Madeline Kenney | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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14 Best Songs of the Last Two Weeks: Yard Act, A. Savage, Snõõper, Say Sue Me, and More

Plus Coach Party, Jamila Woods, Metric, and a Wrap-up of the Last Two Weeks’ Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 14, 2023

Welcome to the 24th Songs of the Week of 2023. We didn’t do a Songs of the Week last week because of the July 4th holiday falling on a Tuesday, leaving less songs to consider. So, this week’s Songs of the Week is supersized and incorporates tracks from the last two weeks. More

Jul 13, 2023

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney is releasing a new album, A New Reality Mind. Now she has shared its third and final pre-release single, “Plain Boring Disaster,” via a lyric video. More

13 Best Songs of the Week: Ratboys, Madeline Kenney, Alan Palomo, This Is the Kit, and More

Plus Lightning Dust, Glasser, Julie Byrne, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jun 09, 2023

Welcome to the 21st Songs of the Week of 2023. The theme this week was horns, three of the songs in the Top 4 feature some sort of brass instrument (saxophone, etc.). Stricken with indecision, we settled on a Top 13 this week. More

Jun 08, 2023

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney is releasing a new album, A New Reality Mind, on July 28 via Carpark. Now she has shared its second single, “I Drew a Line,” via a self-directed music video. She’s also announced some new tour dates. More

12 Best Songs of the Week: Decisive Pink, Christine and the Queens, Local Natives, and More

Plus Madeline Kenney, CJ’s Mirra Maze, Sparks, Youth Lagoon, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

May 12, 2023

Welcome to the 17th Songs of the Week of 2023. This week we had an obvious #1, a clear highlight to top the list. But there were plenty of other solid tracks too, including three from newly announced albums. More

May 11, 2023

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney has announced a new album, A New Reality Mind, and shared its first single, “Superficial Conversation,” via a self-directed music video. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Cate Le Bon, Big Thief, Alex Cameron, Madeline Kenney, and More

Plus Sweeping Promises, Just Mustard, Aeon Station, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Nov 19, 2021

Welcome to the 44th Songs of the Week of 2021. It was a fairly slow week for new songs, perhaps with Thanksgiving impending next week, but we found 10 we liked. More

Nov 17, 2021

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney has shared a new song, “I’ll Get Over It.” More

Under the Radar Announces The Protest Issue with Japanese Breakfast and HAIM on the Covers

Issue 68 Out Now and Also Includes Julien Baker, Wolf Alice, Tegan and Sara, Arlo Parks, Fleet Foxes, Jessie Ware, Shamir, Lucy Dacus, Valerie June, David Byrne, Julian Casablancas, and Much More

Apr 21, 2021

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, which is out now nationwide (on newsstands, in such stores as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and elsewhere) and available to buy directly from us here. The issue features Japanese Breakfast and HAIM on the two covers and is another edition of The Protest Issue, which examines the intersection of music and politics and features musicians photographed with protest signs of their own making. More

12 Best Songs of the Last Two Weeks: Squid, Baio, Bernice, serpentwithfeet, and More

Plus Madeline Kenney, Ohtis, Tune-Yards, Arlo Parks, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jan 29, 2021

Welcome to the third Songs of the Week of 2021. We didn’t do a Songs of the Week last week. Due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the inauguration, it was a week light on compelling new tracks. So this week we chronicle the best songs of the last two weeks, so it’s a Top 12 (and our Top 2 are both super long songs). More

Jan 22, 2021

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney has released a new self-produced EP titled Summer Quarter via Carpark. Kenney has also shared a self-directed video for the EP’s “Wasted Time,” which was shot at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Loma, Everything Everything, Angel Olsen, Madeline Kenney, and More

Plus Wye Oak, Ela Minus, Glass Animals, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 31, 2020

Welcome to the 30th Songs of the Week of 2020. This week President Trump suggested that November’s election be pushed back, something he thankfully has no authority to do. Meanwhile on the same day three other living presidents were honoring the late Congressman John Lewis, with President Barack Obama’s moving eulogy offering a stark contrast to the current commander in chief. More

Jul 31, 2020

Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney has released a new album, Sucker’s Lunch, today via Carpark. Now that it’s out you can stream the whole thing below. Today we posted our review of the album and you can read that here. More

Jul 28, 2020

Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney is releasing a new album, Sucker’s Lunch, this Friday via Carpark. Now she has shared one last pre-release single from it, “White Window Light.” She has also shared a new live video for the song. More

9 Best Songs of the Week: Madeline Kenney, METZ, Bartees Strange, Taylor Swift, and More

Plus Wye Oak, Hoops, Death Valley Girls, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 24, 2020

