Oct 07, 2011
By Ben Schumer
Moonface
Spencer Krug is a restless man who has never been shy about his myriad ambitions or apologized for them. His two bands—Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown—have been parked under “indefinite hiatus” for the foreseeable future. With his two beloved bands on the backburner, Krug is content to let his muse carry him wherever it may go. His perpetual creative momentum has led him to creating the alias Moonface which Krug hopes will help him avoid creative stagnancy. His debut LP as Moonface, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped, is full of warm, buzzing organ drones, cascading melodic figures, analog beats and loops, but, as the title suggests, no vibraphone. More
Sep 12, 2011
By Ben Schumer
Handsome Furs
Over the past few years, Handsome Furs—Dan Boeckner and his wife, Alexei Perry—have toured through regions of the world rarely ever visited by Western bands (Poland, Myanmar, Yugoslavia, China, etc.). As a result, they’ve been exposed to things about which we North Americans know little to nothing. Their third LP, Sound Kapital, finds the duo embracing the role they refer to as “closet journalists,” and as a result, morphing into a political band. More
Sep 09, 2011
By John Norris
Web Exclusive
Ask a blog-approved artist these days what bands from yesteryear were especially influential on them, and you’ll often hear names like Galaxie 500, Spaceman 3, Orange Juice, The Cure, OMD, the evergreen MBV and Joy Division, and so on. More
Aug 30, 2011
By Laura Studarus
Niki & the Dove
Niki & The Dove seem somewhat otherworldly, delivering larger-than-life tunes built around multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Karlöf’s complex webs of electronics and singer Malin Dahlström’s oversized voice and ambitious storytelling. But, speaking from Dover, England over a cup of tea, the two best friends from Sweden chalk up their partnership not to the hands of fate or other supernatural forces, but rather a gradual evolution. “We had sporadically been making music together over the years,” says Dahlström, dispelling the idea that their current musical constellation simply fell from the heavens. More
Aug 19, 2011
By Kyle Lemmon
Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper‘s gnarled musical roots are so diverse and far-reaching that when they make a “back to their roots” album such as American Goldwing it’s not a retread of past glories. Instead, the Portland, Oregon quintet’s sixth album is another delightful tinkering with the dusty engine of Americana music. These Pacific Northwestern mechanics aren’t interested in admiring from afar. They get on their backs and give the old jalopy a much-needed overhaul. (It comes as no surprise to learn that singer/songwriter/guitarist Eric Earley’s father was a musician-cum-mechanic.) More
Aug 12, 2011
By Kenny S. McGuane
Web Exclusive
It’s been over three years since Hercules and Love Affair released their sophisticated and captivating self-titled debut. Hercules and Love Affair was one of 2008’s most talked about records; disco-revivalism at its finest, indeed. Their sophomore album, Blue Songs (released this past January in the U.K.) is finally coming to America on August 16th. Hercules and Love Affair’s mastermind, New York City-based DJ Andy Butler, was gracious enough to give Under the Radar a few minutes in between shows on their European tour to talk (briefly) about Blue Songs, its delayed stateside release, Greek mythology, and his personal affection for Chicago house. More
Aug 05, 2011
By Frank Valish
Jonny
Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub) and Euros Childs (Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci) have been friends since the mid-‘90s, and their debut collaboration as Jonny is everything one might expect from the meeting of such songwriting minds. Blake and Childs spoke with Under the Radar about their self-titled debut and what’s next. More
Jul 19, 2011
By Laura Studarus
Web Exclusive
Mash-up maestro Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis), is no stranger to the stage. Relentlessly touring behind his fifth album All Day, the cut-up artist commands audience attention with just his laptop and a single goal: to get butts on the dance floor. In honor of our recent Music vs. Comedy issue, Under the Radar quizzed Gillis about the surprising connections between his art and the art of laughter. More
Jul 15, 2011
By Kyle Lemmon
Com Truise
Electronic artists are often judged by the “warmth” of their sounds. Princeton, New Jersey synth-wave revivalist Com Truise (aka Seth Haley) knows this all too well and went straight to the source of all that analog warmth: the Reagan era. More
