John Richards
John Richards is the host and producer of The Morning Show with John on 90.3 FM KEXP Seattle, and online at . He is also KEXP's assistant program director.
Richards is the owner of his own record label (Loveless Records), does A&R work with the TAO Music Group, and undertakes an assortment of music consulting projects. He lives in Seattle, where he has a toddler who loves the Pixies.
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The Little Ones' "Lovers Who Uncover" recalls the work of Built to Spill in more ways than one: It occasionally brings to mind the Idaho rock bands odd sound, but it also spawns a similar sense of excitement and discovery.
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The London duo Johnny Boy releases a single that's as catchy as its title is long. With a sound rooted in '60s pop, the result is an underground rock masterpiece: Sly and timeless, it works on multiple levels.
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El Perro Del Mar could pass for an alternate-universe Motown sensation. Its minimalist sound incorporates touches of jazz and a heavy blend of orchestral strings in a way that finds room for both darkness and uplift. -
Mixing rock, ska, and dance beats, the British band Hard-Fi recalls The Clash's ability to slyly protest the status quo in the context of infectious pop music. "Middle Eastern Holiday" adopts the perspective of a friend going off to fight in Iraq. -
For fans of the great electro-pop bands of the '80s — think New Order, et al — Kicking the National Habit, Grand National's mellow album of orchestral synth-pop, should be a treat. As pop songs go, "Drink to Moving On" is practically perfect.
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Rocky Votolato, former leader of the Seattle band Waxwing, mixes hopeful love songs with biting commentary about the world around him. "White Daisy Passing" is a searingly personal look at fleeting moments and treasured memories, the song wallows in the details of love lost.
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Tapes 'n Tapes' simple pop music treads the line between stupid and clever in a way that's oddly intelligent, not to mention enormously entertaining. The band often mines familiar territory — Talking Heads, Violent Femmes, Pixies — but it infuses those sounds with its own weird sense of mystery and mischief.
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Band of Horses, founded by former Carissa's Wierd [sic] members Benjamin Bridwell and Mat Brooke, makes its debut with an amazing amalgam of psychedelic pop and epic, intense rock that recalls the expansiveness of The Flaming Lips.