Welcome to the 29th Songs of the Week of 2020, the most exhausting year in recent memory. President Trump finally wore a mask and kind of admitted that things weren’t going so great in the fight against COVID-19 here in America. It seems inevitable that they are going to need to shut the economy down again if we are to get this thing under control—close the bars, restaurants, and beaches again for starters. Will it happen? More

Jul 21, 2020

Pictures tend to bring back memories. But if you’re looking at a picture of your lover, they often just lead you to wonder: who were you? And how did you end up this way? In “Picture of You,” Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney asks these questions on the track off her forthcoming album Sucker’s Lunch, out July 31 via Carpark. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Sufjan Stevens, This Is the Kit, Bill Callahan, Lonnie Holley, and More

Plus Ganser, Glass Animals, NZCA LINES, Fear of Men, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 03, 2020

Welcome to the 26th Songs of the Week of 2020. Tomorrow is Independence Day here in America, but it’s hard to feel overly patriotic this year with the Trump administration continuing to botch the response to the pandemic and with so much to fix in this country—including systemic racism, police brutality, gun reform, climate change, and wealth inequality, to name just a handful of challenges. More

Madeline Kenney Shares Cooking-Themed Lyric Video for New Song “Double Hearted”

Sucker’s Lunch Due Out July 31 via Carpark; Album Produced by Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack of Wye Oak

Jun 30, 2020

Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney is releasing a new album, Sucker’s Lunch, on July 31 via Carpark. Now she has shared another song from it, “Double Hearted,” via a lyric video for the track that features a fruity dessert being made. More

Madeline Kenney – COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check In

“The government’s quick and militant response to Black Lives Matter protests versus the slow and ineffective response to COVID-19 really has shown where their priorities lie.”

Jun 12, 2020

We are checking in with musicians during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to see how they are dealing with everything. What has their home quarantine experience been like so far and how is the crisis impacting both their career and art? Here we check in with Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Madeline Kenney, Wilco, Phoebe Bridgers, Deradoorian, and More

Plus Khruangbin, Sad13, Sondre Lerche, Owen Pallett, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

May 22, 2020

Welcome to the nineteenth Songs of the Week of 2020. It’s another week under quarantine, the same as the last week. This week we were quite indecisive about our favorite songs and even polled our readers on Facebook and Twitter, which helped a little. More

Madeline Kenney Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song “Sucker” (Feat. Kurt Wagner)

Sucker’s Lunch Due Out July 31 via Carpark; Album Produced by Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack of Wye Oak

May 19, 2020

Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney has announced a new album, Sucker’s Lunch, and shared its first single, “Sucker,” via a self-directed video for the track. “Sucker” features guest vocals from Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner and the album was produced by Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack of Wye Oak. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Weyes Blood, Tamaryn, Wye Oak, Broken Social Scene, and More

Plus Jessie Ware, Drugdealer, Jenny Lewis, SASAMI, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Feb 15, 2019

It was pretty rough week to be a Ryan Adams fan. We won’t regurgitate the details, but if you haven’t already done so then you should read The New York Times article detailing the sexual misconduct allegations made against him by Mandy Moore, Phoebe Bridgers, and several other women. More

Flock of Dimes (Jenn Wasner) and Madeline Kenney Share New Songs, Announce Joint Tour

Split 7-Inch Out Now via Carpark; Listen to “The Sisters” and “Helpless”

Feb 11, 2019

Madeline Kenney released her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, last October via Carpark. Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes produced the album and now the two have teamed up again for a split 7-inch and a joint tour. Wasner contributes “The Sisters” under her Flock of Dimes alias, whereas Kenney’s song is entitled “Helpless.” More

My Favorite New Band: Madeline Kenney on Dante High

"I'm hesitant to use regular music verbiage to describe it... so I made a pie chart instead."

Nov 16, 2018

For My Favorite New Band we ask an established artist to tell us about their favorite new artist. This installment is by Madeline Kenney, who writes about Dante High. More

Joint Album of the Week: Madeline Kenney and Phosphorescent

Perfect Shapes Out Now via Carpark and C'est La Vie Out Now via Dead Oceans

Oct 05, 2018

This week we have a tie for Album of the Week, with both Madeline Kenney‘s Perfect Shapes and Phosphorescent‘s C’est La Vie taking the top spot. Below is info on both albums.

