Aug 20, 2013 By Dan Lucas Web Exclusive

Change is, in a musical climate at least, unquestionably a good thing. With its proud tradition of laddish, loutish Madchester and Britpop monoliths, however, Manchester, England is perhaps not the city you’d first associate with pop evolution. But perceptions of its music scene are altering and, along with the likes of fellow Mancunians Egyptian Hip Hop and Delphic, Dutch Uncles are producing intelligent pop music that gives Britain hope of catching up with its European and American forerunners. Under the Radar caught up with singer/pianist Duncan Wallis and drummer Andy Proudfoot for a chat in the heart of Manchester’s trendy Northern Quarter.

Aug 19, 2013 By Austin Trunick Camera Obscura

When Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell interviewed Lloyd Cole for the June/July 2013 issue of Under the Radar, the two spoke as if they were close friends; we were surprised to find out they’d only briefly met. After Cole had answered Campbell’s questions, both artists stayed on the line to answer a few more from us about their history, hobbies, and current albums. Last Friday we posted the main print magazine Q&A between Cole and Campbell. These are extra portions of our interview, quotes that didn’t make it into the print article.

Aug 16, 2013 By Austin Trunick Lloyd Cole

Lloyd Cole broke out on the Glasgow, Scotland scene in the mid-‘80s, releasing a string of successful albums with his band, The Commotions, before embarking on a remarkably deep solo career. His 1984 debut record with The Commotions, Rattlesnakes, closed with a song titled “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?” Twenty-two years later, another Glasgow artist would answer that question.

Aug 14, 2013 By Hays Davis Issue #46 - June/July 2013 - Charli XCX

Three years after living in the U.S., Bristol, England native Tricky has developed a taste for the simple life in Paris.

Aug 14, 2013 By Frank Valish Rose Windows

By 2009, guitarist/songwriter Chris Cheveyo found himself in a rut. Solid Gold Eagle, the post-rock instrumental band that he started two years earlier in his hometown of San Antonio, TX had reached the end of the line.

Aug 09, 2013 By Matt Fink Issue #46 - June/July 2013 - Charli XCX

Though The National’s latest release isn’t a huge departure in any musical or conceptual sense, vocalist and songwriter Matt Berninger says it was made by a different group of men than those who made their previous albums.

Aug 09, 2013 By Laura Studarus Moderat

Last year, during a stretch of “near-apocalyptic” winter, Sascha Ring, Gernot Bronsert, and Sebastian Szary (AKA German supergroup Moderat) reconvened to work on the follow-up to their 2009 self-titled debut.

Aug 05, 2013 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

Chicago four-piece Twin Peaks plays garage-y, lo-fi rock that channels both punk energy and dream-pop haziness. All of the band members are 19 years old, but already their history complicated. Singer/guitarist Cadien Lake James describes the origin of the band as “a funny little winding connection.”

Aug 02, 2013 By Chris Tinkham Web Exclusive

When we last spoke with writer/director Andrew Bujalksi four years ago, in conjunction with the theatrical release of his third feature film, Beeswax, the Austin-based filmmaker said that he didn’t have a strong sense of what his next project would be. But, as it turns out, the idea for his fourth feature, Computer Chess, had been floating around in his head at the time. The film is set circa 1980 and revolves around a group of chess software programmers who have converged on a hotel for a weekend computer chess tournament.