It’s a Japandroids kind of week around KEXP. Today, their debut, Post-Nothing, gets its official label release (on Polyvinyl Records) and the band is also spotlighted in an ABC News/Pitchfork co-produced segment that features footage from their live session at KEXP a short while ago. Not only that, Japandroids are playing the KEXP BBQ this Saturday at the Seattle Center (and did we mention that it’s free?). If you caught them at the Capitol Hill Block Party, you know it’s going to be a fantastic set.

Creaturesque, the latest from Throw Me the Statue, who played last Friday’s Concert at the Mural, also comes out today, as does the latest from Fruit Bats, who expand their sweet pop melodies with influences from classic American rock and Americana. Fans of Interpol should pick up frontman Paul Banks’ debut from his solo project Julian Plenti, and surely Modest Mouse fans are chomping at the bit (or nibbling at the cheese) for the EP of unreleased songs and b-sides, No One’s First, and You’re Next. Besides MM and TMTS aren’t the only great Northwest bands releasing albums this week; check out the latest from Nurses, Desolation Wilderness, and U.S.E. Here are some of the highlights included in Largehearted Boy’s list:

Paul Wagenblast

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Midday Show host Cheryl Waters, is “Man At Arms” by Nurses from the group’s 2009 album Apple’s Acre on Dead Oceans.

Nurses are a feel-good story. A hardworking band with a few smaller releases under their belt, they forged ahead with small PR and a few hot streaks as far as press coverage was concerned. All the while, the trio plied their craft, refined their skills, tightened their melodies, and found their own hollowed niche in which to nest. The hard work is paying off with a new label (Dead Oceans) and a new album (Apple’s Acre). “Man at Arms” finds the threesome existing in a plane many have surrendered to Grizzly Bear, but Nurses offer a bit of old fashioned pop and whimsy mixed in with their flushed out folk melody. As “Man at Arms” — along with the whole of Apple’s Acre — begins to burrow its way into your mushy mind, you’ll soon forget who Nurses sound like and do what good boy and girls do: find all the things that make Nurses unique. Trust us, there’s plenty to be discovered.

With a glance at Nurses’ MySpace page, you’ll be dazzled at just how earnest and hardworking the Portland outfit is. A non-stop touring schedule finds the band hitting Seattle twice: The Vera Project September 22nd with The Brunettes and an October 23rd show with Le Loup at Chop Suey. While you admire and gasp at the August-thru-November schedule ahead for Nurses, may we also give you a video to admire: “Lita Vandango.”

If you’re a KEXP listener residing in Portland, or you find yourself less Block Party-inclined this weekend, don’t miss the sixth annual PDX Pop Now! Festival going down Friday through Sunday at The Rotture. The three-day event is a celebratory showcase of Stumptown’s vibrant and DIY-spirited music scene, with over 40 Portland-area bands playing hour-long, shotgun sets under a single roof. Admission is free, all-ages, and open to the public.

With such notable alumni as The Shins, M. Ward, The Decemberists, Blitzen Trapper, The Helio Sequence, and The Thermals — just to name a few — the festival is a unique chance to catch some incredible bands before they break through, as well get up close with a some more firmly-established acts who’re staying true to their PDX-roots by returning to perform once more. This year’s bill features artists from all sonic corners of Portland’s vast and deep local talent pool, including KEXP regulars like Menomena, Au, and The Shaky Hands performing alongside newer bands like Explode Into Colors, Nurses, and Grouper — all recently named to Willamette Week’s top new bands of 2009 list.

But best of all, the festival represents the awesome end result of the numerous artists, businesses, and volunteers who donated their invaluable time and energy on behalf of championing something special: local art and community. Sound like a familiar cause?

You can find the full weekend lineup below, along with a bunch of free media from some of the performing artists to whet your whistle.

Full Schedule:

Friday July 24

• 6:00-6:30 Dirty Mittens
• 6:40-7:10 The Estranged
• 7:25-7:55 Chamber of Commerce (Blue Cranes + Paxselin Quartet)
• 8:05-8:35 Don Hellions
• 8:50-9:20 Fear No Music
• 9:30-10:00 Peter Broderick
• 10:10-10:40 The Mint Chicks
• 10:55-11:25 Animal Farm
• 11:35-12:05 Explode Into Colors
• 12:15-12:45 The Minus 5

Saturday July 25

• 12:00-12:30 Teeath
• 12:40-1:10 White Hinterland
• 1:20-1:50 Morning Teleportation
• 2:05-2:35 Magic Johnson
• 2:45-3:15 Rob Walmart
• 3:25-3:55 Fist Fite
• 4:10-4:40 Benoit Pioulard
• 4:50-5:20 Breakfast Mountain
• 5:30-6:00 Nucular Aminals
• 6:15-6:45 Luck-One
• 6:55-7:25 Inside Voices
• 7:35-8:05 Red Fang
• 8:20-8:50 Church
• 9:00-9:30 Tara Jane O’Neil
• 9:40-10:10 Deelay Ceelay
• 10:25-10:55 Laura Gibson
• 11:05-11:35 Nice Nice
• 11:45-12:15 Pierced Arrows
• 12:25-12:55 Strength

Sunday, July 26

• 12:00-12:30 Ah Holly Fam’ly
• 12:40-1:10 DASH!
• 1:20-1:50 Guidance Counselor
• 2:05-2:35 The Andrew Oliver Sextet
• 2:45-3:15 The Quick & Easy Boys
• 3:25-3:55 Purple Rhinestone Eagle
• 4:10-4:40 Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
• 4:50-5:20 Daniel Menche
• 5:30-6:00 Jeffrey Jerusalem
• 6:15-6:45 The Old Believers
• 6:55-7:25 MY-G
• 7:35-8:05 Cull
• 8:20-8:50 Grouper
• 9:00-9:30 Nurses
• 9:40-10:10 Thrones
• 10:25-10:55 The Shaky Hands
• 11:05-11:35 Lightheaded
• 11:45-12:15 Au
• 12:25-12:55 Menomena