10 Best Songs of the Week: Courtney Barnett, Phosphorescent, Julia Jacklin, and More

Plus Moonface, Thom Yorke, Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Oct 05, 2018

This week Sharon Van Etten and Moonface announced new albums and their lead singles both made this week’s Songs of the Week list. Joining them are new standalone singles from Julia Jacklin, Jessie Ware, and SOAK, as well as some singles from upcoming albums, and an eight-minute album track. But our #1 this week is a bonus track that probably shouldn’t have been cut from an album released earlier this year. More

Underrated Album: Madeline Kenney on Paul Simon’s “One-Trick Pony”

Underrated Album, Madeline Kenney, Paul Simon, One-Trick Pony

Oct 05, 2018

Madeline Kenney released her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, today via Carpark. In this guest post for us, she writes about one of her personal favorite albums, an album she considers underrated, Paul Simon’s 1980 album One-Trick Pony. More

Madeline Kenney – Stream the New Album

Perfect Shapes Out Now via Carpark

Oct 05, 2018

Madeline Kenney released her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, today via Carpark. Now that the album is out, you can stream the whole thing here. More

Madeline Kenney Shares New Song “Perfect Shapes”

Perfect Shapes Due Out This Friday via Carpark

Oct 01, 2018

Madeline Kenney is releasing her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, this Friday (October 5) via Carpark. Now she has shared another new song from the album, the slow burning title track “Perfect Shapes.” More

12 Best Songs of the Week: Kurt Vile, Villagers, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Low, and More

Plus Danielson, Jungle, Django Django, Farao, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Sep 14, 2018

We spent the week wondering if Hurricane Florence was going to hit us here at our headquarters in Southwest Virginia. Lucky for us, it seems to have angled further south, and while we may still get some heavy rains and winds in the coming days and week, it likely won’t be as devastating to Virginia as feared. More

Madeline Kenney Shares New Song “Bad Idea”

Perfect Shapes Due Out October 5 via Carpark

Sep 12, 2018

Madeline Kenney is releasing her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, on October 5 via Carpark. Now she has shared another new song from the album, “Bad Idea,” via a lyric video. Listen and watch below, followed by her upcoming tour dates. More

11 Best Songs of the Last Two Weeks: Richard Reed Parry, Low, Kurt Vile, Suede, and More

Plus Cat Power, Wild Nothing, Still Corners, Mitski, Madeline Kenney, and a Wrap-up of the Last Two Weeks' Other Notable New Tracks

Aug 17, 2018

We took a break from Songs of the Week last week due to a little vacation by our publishers. So this week we are compiling the best songs of the last two weeks. Hence we couldn’t contain the list to our usual Top 10, although we didn’t do too badly, only expanding to a Top 11 and a few more honorable mentions than usual. More

Madeline Kenney Shares a Haunted Video for New Song “Overhead”

Perfect Shapes Due Out October 5 via Carpark

Aug 15, 2018

Madeline Kenney is releasing her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, on October 5 via Carpark. Previously she shared a video for its first single, “Cut Me Off” (which was our #1 Song of the Week). Now she has shared another new song from the album, “Overhead,” via a self-directed video. More

10 Best Songs of the Week: Madeline Kenney, Campdogzz, John Grant, Suede, and More

Plus The Lemon Twigs, Christine and the Queens, Phantastic Ferniture, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Jul 13, 2018

Hello again. We haven’t done a Songs of the Week for almost five weeks, since June 9. We were on vacation from mid to late June and then when we returned there really weren’t enough compelling songs last week to justify doing Songs of the Week lists, mainly because of the July 4th holiday being smack dab in the middle of the week and so labels mainly avoided sharing new songs. More

Jul 11, 2018

Madeline Kenney has announced her sophomore album, Perfect Shapes, and shared a video for its first single, “Cut Me Off.” Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes produced the album, which is due out October 5 via Carpark. More

Under the Radar Announces Spring 2018 Issue with Courtney Barnett on the Cover

Issue 63 Also Includes Interviews with MGMT, The Decemberists, Belle & Sebastian, The National, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Fleet Foxes, Parquet Courts, Noel Gallagher, Spoon, and More

Mar 28, 2018

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our Spring 2018 Issue, which is out now digitally via Under the Radar’s app and the magazine apps Readly and Zinio. The print version has shipped out to subscribers and stores and will be on all newsstands soon. The issue features Courtney Barnett on the cover. More

9 Best Songs of the Week: Jack White, Madeline Kenney, Field Music, Jay Som, and More

Plus Lord Huron, Kevin Morby and Waxahatchee, Franz Ferdinand, Loma, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks

Jan 26, 2018

After two weeks of a plethora of tracks vying to be one of our Songs of the Week, this week the pickings were slimmer. Thus this week we have only nine best songs, instead of 10. There were also a lot of covers this week. More

Jan 25, 2018

Madeline Kenney released her debut album, Night Night at the First Landing, back in September via Company. Now she has shared a brand new song, “Still Learning.” It features Naytronix (aka Nate Brenner of Tune-Yards) and is out now via Carpark. More

