Denver-based punk group Dead Pioneers recently released their second album, PO$T AMERICAN, on Hassle Records. They’ve been opening for Pearl Jam on their U.S. tour this spring.

KEXP’s Dusty Henry caught up with lead vocalist Gregg Deal to discuss the band’s rapid success, how their new album portrays disillusionment with modern America, and how the band reclaims and recontextualizes Indigenous representation seen in media – from Dances with Wolves through One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. In a divided moment in history, PO$T AMERICAN feels perfectly timed for imperfect times.

“I know that there are different mediums out there that exist to create places of safety and understanding and articulation of frustration,” Deal says in the interview. “I know music is one of those places, I know art is one of those places, and I am grateful to have any part in either of those things.”

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Photo by Carlos Cruz

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Emily Fox, host of A Deeper Listen and Sound & Vision, is taking maternity leave form now until the fall. Before she left, shared an essay about why she went to Las Vegas sober and 8 months pregnant to see Pitbull in concert and why she thinks Pitbull deserves “a deeper listen.”

Best wishes to Emily and her family! In the meantime, the A Deeper Listen feed will continue to stay active with stories from the editorial team and guest host Roddy Nikpour. Keep it tuned in here and thanks for supporting A Deeper Listen.

Photo by Scott Legato

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SASAMI has just released a new pop album called Blood on the Silver Screen. While her first record fell in the indie rock realm and her second album had a lot of metal influence, this album represents another left turn. SASAMI talks with Emily Fox about what draws her to make music from so many different genres, and how her family’s story of immigration and involvement in unconventional religious communities might have impacted her self-described identity as a “weirdo outsider.”

“As long as they're okay with me finding my own path, which they have really been supportive of as I've gotten older," SASAMI says. "For them, it was getting mass married in Madison Square Garden. For me, it's playing with a metal band."

Photo by Andrew Thomas Huang

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On this week’s episode, songwriter Ela Minus talks with KEXP's Albina Cabrera about her new album, DÍA—a fully nomadic project with songs written and recorded between Mexico, Seattle, and her native Colombia. With DÍA, she steps away from her analog era and embraces everything at hand: broken microphones, acoustic instruments, and digital synths. It’s a search for freedom that began the moment she left her comfort zone. The album is out now via Domino Records.

Photo by Alvaro Ariso

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Mike Hadreas of Perfume Genius talks with Emily Fox about how his inner fears, struggles with mental health, paranoid fantasies and reflections on gay lust and love show up on his latest album, Glory.

“I think I was just really afraid and I felt really tender and mortal and the world felt really fragile and scary and I couldn't figure out how to move through it very well,” Hadreas says speaking writing through depression. "And I didn't really know how to hold all of these things that I was feeling and move towards getting out of my head. I was just kind of stuck.”

Photo by Cody Critcheloe

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Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist talks through the many practices at Spotify over the years that have impacted independent musicians-- from outsourcing stock music Spotify pays a lower royalty rate for and flooding Spotify's in-house playlists with that stock music, to paying artists a 30% lower royalty rate in exchange for promotion on Spotify.

Then, guitarist and independent musician Lance Allen talks about how he was able to pay off his mortgage and buy a car off Spotify royalties and how he’s continued to find success on the music streaming service.

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Songwriter Lucy Dacus talks about her new album, Forever Is A Feeling. In conversation with Emily Fox, she discusses everything from love, lyricism, and making conscious decisions to step away from boygenius and her solo work to find balance and stillness. She also breaks down some of her favorite songs and lyrical moments on the new record.

“I keep saying this, how you spend your time is how you spent your life. And that has been a really profound cliche to remember,” Dacus says. “You're in charge of your time more than you realize.”

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Valerie and Veronica Tapacio left their corporate day jobs to dedicate their time to their Seattle band, La Fonda and their vintage clothing shop, Delusional Bird, which is named after one of their songs. Last year was the first year they made more money doing music and running their business than they did at their 8-5 desk jobs. The sisters talk about how their father’s detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2008 forced them into corporate work early and how the pandemic helped them reevaluate their life and priorities.

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