News
Issue 73 Also Features Interviews with Fontaines D.C., Cassandra Jenkins, DIIV, Sparks, Camera Obscura, Alan Sparhawk, The Decemberists, Jessica Pratt, Glass Animals, Charly Bliss, Yard Act, English Teacher, and More
Sep 06, 2024
By Mark Redfern
Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, Issue 73, which features Maya Hawke and Nilüfer Yanya on the two covers. Issue 73 also features interviews with Fontaines D.C., Cassandra Jenkins, DIIV, Sparks, Camera Obscura, Alan Sparhawk, The Decemberists, Jessica Pratt, Glass Animals, Charly Bliss, Yard Act, English Teacher, Goat Girl, Hana Vu, and others. More
Everything is Love and Death Due Out August 30 via Polyvinyl
Jul 31, 2024
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing a new album, Everything is Love and Death, on August 30 via Polyvinyl. Now she has shared the album’s fourth single, “Drift Away,” via a music video. More
Plus Crack Cloud, Oceanator, deary, Thurston Moore, and a Wrap-up of the Last Two Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Jun 21, 2024
By Mark Redfern (with Andy Von Pip, Dom Gourlay, and Marina Malin)
Welcome to the 20th Songs of the Week of 2024. This week Andy Von Pip, Mark Moody, Matt the Raven, and Scott Dransfield helped me decide what should make the list. We seriously considered over 20 songs this week and narrowed it down to a Top 12. More
Everything is Love and Death Due Out August 30 via Polyvinyl
Jun 18, 2024
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing a new album, Everything is Love and Death, on August 30 via Polyvinyl. Now she has shared two new songs from it, album opener “First Time” and “Be Here.” More
Everything is Love and Death Due Out August 30 via Polyvinyl
May 21, 2024
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has announced a new album, Everything is Love and Death, and shared its first single, “Get Out,” via a music video. More
Plus The Clientele, Protomartyr, Oceanator, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Jun 02, 2023
By Mark Redfern (with Kat Ramkumar)
Welcome to the 20th Songs of the Week of 2023. It was a mixed collection of new songs this week, perhaps because Monday was a holiday, but there were some tracks we liked. More
New Single Out Now via Polyvinyl
May 30, 2023
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has shared a new song, “Part Time.” It was co-written with Cheekface’s Greg Katz. More
Dec 23, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Are things back to normal in 2022? They are, aren’t they? Well not quite. More
Plus Melody’s Echo Chamber, Florist, Horsegirl, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Apr 08, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Welcome to the fourteenth Songs of the Week of 2022. It was a fantastic new release day, with fresh albums by Wet Leg, Father John Misty, Jack White, Oceanator, Daniel Rossen, Orville Peck, Lucius, and others. Some of those artists end up on this week’s Songs of the Week, which is a Top 12 this week. More
Nothing’s Ever Fine Out Now via Polyvinyl
Apr 08, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has released a new album, Nothing’s Ever Fine, today via Polyvinyl. Now that it’s out you can stream the whole thing here. Also, on Wednesday we posted our review of the album. More
Nothing’s Ever Fine Due Out Tomorrow via Polyvinyl
Apr 07, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing a new album, Nothing’s Ever Fine, tomorrow via Polyvinyl. Now she has shared another song from it, “The Last Summer,” via a video for the song that features Okusami and her bandmates touring around Washington, D.C. More
Plus Belle and Sebastian, Sondre Lerche and CHAI, Father John Misty, Tess Parks, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Mar 11, 2022
By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)
Welcome to the tenth Songs of the Week of 2022. It was without a doubt the strongest week for new tracks so far this year. Some of our all time favorite artists put out new songs this week and there were several amazing songs that were seven or eight minutes long. There was much debate on what should make the main list and the best we could narrow it down to was a Top 15. More
Nothing’s Ever Fine Due Out April 8 via Polyvinyl; Her Elliott Smith Cover is from our Covers of Covers Album
Mar 08, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing a new album, Nothing’s Ever Fine, on April 8 via Polyvinyl. Now she has shared another song from it, “Stuck,” via a lyric video. Oceanator is one of the artists on our Covers of Covers album, which came out last Friday via American Laundromat. She covers Elliott Smith’s “The Biggest Lie.” More
