Mar 07, 2010
By Matt Fink
Fall 2006 - The Decemberists
Though the stigma seems to be lifting-as producers such as Pharrell can make any former teenybopper sound forward thinking and innovative-making pop music can still be a frightening proposition for artists who are ingrained with the mindset that all good music must be difficult to be substantial. For Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, this mindset produces an impulse to apologize for making a record that can be enjoyed on first listen, one that doesn't require any of the details of his rise to fame as a critically adored but deeply troubled artist More
Mar 05, 2010
By Aaron Passman
Web Exclusive
When it came time to craft their latest record, the members of Philadelphia quintet Dr. Dog were shooting for something different. Rather than lay down their latest batch of Beach Boys- and Beatles-inspired psych-pop themselves, as they'd done in the past, singer/guitarist Scott McMicken says the group decided to experiment with outside production. "The studio craft side of it has been as much what we're about as any other thing," says McMicken. More
Feb 01, 2010
By John Everhart
Issue #30 - Winter 2010 - Vampire Weekend
When Owen Pallett opened for Grizzly Bear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in early 2009, it was evident from the songs he was debuting that something special was in the works. More
Feb 01, 2010
By Matt Fink
Issue #30 - Winter 2010 - Vampire Weekend
One of the very few artists who can claim to have worked with a handful of both her generation's most acclaimed directors and musicians, with Michel Gondry and Lars von Trier rubbing elbows with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon on her resume, Charlotte Gainsbourg has lived a truly charmed life. More
Feb 01, 2010
By John Everhart
Issue #30 - Winter 2010 - Vampire Weekend
Backstage at Avi Buffalo's show at Brooklyn's Bell House, where the Long Beach band is opening for Sub Pop label mates Vetiver, the scene more closely resembles the innocence of a middle school dance than the debauchery of a rock show. More
Jan 22, 2010
By Laura Studarus
Web Exclusive
"We're a bunch of idiots! We definitely mix that into what we do because that's who we are," confesses Clare and the Reasons' frontwoman Clare Muldaur. "We take the music we do very very, very seriously, but we don't take ourselves that seriously." More
Jan 14, 2010
By Laura Leebove
Web Exclusive
Since its 2005 Columbia debut Thunder, Lightning, Strike!, The Go! Team has built up a reputation for super-energetic vocalist Ninja's chants mixed with samples compiled by frontman Ian Parton. 2007's Proof of Youth (Sub Pop) found the British band taking a more melodic approach, and the still-to-be-named third LP, which Parton says will likely be out sometime in the spring, is headed in the same direction. More
Jan 05, 2010
By Laura Studarus
Issue #30 - Winter 2010 - Vampire Weekend
Recounting Casiokids 2009 schedule, frontman Ketil Kinden Endresen sounds a bit tired, despite being on break from tour duties. "We played 170 shows in 18 countries. It came as a surprise because the year before that we played maybe 35, 40 concerts!" he explains in quiet awe, speaking from his hometown of Bergen, Norway. More
Jan 05, 2010
By Chris Tinkham
Tegan and Sara Quin are sitting together in the artists lounge at Warner Bros. Records in Burbank when they're pitched a fantasy film premise. More
Jan 03, 2010
By Frank Valish
Web Exclusive
When Under the Radar was doing research for the retrospective on Swedish music of the 2000s that is featured in our Year-End issue, we stumbled upon the juicy tidbit of information that Gothenburg's Love Is All was back in the studio recording. And when we spoke to singer/songwriter Josephine Olausson for said retrospective, we found out that the album was already finished. Graciously, and without being given prior warning, Olausson agreed to give Under the Radar the scoop on the band's forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album. Album number three is scheduled for Spring 2010. More
