FEATURED IN THE WINTER 2006 ISSUE

Brief Summary of Issue 12 Contents: Under the Radar’s Winter issue looks back at 2005 and looks forward to 2006. We pick our top 30 albums of 2005 and let some of our favorite bands express their thoughts on their own favorite albums of 2005 and the issues that mattered last year. In the Most Anticipated Albums of 2006 special section we preview many of the new 2006 albums that we’re all dying to hear. The section includes new interviews with Built to Spill, The Concretes, The Dresden Dolls, Grandaddy, The Fiery Furnaces, The Flaming Lips, The Shins, and many, many more. In our New Artists for 2006 section we present interviews with hot new artists such as England’s Art Brut, Sweden’s Love Is All, England’s The Research, Norway’s Serena Maneesh, and others. The issue also features new interviews with Belle & Sebastian (the cover story), Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Clearlake, Elbow, Jenny Lewis, Mew, Sing-Sing, and many others. Plus, all the best new albums are reviewed.

A Detailed Look at the Issue:

Cover Story:

Belle & Sebastian: If You’re Feeling Comfortable
Ten years since their formation, almost everyone’s favorite Scottish band are still going strong. This Winter sees the release of The Life Pursuit, Belle & Sebastian’s most pop-conscious effort yet and their return to Matador Records. Writer Matt Fink spoke to various members of the band, including Stuart Murdoch and Stevie Jackson, and also spoke to Life Pursuit producer Tony Hoffer and the band’s biographer Paul Whitelaw. We sent photographer Derrick Santini to Glasgow to capture the band in their natural habitat. (Words by Matt Fink / Photos by Derrick Santini)

Main Features:

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan: The former Belle & Sebastian singer and the former Screaming Trees frontman (and current Queens of the Stone Age member) have teamed up for Ballad of the Broken Seas, a classic album in the vein of the Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood records. Writer Frank Valish spoke to both of them about the album. (Words by Frank Valish / Photo by Autumn de Wilde)

Clearlake: The Brighton, England, based band discuss their third, more rockin’, album Amber. (Words by Jumana Farouky / Photos by Andy Willsher)

Elbow: Writer Jumana Farouky spoke to Manchester, England’s Elbow about their acclaimed third album, Leaders of the Free World. (Words by Jumana Farouky / Photos by Derrick Santini)

Jenny Lewis: Writer August Brown sat down with the Rilo Kiley frontwoman over dinner to chat about her first solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat, which features The Watson Twins, was co-produced by both Mike Mogis and M. Ward, and includes guest appearances from Ward, Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, and Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst. (Words by August Brown / Photos by Wendy Lynch)

Mew: Denmark’s Mew have received tons of acclaim in Europe, (MTV Europe recently voted them Danish band of the year), but they have yet to release any of their albums in America. This year, they hope to release their latest record, And the Glass Handed Kites, in the U.S. and to tour our shores. Writer Marcus Kagler spoke to the band about the album. (Words by Marcus Kagler / Photos by Derrick Santini)

Sing-Sing: Sing-Sing, which is former Lush guitarist Emma Anderson and vocalist Lisa O’Neill, raised money for their self-released second album, Sing-Sing & I, thanks in part to fan donations. Writer Marcus Kagler talked to them about the album and challenges of the DIY approach. (Words by Marcus Kagler / Photo by Andy Willsher)

Special Sections:

New Artists for 2006

In which we pick some new artists we feel will be worth keeping an ear out for in 2006. The section includes new interviews with the following exciting breaking artists:

Art Brut (Words by Laura Ferreiro / Photo by Wendy Lynch)
The Boy Least Likely To (Words by Gary Knight)
Love Is All (Words by August Brown)
Lupen Crook (Words by Joseph Ragusa / Photo by Andy Willsher)
My Visor (Words by Gary Knight / Photo by Andy Willsher)
The Research (Words by August Brown / Photo by Andy Willsher)
Serena Maneesh (Words by August Brown)

Plus, we highlight twelve other bands who we feel are worth keeping an eye on this year.

