d be ravenous to hang out around them all the time and wouldn’t be able to control myself in their presence. But with him, it felt calm, and because of that calmness, I was like, ‘Am I actually feeling proper sexy feelings, or do I just kind of love him?’ So that’s what that’s about, and the evolution of the way you feel things toward people when you get a little bit older.”  The song comes along with a video by nature producer Chris Howard (Planet Earth Live, Springwatch, Autumnwatch) that’s meant to be a representation of “the happiness, confusion, longing, desire, sadness, and also a stoicism” that Anna had experienced in the last few years. Watch it at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Farris - "Havana Santa," a 2021 single on Compass Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. Let’s be honest, there’s not a whole lot that’s sexy about Santa Claus. But have you met his brother? Ow ow! Grammy Award winning gospel, blues, and roots artist Mike Farris introduces a new character to the holidays with “Havana Santa.” The heated Latin track swaps the snow for the sea, where we meet the rum-drinking, mambo-dancing, red Camino-driving brother of St. Nick that’s living a very sultry life south of the border. Apparently, the inspiration to make a Latin-style Christmas song came after Farris and his 13-piece holiday band covered a Marc Anthony song during their annual “Soul of Christmas” show in Nashville one year and it was an absolute crowd-pleaser. Farris had this to say about the song: “The whole approach to writing “Havana Santa” was the same approach to the Soul of Christmas shows, and that is to bring maximum amounts of fun to the holiday season and to just fill the season with great memories and cheek numbing joy!” The track features a long list of long-time collaborators and includes six Grammy award winners among them: Derrek Phillips (drums), Dave Roe (bass), Kenny Greenberg (guitars), Kevin Mckendree (piano/hammond organ), Giovanni Rodriguez (percussion), Jim Hoke (tenor and baritone sax/accordion), Steve Hermann (trumpet), Yates Mckendree (bass), Saunya Clayborn (singer), Samson White (singer), additional singers are Dave Roe, Giovanni Rodriguez, Jamie-Sue Seal, Cassidy Zuver, Derrek Phillips and Kenny Greenberg. Get a taste of the fun that Farris and his collaborators bring to their Soul of Christmas events by watching a snippet of their performance of “Havana Santa” at this year’s show at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India Ramey - "Cocktail for Christmas" from the 2021 album Christmas Times A'Comin' 2021 on Medicine Show Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. We’re getting a little more Southern for today’s Song of the Day. “Cocktail for Christmas” is a bluegrass country tune about dealing with family during the holidays by getting completely and utterly wasted. With a delightful twang, India Ramey spells out her plan for coping, “Well Uncle Ren is drunk and talking politics again /I try to keep the peace but the room is starting to spin /But that’s fine with me /I’m where I need to be /To put up with my loved ones /I'll be lit up like a Christmas tree by the time the turkey's done.” Certainly one way to handle it! Ramey is an Alabama-based lawyer-turned-musician who’s released who’s released four albums in the past decade, her most recent being 2020’s Shallow Graves. “Cocktail for Christmas” is included on Christmas Times A’ Comin’ 2021, the 6th compilation of holiday songs from The Medicine Show, a Scottish booking, promotion, and broadcast company run by Rob Ellen. Watch the kitschy video for “Cocktail for Christmas” directed by Stacie Huckeba at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phone Jerks - "!Christmas on the Floor!," a 2020 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. For a time of year where alcohol consumption is typically at its heaviest, we certainly don’t have enough Christmas songs about drinking. Well, Phone Jerks are here to rectify that. Last year, the Canadian quartet released their submission to the holiday drinking song canon with “!Christmas On the Floor!” The energetic garage rock tune harkens the familiar tale of a lover leaving you during the holidays but then paints a very vivid picture of the unhealthy coping mechanisms one might employ during those trying times.  “The fairy lights remind me I'm the saddest ever been,” laments one of the band’s three lead singers (I’m guessing Emily). “I tripped over Baby Jesus, broke the Nativity scene/ My glass keeps on refilling but I just don't know who poured/ Looks like I'll be spending another Christmas on the floor.”  While based in Canada, the Phone Jerks has a member who use to live in Seattle - Brian LaManna, who was in the alternative punk band The Valentine Killers. At the link below, watch live footage of Phone Jerks at the Maniac Mansion if Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2018. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attendant - "Roll On May (Misery Christmas)," a 2021 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. UK grunge-punk duo Attendant have thrown their hats in the heartbreak Christmas song ring this year with “Roll On May (Misery Christmas).” It’s a near-universal adult trait to feel a spot of loneliness during the holidays but what does one do when they just want to revel in the melodrama of their misery during the jolliest time of the year? Backed by customary twinkling bells and some very non-traditional heavy guitar strums, frontman Andy Walker addresses this idea. “The celebrations never end/ But I don’t want to see my friends/ They’ll force me to have fun/  When I just want someone to hold me near/ This time of year/ Cause I need you but you’re not here this Christmas.” The single follows Attendant’s debut EP, Unreality, released in early 2021. Watch the video for “Doomscroller” at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SS-20 - "(No) War Toys On Christmas" from the 1987 EP Daddy's Drunk On Christmas on No Pretense Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. His first selection of the week is a song that I literally cannot find anywhere on the internet, SS-20’s “(No) War Toys On Christmas,” from a 1987 EP of original and (I assume) highly satirical Christmas songs called Daddy’s Drunk On Christmas. This wasn’t the Cincinnati-based hardcore punk band’s first foray into the world holiday music, though. The preceding year SS-20 unveiled a DIY release of fairly straight forward Christmas songs sung with a "couldn't care less," according to Discogs, attitude titled Merry Christmas 1986: Is Santa Listening. Formed by Robert Sturdevant in 1982 and still, at least up until a few years ago, playing shows in Cincinnati about once a month, SS-20 has released more than a dozen full-length albums and shorter EPs and 7-inch singles. They’ve also opened for “every punk and hardcore band that’s every played at the Jockey club,” Sturdevant told a publication in 2013, citing Nirvana, the Ramones, Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, among others.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Advertisement - "The Matador," a 2021 single on Fire Talk. Hot off the heels of their 4-song EP, Freedom, that came out last month, Seattle quintet Advertisement share the new single "The Matador," a song they say is about “being perceived by others as something different than you perceive yourself.” True to the aesthetic they established on their 2020 debut album American Advertisement, band members Charlie Hoffman, Carl Marck, Ryan Mangione, Jesse Rosenthal, and TJ Main combine Fleet Foxes-esque harmonies with Laurel Canyon-inspired rock nostalgia, tapping into their love of "blues and grooves" along the way.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bartees Strange - "Free Kelly Rowland (feat. Armand Hammer)" from the 2021 album Live Forever (Deluxe Edition) on Memory Music. Last year, DC-based musician Bartees Strange wowed us all with his debut full-length Live Forever, a genre-defying release exploring themes of racism and resilience. For the album's one-year anniversary, he reissued the LP in a deluxe edition version, which includes a re-worked rendition of the single “Kelly Rowland”, now titled “Free Kelly Rowland”, featuring New York-based hip-hop duo Armand Hammer. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.