Dec 23, 2021 By Jimi Arundell

Featuring the single “Architecture In LA,” Lo! Soul is the new solo album from acclaimed singer/songwriter Roddy Woomble (also the frontman of Idlewild). Working in isolation together with his Idlewild bandmate Andrew Mitchell (aka Andrew Wasylyk), this is the latest LP following four solo albums including his applauded debut My Secret Is My Silence and the widely praised record The Deluder. More

Dec 22, 2021 By Andy Von Pip Issue #68 - Japanese Breakfast and HAIM (The Protest Issue)

The global pandemic may have stopped live music in its tracks but Billy Bragg has been spending his lockdown time productively. With all scheduled gigs cancelled for the foreseeable future, the English singer/songwriter and left-wing activist decided to transfer 2021’s plan to write and record a new album into 2020’s diary. He also informs us that he hasn’t set foot in a barbershop for six months and thus currently resembles the late hirsute country legend Kenny Rodgers. “I’ve stopped wearing a wristwatch too which I found strangely liberating,” he laughs. More

Dec 22, 2021 By Dom Gourlay Web Exclusive

With 2021 coming to an end, Under the Radar asked its writers to look into their collective crystal balls and look ahead to the next twelve months. So, without further ado, here are the 22 acts Under the Radar and its contributors are most excited about as we approach 2022. More

Dec 21, 2021 By Matt Fink Issue #68 - Japanese Breakfast and HAIM (The Protest Issue)

After four years of almost constant movement, 2020 was the year that Michelle Zauner finally had to sit still. For the past half-decade, she had been a one-woman whirlwind of activity, releasing two highly acclaimed albums as Japanese Breakfast, the second one arriving before she was even done touring for the first one. More

Dec 20, 2021 By Candace McDuffie Issue #68 - Japanese Breakfast and HAIM (The Protest Issue)

Tegan and Sara have always been deliberate in using their platform for social good. In 2012, the Canadian duo appeared on the cover of that year’s Protest Issue wielding a sign that said: “The rights of the minority should never be subject to the whim of the majority.” Sara Quin, who has been making music alongside her identical twin sister, Tegan Quin, for over two decades, fondly remembers how those words strongly resonated with her. More

Dec 17, 2021 By Jake Uitti Web Exclusive

As the name might suggest, the story of the popular 1991 Sega Genesis video game, ToeJam & Earl, is dual-pronged. But that’s not the case just because the original game focuses on the two crash-landed aliens, ToeJam and Earl. It’s not just the case because the game was the creation of Greg Johnson and Mark Voorsanger. In fact it’s both of those things and this: the original ToeJam & Earl game, which earned a beloved underground following that’s not so underground anymore, was created in a “stream of consciousness” way, Johnson says. More

Dec 09, 2021 By Jake Uitti Issue #68 - Japanese Breakfast and HAIM (The Protest Issue)

Colin Meloy, front person and principle songwriter for the Pacific Northwest-based indie band The Decemberists, says he grew up admiring artists who were vocal about their politics. Now, as an adult, Meloy says he intentionally uses his platform to speak his mind on issues important to him. Today, that means speaking out about neuro diversity. More

Dec 09, 2021 By Jasper Williams Issue #68 - Japanese Breakfast and HAIM (The Protest Issue)

When applied to a Japanese fighting game character, a punch is never just a punch. It becomes “Megaton Justice Fist” or something along those lines. Just looking at Ela Minus’ grid of synths, sequencers, and drum machines inspires comparable purple prose. Minus’ craft isn’t just a cerebral sequence of turning knobs and playing keys: each action is augmented by singular intent or feeling. More

Dec 08, 2021 By Mark Moody Issue #68 - Japanese Breakfast and HAIM (The Protest Issue)

Where most may find it ironic that songwriter Valerie June made masks for Memphis police officers in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is as natural to her as the way her songs come to her. Or how she subtly weaves her compassion for Mother Earth in with racial justice issues. June is no doubt a gentle and caring soul, but like her songs’ impact on the listener she can get your head spinning with a patchwork of thoughts and ideas before you realize where you have ended up. To her, it’s all part of the same package. More