Dec 14, 2009 By Jim Scott Web Exclusive

After their 2006 album Alligator, it seemed as though Brooklyn-based The National had achieved breakout status. Almost exactly a year later, however, the band released the stunning Boxer, and the band was suddenly ubiquitous, a popular and critical favorite. More

Dec 11, 2009 By Under the Radar Staff Web Exclusive

Under the Radar’s Best of the Decade/Year-End Issue features our Best of the Decade Artist Survey. For Under the Radar’s 7th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the last decade and asked them for a list of their best albums of the decade. Some of the surveys didn’t make it in the issue and some answers from surveys that did make it in the issue had to be trimmed for space. Here's a Top 10 Best of the Decade list from Joseph D'Agostino of Cymbals Eat Guitars. More

Dec 11, 2009 By Under the Radar Staff Web Exclusive

Under the Radar's Best of the Decade/Year-End Issue features our Best of the Decade Artist Survey. For Under the Radar's 7th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the last decade and asked them for a list of their best albums of the decade. Some of the surveys didn't make it in the issue and some answers from surveys that did make it in the issue had to be trimmed for space. Those surveys and answers are posted on our website. Here is a web-exclusive survey from Robin Jones and John Maclean of The Aliens. More

Oct 30, 2009 By Frank Valish Web Exclusive

Montréal trio Plants and Animals have spent the majority of the past year in a van, touring in support of their 2008 breakthrough album, Parc Avenue. Yet amidst bringing their particular brand of folk-rock to the masses, singer/guitarist Warren Spicer, guitarist/bassist Nicolas Basque, and drummer Matthew Woodley (aka, the Woodman, or Woody) have also devoted their attention to writing and recording what will be their third album. The album, title TBA, is due for an early 2010 release. As the band inches closer to the album's completion, Woodley took some time to speak with Under the Radar, filling us in on the details. More

Oct 19, 2009 By Lorraine Carpenter Web Exclusive

When Richey Edwards fled from London's Embassy Hotel one February morning in 1995, he left behind a legacy, a myth, and a band of childhood friends who carried on without him, achieving greater success in the ensuing years than they'd had with their "minister of propaganda" in the fold. More

Oct 13, 2009 By John Everhart Web Exclusive

"Someone going on about how amazing their life is, that's pretty depressing to me. But a song about death, yeah, that really lifts my spirits," laughs Twilight Sad frontman James Graham. And if, like Graham, down for you is up (to borrow from the parlance of Lou Reed), you'll find solace in his act's newest LP, Forget the Night Ahead. More

Oct 12, 2009 By Frank Valish Web Exclusive

Lou Barlow may be the unluckiest man in indie rock history. Having been kicked out of Dinosaur Jr. in the late '80s, Barlow saw success with Sebadoh, only to have his musical partner, Eric Gaffney, quit (they only recently reunited for a 2007 tour). Then, to continue the trend, Barlow's post-Sebadoh collaboration with John Davis, The Folk Implosion, tanked when Davis abruptly left on the release of the band's 1999 major label debut. More

Oct 09, 2009 By Frank Valish Web Exclusive

It has been only slightly over a year since Noah and the Whale released its debut album, but the London-based band has come a long way in that time. While 2008's Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down was a collection of songs inspired by love and loss, fueled by the jumpy single "5 Years Time," the band's new album, The First Days of Spring, is a more epic affair. More

Sep 28, 2009 By Kevin Barnes, Intro by Frank Valish, Moderated by Mark Redfern Issue #28 Fall 2009 - Monsters of Folk

If you were anywhere near a radio in the '80s, you are likely familiar with Daryl Hall and John Oates. The duo's string of hits is remarkable—"You Make My Dreams," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," "Out of Touch," and more. On the surface, Hall & Oates couldn't be more different from Athens, Georgia's of Montreal. But of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes grew up on Hall & Oates and harbors a not-so-guilty liking for the pair's music. Under the Radar hooked up Barnes with Daryl Hall and John Oates to discuss the band's history and what makes Hall & Oates tick. This is part one of our interview, in which Kevin Barnes interviews Daryl Hall. More