Under the Radar’s Top 15 Debut Albums of 2017

Our Favorite First Full-Lengths From the Last Year

Dec 31, 2017

The majority of 2017’s best debut albums came from female artists or bands fronted by women, from London-based all-female indie-pop teenaged trio Girl Ray and Syria-born singer/songwriter Bedouine (aka Azniv Korkejian) to Australian indie rocker Alex Lahey and New Zealand bedroom pop artist Fazerdaze (aka Amelia Murray). Midnight Sister, Priests, and Charly Bliss are all female-fronted bands as well, on top of other women solo artists on our Top 15 Debut Albums of 2017 list. More

Madeline Kenney Shares Self-Directed Video for “Witching Hour”

Night Night at the First Landing Out Now via Company

Dec 13, 2017

Madeline Kenney released her debut album, Night Night at the First Landing, back in September via Company. Now she has shared a video for “Witching Hour.” Kenney self-directed the video, which is a split-screen affair showing Kenney sing the song on one side of the screen, while shots of friends, skateboarding, and a city appear on the other side of the screen. More

Listen: Madeline Kenney – “Medusa’s Outhouse” (Cass McCombs Cover)

Night Night at the First Landing Out Now via Company

Nov 21, 2017

Madeline Kenney released her debut album, Night Night at the First Landing, back in September via Company. Now she has shared a new cover of Cass McCombs’ “Medusa’s Outhouse,” which is not found on her debut album. More

Watch: Toro Y Moi - “No Show” Video

Boo Boo Out Now via Carpark

Nov 16, 2017

Toro Y Moi released a new album, Boo Boo, way back in July via Carpark. Previously he shared a retro ‘80s-esque video for its first single, “Girl Like You,” as well as a video for “You and I.” Now many months later he has shared a video for the album’s “No Show.” More

Sep 18, 2017

Madeline Kenney released her debut album, Night Night at the First Landing, at the beginning of the month via Company. Previously “Rita” was one of our Songs of the Week, and we also shared another song from the album, “Big One” (which was also one of our Songs of the Week). More

Eight Best Songs of the Week: Julien Baker, The War on Drugs, LCD Soundsystem, Wolf Alice, and More

Plus Alvvays, Ariel Pink, Yumi Zouma, Madeline Kenney, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Aug 18, 2017

Charlottesville, Virginia is only just over an hour a way from Under the Radar‘s headquarters. It’s the best local city to see shows in and it’s a great little progressive college town that we visit often. So we watched in horror, disbelief, and disgust last weekend as the violent and tragic events in Charlottesville surrounding the white supremacist rally dominated the news. More

Madeline Kenney Shares “Big One” and Announces Tour Dates

Night Night at the First Landing Due Out September 1 via Company

Aug 15, 2017

Madeline Kenney‘s upcoming debut album, Night Night at the First Landing, was produced by Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bear (formerly known as Chaz Bundick), but there’s nothing chillwave or dance-y about it. More

Six Best Songs of the Week: Grizzly Bear, Algiers, Radiohead, HAIM, and More

Plus UNKLE, Madeline Kenney, and a Wrap-up of the Week's Other Notable New Tracks

Jun 23, 2017

To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last seven days, we have picked the seven best this week had to offer, along with highlighting other notable new tracks shared this week. More



Interviews

Madeline Kenney on “Sucker’s Lunch”

Finally Writing That Love Song

Jan 21, 2021

Madeline Kenney didn’t recognize herself—or at least her work. More

Madeline Kenney – COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check In

“The government’s quick and militant response to Black Lives Matter protests versus the slow and ineffective response to COVID-19 really has shown where their priorities lie.”

Jun 12, 2020

We are checking in with musicians during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to see how they are dealing with everything. What has their home quarantine experience been like so far and how is the crisis impacting both their career and art? Here we check in with Oakland, CA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney. More

2017 Artist Survey: Madeline Kenney

Kenney on Trump's First Year in Office, Her Best and Worst Dates, the Fyre Fest, and Weird British TV

Jan 11, 2018

For Under the Radar‘s 15th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the last year. We asked them about their favorite albums of the year and their thoughts on various notable 2017 news stories involving either the music industry or world events, as well as some quirkier personal questions. More

Madeline Kenney

Renaissance Woman

Nov 15, 2017

“We’re all just an amalgamation of salt ions and that’s pretty cool,” Madeline Kenney says over the phone from her Oakland, California home. It’s not a line you’d necessarily expect to hear from a musician, but Kenney is hardly your average singer/songwriter. More


Reviews

Jul 28, 2023

Madeline Kenney’s music is all about subtleties. Her songs resist the easy path of effortless hooks, instead finding their greatest successes in twisting rhythms, swirling harmonics, and evocative textures. Her melodies are curious and restless, yet they often resolve to silken conclusions, layered into celestial musical passages. More

Oct 11, 2018

Hot on the heels of last year’s Night Night at the First Landing, Oakland, CA native Madeline Kenney returns with a kinder, gentler, and more eclectic collection of songs she calls Perfect Shapes. More