Plus Sondre Lerche, Georgia Harmer, Widowspeak, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Feb 18, 2022
By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)
Welcome to the seventh Songs of the Week of 2022. We were very indecisive this week, there were too many songs we liked and had trouble narrowing it down to only 10. So this week we have an expanded Top 13. More
Nothing’s Ever Fine Due Out April 8 via Polyvinyl; Album Co-Produced by Bartees Strange
Feb 16, 2022
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has announced a new album, Nothing’s Ever Fine, and shared a new song from it, “Bad Brain Daze,” via a video that also features a cameo from Jeff Rosenstock (who plays saxophone on the song). Okusami co-produced the album with Bartees Strange and her brother and longtime bandmate Mike Okusami. More
Covers of Covers Due Out March 4, 2022 via American Laundromat; Also Features Cassandra Jenkins, Alex Lahey, Peter Bjorn and John, Hatchie, Nation of Language, Cults, Kevin Drew, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Girl Ray, Piroshka, and More
Dec 21, 2021
By Mark Redfern
Under the Radar is proud to announce Covers of Covers, which is the magazine’s first ever album. In honor of our 20th anniversary we approached some of our favorite musicians and asked them to cover any song by any artist who had been on the front or back cover of our print issue over the years. Covers of Covers is due out March 4, 2022 via American Laundromat, but today we are sharing two of its tracks: Grandaddy’s cover of Metric’s “Blindness” and EMA’s cover of Modest Mouse’s “Trailer Trash.” More
Issue 68 Out Now and Also Includes Julien Baker, Wolf Alice, Tegan and Sara, Arlo Parks, Fleet Foxes, Jessie Ware, Shamir, Lucy Dacus, Valerie June, David Byrne, Julian Casablancas, and Much More
Apr 21, 2021
By Mark Redfern
Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, which is out now nationwide (on newsstands, in such stores as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and elsewhere) and available to buy directly from us here. The issue features Japanese Breakfast and HAIM on the two covers and is another edition of The Protest Issue, which examines the intersection of music and politics and features musicians photographed with protest signs of their own making. More
Things I Never Said Due Out Physically February 26 via Polyvinyl
Feb 09, 2021
By Mark Redfern
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has shared a new video for “I Would Find You.” The song was one of the highlights of her debut album, Things I Never Said, which came out in August 2020 via her own Plastic Miracles label and is being reissued physically on February 26 by Polyvinyl. More
Things I Never Said Will Be Reissued Physically on January 15 via Polyvinyl
Oct 21, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, released her debut album, Things I Never Said, in August via her own Plastic Miracles label. Now the esteemed label Polyvinyl have announced that they’ve signed her and are reissuing the album physically on January 15. In honor of this announcement, Oceanator has shared a video for the album’s “January 21.” More
Plus Tim Heidecker, Tunng, Travis, The Flaming Lips, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Aug 28, 2020
By Christopher Roberts (with Jennifer Irving and Samantha Small)
Welcome to the 34th Songs of the Week of 2020. The Republican National Convention was this week, in which President Trump and his party attempted to convince the country that if Joe Biden and the Democrats take over it will be a lawless land with a defunded police and riots in every city (um…no, that won’t happen). In a nomination acceptance speech on the White House lawn (which was a breach of protocol), complete with fireworks and an opera singer, Trump tried to pull one over on America that he has handled the coronavirus well (um…no, that hasn’t happened). More
Things I Never Said Due Out This Friday via Plastic Miracles
Aug 27, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing her debut album, Things I Never Said, tomorrow via her own Plastic Miracles label, but we are pleased to premiere a stream of the whole album one day early. Listen below. Today we also posted our rave review of Things I Never Said. More
Things I Never Said Due Out This Friday via Plastic Miracles
Aug 25, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing her debut album, Things I Never Said, this Friday via her own Plastic Miracles label. Now she has shared a video for her recent single, “Heartbeat.” It features multiple versions of Okusami at a bus stop and in a park, as well as a black & white version of her that performs in a notebook. More
