Oct 12, 2010
By Frank Valish
Issue #33 - Fall 2010 - Interpol
Going into the follow-up to his 2007 smash album Version,
Mark Ronson knew he needed to do something different. Although Ronson's previous production work with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen catapulted him to the forefront of prestigious DJs/producers worldwide, Version established him as an artist in his own right, with its danceable, horn-filled reinterpretations of seminal British songs from the likes of Radiohead, The Jam, and The Smiths. The album was cutting edge, but with its success came a backlash, especially from those who took offense to his genre-hopping covers of what Ronson refers to as beloved sacred cows. More
Oct 11, 2010
By John Everhart (Intro by and Moderated by)
Web Exclusive
Deerhunter and Atlas Sound's Bradford Cox has long professed his love for Stereolab, in particular 1999's Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, his favorite album by the band. He went so far as to effusively explicate upon its merits on a Deerhunter blog post back in 2007. In an impassioned manner akin to the prime years of the fiery late gonzo journalist Lester Bangs, he also excoriated the publications that panned the album. More
Oct 06, 2010
By Laura Studarus
Web Exclusive
Some countries are known exporters. The U.K. has been a rock giant ever since the Fab Four busted out of their borders, Sweden has carved out a notable Scandinavian pop niche, and Canada has been busy breaking social scenes and setting arcades on fire for some time now. But what about other countries whose bands don’t always make it to stateside indie stardom? In such an interconnected world, why are there still large places on the musical map with question marks? On a recent visit to Poland to cover the OFF Festival; Under the Radar set out to fill in some of those blanks. Assisting our exploration were musicians Natalia Fiedorczuk, Jacek Kąkolewski. Both scene stalwarts, and members of Happy Pills—a six piece who take cues from Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Smashing Pumpkins among others—they told us about the Polish music scene, cultural expectations, and their big break in the U.S. that didn’t happen. More
Sep 30, 2010
By Stephen Humphries
Web Exclusive
Legend has it that the apocalypse will be preceded the sound of the hooves of four horsemen. But the British trio BEAK>, fronted by Portishead's Geoff Barrow, creates a Krautrock sound so exquisitely doom-laden that you'd be forgiven for thinking that the end of days are near. More
Sep 30, 2010
By Kyle Lemmon
Web Exclusive
Summer Camp is not a chillwave band. Despite the warm, analog indie-pop tunes coming from the North London-via-Surrey duo, their catchy blend of hazy nostalgia has legs beyond the warm months of June, July, and August. It's the soundtrack to compassionate first kisses, awkward prom portraits, dancing all night long, stupid keggers where you go out of complete boredom, and well, high school in general. Read our interview with Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey. More
Sep 10, 2010
By Frank Valish
Web Exclusive
On the final night of his New York City art show, The Public Hi-Fi Balloon, Robert Pollard agreed to give Under the Radar a glimpse into the process of his collage work and explain what's behind his other artistic passion. More
Aug 23, 2010
By Kyle Lemmon
Web Exclusive
It's hard to think that !!! (Chk-Chk-Chk) have been together for 14 years. That's quite the feat in and of itself. In anticipation of their danceable (of course) fourth LP, Strange Weather, Isn't it?, streeting this week (August 24), we talked to Nic Offer, singer and leader of the NYC/Sacramento/Portland/Pittsburgh band. More
Aug 05, 2010
By Frank Valish (as told to)
Issue #32 - Summer 2010 - Wasted on the Youth
I think Grease was the first film I actually was taken to the cinema to see, which seems kind of bizarre to me because I must have been about three or four years old. More
