The Pharmacy On The Rise On NPR's World Cafe!

"The Pharmacy recently released its fourth studio album, Stoned and Alone. For this project, its members collaborated with producer Brandon Eggleston, who has worked with Modest Mouse and tUnE-yArDs, among others. Most of the album's songs were written while The Pharmacy was on tour, where its members spend most of their time. This episode ofWorld Cafe: Next features tracks from Stoned and Alone." Listen now on World Cafe!

NPR Premieres Jason Lytle and Sea of Bees' New Covers!

"According to legend, once in each millennium, the Music Gods come together and, after much debate, agree to bestow a single magical gift upon the world — a song or album or project so breathtaking, it leaves throngs of people weeping in the streets at its splendor and forever changes the way we hear music. That time is now, as Jason Lytle and Sea of Bees have opted to cover each other's songs." Listen now on NPR!

Lightning Love On NPR's World Cafe!

"Lightning Love released its third record, Blonde Album, in August. The disc features songs with heavy synths and catchy piano parts, which form unexpectedly charming, twee pop tunes when combined with Diehl's chirpy vocals and brooding lyrics. This segment of World Cafe: Next features two songs from Blonde Album: "Awkward" and "Together," as well as a free download of the song "Deadbeat." Listen now on NPR!

Dana Falconberry's New Song "Birch Bark" Included In NPR's Fall Preview

All Songs Considered offers up Dana Falconberry's "Birch Bark" from her new album "Leelanau". Listen to it now over on NPR. 

NPR's Got Pure Bathing Culture's "Lucky One" On Heavy Rotation!

"When Sarah Versprille and Dan Hindman relocated to Portland last year, it was in part to record with Oregon producer Richard Swift. The result was the four-song EP, Pure Bathing Culture. The pair's first live shows around Portland created no small amount of buzz here. The band has since expanded to a quartet, while they work on their first full-length record. Infused with breezy vocals and ringing guitar lines that make it a very tasty summertime listen, the song is making quite an impression on our listeners." Listen here. 

Eliza Rickman's " A Cockeyed Pop Song" Song Of The Day On NPR

"Eliza Rickman's "Pretty Little Head" is simple yet intricate, a contradiction which helps give it the feel of a nursery rhyme that's just starting to teeter off the rails. Except for the bridge, it's built entirely around two chords, a minor/relative-major pair that trade off inexorably in two-bar cycles without regard to differentiating between the verse and the chorus." Listen on NPR here.

NPR Music Premieres Spinto Band's "The Living Things" Video

"Can a song that's about the fragility of life and the struggle to survive make you want to bounce around merrily? Somehow the Spinto Band's new song, "The Living Things," does just that. The song's lyrics that on their own could seem depressing — "true to life and in the flesh / though hanging on by just a thread" for example — are pushed aside by the jangly afrobeat-like melody. It's a song that, even though lead singer Nick Krill's voice wails about how he'll "be no good," leaves you with your toes tapping and a smile on your face." Read on and watch the video on NPR.

Sea Of Bees' "Orangefarben" Streaming Now On NPR!

"It's hard to imagine packing more heartache into a single record than Julie Ann Bee does on Orangefarben. The album, her second full-length under the name Sea of Bees, is a collection of intimate, sometimes gut-wrenching love letters documenting the dissolution of a passionate but doomed relationship. This is Bee's heart laid bare: The songs are raw, personal and burning with love, sex, longing and grief." Listen now on NPR.

The Loom Featured On NPR's World Cafe

"Recorded in New York, the record is fast and full of folk rock crafted with all the weapons in The Loom's extensive arsenal: banjo, trumpet, ukulele, French horn and mandolin, to name a few. The result is an album that alternates between modern and retro, with a sensibility that's right for autumn." Listen to two songs off of The Loom's Debut now over on NPR.