The Most Anticipated Albums of 2006

A twenty-two-page section where we offer to you a preview of some of the most anticipated albums that are due out in 2006. The section includes new interviews with the following artists:

!!!
A Band of Bees
Ambulance LTD.
Brett Anderson (of The Tears, formerly of Suede, on his new solo album)
The Black Heart Procession
Built to Spill
Calexico
The Cardigans
Cursive
The Concretes
Danielson
The Dears
The Divine Comedy
The Dresden Dolls
The Fiery Furnaces
The Flaming Lips
Grandaddy
The Helio Sequence
Sondre Lerche
Liars
Amy Millan (of Stars, on her new solo album)
Mogwai
Mojave 3
Christopher O’Riley (on his new album of Elliott Smith interpretations)
Emma Pollock (formerly of The Delgados, on her new solo album)
The Polyphonic Spree
Quasi
Ulrich Schnauss
The Secret Machines
The Sleepy Jackson
The Shins
Twilight Singers
The Velvet Teen
Tom Verlaine (formerly of Television, on his two new solo albums)

(The following writers worked on the Anticipated Albums section: August Brown, Matt Fink, Ryan Gillespie, Nick Hyman, Marcus Kagler, Gary Knight, Joseph Ragusa, Mark Redfern, John Srebalus, Chris Tinkham, and Frank Valish.)

2005 Artist Survey

We sent some of our favorite bands and solo artists an e-mail survey consisting of 16 different 2005-related questions, which included asking them for a list of their top 10 albums of 2005. The section includes new interviews with the following artists:

Arcade Fire/Bell Orchestre
Architecture in Helsinki
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
British Sea Power
Broken Social Scene
The Cardigans
Caribou
The Dandy Warhols
Death Cab for Cutie
The Decemberists
Doves
The Duke Spirit
Elbow
Electrelane
Feist
Four Tet
Gang of Four
Goldfrapp
The Go! Team
Grandaddy
Idlewild
LCD Soundsystem
Low
Rogue Wave
Shout Out Louds
Sleater-Kinney
Smog
Stars
The Tears
Tegan & Sara

Best of 2005

Under the Radar picks its top 30 albums of 2005. Also listed are our top 10 songs of the year, our top 10 debut albums of the year, and our top 10 most overrated albums of the year. Plus our readers also weigh in with their top albums, songs, and most overrated albums of 2005, and their most anticipated albums of 2006.

Chris Walla Explains It All

MySpace Holiday: In this installment of the Death Cab for Cutie guitarist’s regular column for us, Chris Walla tackles the MySpace revolution.

Reviews

Over 90 albums, singles, EPs, books, and DVDs reviewed; including releases from the following artists:

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Burt Bacharach
Bauhaus
Beck
Belle & Sebastian
The Beta Band
The Boy Least Likely To
Bright Eyes
Kate Bush
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Neko Case
Cat Power
Clearlake
Cocteau Twins
Jason Collett
Comet Gain
Ray Davies
Death Vessel
Delta 5
Destroyer
Eels
Elbow
The Elected
John Fahey
Film School
Galaxie 500
Goldfrapp
The Gossip
The Greenhorns
Guided By Voices
Half-handed Cloud
Ed Harcourt
Headlights
The High Violets
HiSoft
Hot Chip
Kraftwerk
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
Love Is All
Lupen Crook
Lying In States
The Mars Volta
Mew
The Minus 5
The Morning After Girls
Mylo
My Visor
New York Dolls
Oceansize
Okkervil River
Beth Orton
Robert Pollard
Prefuse 73
The Research
Saint Etienne
Ulrich Schnauss
Serena Maneesh
Sia
Sing-Sing
South
The Strokes
The Subways
Swearing At Motorists
Tortoise and Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Trespassers William
Two Gallants
We Are Scientists
Wilco
And more…