Plus Marie Davidson, The Flaming Lips, TRAAMS, Future Islands, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Aug 14, 2020
By Christopher Roberts (with Jennifer Irving)
Welcome to the 32nd Songs of the Week of 2020. This week’s big political news was Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announcing his highly capable running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. More
Things I Never Said Due Out August 28 via Plastic Miracles
Aug 13, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, is releasing her debut album, Things I Never Said, on August 28 via her own Plastic Miracles label. Now she has shared a new song from it, “Heartbeat,” which is about the anxiety that comes from having a crush on someone. More
Plus Oceanator, The Go! Team, IDLES, Moses Sumney, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Jul 17, 2020
By Christopher Roberts (with Samantha Small, Stephen Axeman, and Julian Roberts-Grmela)
Welcome to the 28th Songs of the Week of 2020. It’s another week where the pandemic continues to spread all around America, with the Trump administration doing little to stop it. As a consequence, parents across the land (including this one) are wrestling with whether or not to send their kids to school this fall. More
Things I Never Said Due Out August 28 via Plastic Miracles
Jul 15, 2020
By Stephen Axeman
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has shared a new track “I Would Find You” off of her forthcoming debut LP Things I Never Said, due out August 28 via her own label Plastic Miracles, and we are pleased to premiere it. More
Plus Cults, Hoops, Flock of Dimes, Silverbacks, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Other Notable New Tracks
Jun 26, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Welcome to the 25th Songs of the Week of 2020. We’re almost halfway through this trying year! Yay? Thanks in part to ineffective leadership at the top, coronavirus cases have skyrocketed across the land. All we can say to that is: wear a mask!!! More
Things I Never Said Due Out August 28 via Plastic Miracles
Jun 25, 2020
By Christopher Roberts
Oceanator, aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami, has announced her debut album, Things I Never Said, and shared a new song from it, “A Crack in the World.” More
Interviews
Aug 30, 2024
By Mark Redfern
My Firsts is our email interview series where we ask musicians to tell us about their first life experiences, be it early childhood ones (first word, first concert, etc.) or their first tastes of being a musician (first band, first tour, etc.). For this My Firsts we talk to Oceanator (aka Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Elise Okusami). More
Apr 18, 2022
By Caleb Campbell
Two years ago, indie rock singer/songwriter Oceanator (aka Elise Okusami) found herself predicting the end of the world. On her debut, Things I Never Said, her grunge ’90s alt rock inspirations became the site of cracks in the world and towering apocalypses, a perfect encapsulation of the prevailing feelings of the year 2020. Unfortunately, it is two years later and the world feels no less volatile and disaster often feels just as imminent. Perhaps, then, it shouldn’t come as a surprise how closely Okusami hews to these themes in her latest effort, Nothing’s Ever Fine. More
Track-by-Track: Each Artist on Their Contribution to the Album
Mar 04, 2022
By Mark Redfern
When hatching plans to celebrate Under the Radar’s 20th anniversary I knew I wanted to go beyond just producing a special 20th anniversary issue. Despite two decades of writing about albums, one thing we’d never done is actually put one out ourselves. Thus I came upon the idea for Covers of Covers. The concept was so perfect and simple that I’m surprised we hadn’t thought of it before. We approached some of our favorite musicians and asked them to cover any song by any artist who had been on the front or back cover of our print issue over the years, including artists that had appeared in group cover shots. More
Feb 24, 2021
By Laura Stanley
Oceanator’s Elise Okusami can’t predict the future. More
Reviews
Aug 29, 2024
By Mark Moody
Oceanator’s Elise Okusami delivers her best outing yet on the indomitable Everything is Love and Death. More
Apr 06, 2022
By Kyle Kersey
On Nothing’s Ever Fine’s infectiously upbeat lead single, “Bad Brain Daze,” Oceanator (aka Elise Okusami) provides an apt description of living with depression: “there’s a fog on the horizon/I can’t see but I feel it comin’ on/drops like a bomb.” More