NPR Mines The Pacific Northwest for Metal

The Seattle quartet Triumph Of Lethargy Skinned Alive To Death is one of many Pacific Northwest bands currently featured on NPR's extensive mix of notable metal bands. "While the Pacific Northwest has always had a plethora of heavy-hitting musical options to plunder, there's a bit of a renaissance going on today, especially when it comes to doom, sludge and stoner metal. As the producer and host of Seek & Destroy, KEXP's hard-rock and metal show, I've tried to highlight some of the most promising bands from our region." Listen to the complete metal mix right here on NPR.

NPR Premier: Tasseomancy "Heavy Sleep" video

NPR premiered the brand new video for Tasseomancy today! "['Heavy Sleep'] is about how terror is extracted from our daily anxieties," Sari Lightman says. "And [then] manifests into something beautifully surreal in sleep."

Watch Sea Of Bees perform a Tiny SXSW Concert at NPR's All Songs Considered Blog!!

"Sea Of Bees, the musical project of Julie Ann Bee, stopped by NPR Music's room at The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, during SXSW 2011. With her backing band in tow, she blasted a little beauty for us — and now you. Watch the band perform a stripped-down and woozy rendition of "Gnomes," from her album Songs for the Ravens." Head over to NPR to see the performance!

Two new Sea Of Bees videos!

From NPR: "One of my Top 10 artists of 2010, Sea of Bees, has a new video for "Willis," from last year's thrilling, experimental rock and pop album Songs for the Ravens."

From The London Guardian: "Live, however, the tracks from her debut album, Songs for the Ravens, are given a more playful spin with Baenziger introducing each one with carefree anecdotes and drunken psychobabble. This part of her personality is brought to the fore in this Guardian exclusive of her new video for Sidepain, a song inspired by Jenny Lewis. It's a simple idea: Baenziger plays up to the camera before a host of mates join her to gurn, mug and stand in a line. The song is a joyful shuffle, anchored by the lovely closing statement: "You're the sweetest pain in my side."

Sea Of Bees named to NPR's Robin Hilton's Top 10 of 2010, sign with the Windish Agency

Well, Jules from Sea Of Bees just put the cherry on the sunday that has been 2010! Her debut album, Songs For The Ravens from Crossbill Records, won the hearts of many. She signed on with Heavenly in Europe, toured around the US and the UK and wound up #8 of the top ten records of the year from NPR's Robin Hilton. Then, to top that all off, she's gone and signed with the Windish Agency for US tours. We couldn't be more proud!

Rachel Flotard discusses at length what it means to be a woman in the music biz with NPR.

"Hey Ladies: Being A Woman Musician Today" at NPR

Visqueen and frontwoman, Rachel Flotard, capped off an amazing year last night opening for Vampire Weekend and Muse at Seattle's "Deck The Hall Ball!"

As you're reading this, Rachel Flotard from Visqueen is somewhere over the Pacific en route to Laos to deliver much needed aid to schoolchildren. This past couple weeks have been the icing on the cake for an amazing return to form for her and her band Visqueen!

On monday, she was interviewed by NPR's Ari Shapiro on Morning Edition. Later that same day, Stephen Thompson (NPR's Music Editor) on All Songs Considered named Visqueen's Message To Garcia 2009's Biggest Surprise of the Year! Tuesday rolls around and the band plays Seattle's Deck The Hall Ball to about 7000 people as the only local band on a lineup that included Muse and Vampire Weekend. Then this morning, she flew out on her aid trip to Laos with a few thousand dollars to pave the school's floors and twenty suitcases full of school and medical supplies for her return trip to Ban Na Mouang.

When she returns in a month, Visqueen plans to tour the entire US with stops at Noise Pop and SXSW...

All images copyright Curt Doughty

Visqueen - NPR Song Of The Day and Huffington Post!

The past two days have been big days for Rachel Flotard and Visqueen. Yesterday an amazing article came out in Huffington Post on her, the band, her new label, her new record and more... Read it here!

Then, this morning, the fine folks at NPR named "Hand Me Down" the Song of the Day. Yeah!