Nov 30, 2010 By Matt Fink of Montreal

As the 21st century dawned, of Montreal were ready for their breakthrough. Having already completed one indisputable (though overlooked) psychedelic pop classic in 1999’s The Gay Parade, they had staked out territory as the most whimsically kaleidoscopic, playfully childlike, and innocently asexual band in the then-fading Elephant 6 Recording Company.

Nov 17, 2010 By Chris Tinkham Sharon Van Etten

“I have a lot of songs that I want to record, and I want to keep as busy as possible,” says Brooklyn singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten, whose sophomore LP epic is earning universal praise from critics. With two albums released since 2009, and a third planned for 2011, Van Etten might be making up for lost time. The New Jersey native, who began writing songs in high school, took a career detour when she attended college in Tennessee to study music and recording. She dropped out of school after only a year and became involved in a destructive long-term relationship that undermined her confidence in songwriting and prevented her from performing. “There were some days where it was so bad that I never thought I’d be able to get out of that situation at all,” she says.

Nov 05, 2010 By Laura Studarus Web Exclusive

From Twittering self-evaluations of songs, to transforming photo shoots into rogue music video shoots, to creating self-dubbed “World’s First Indie Pop Karaoke,” Swedish poppers Acid House Kings, (Julia Lannerheim, Niklas Angergård, and Johan Angergård), explore the lighter sides of life and love on a wink and catchy chord cluster. Under the Radar joined the amicable bunch on a warm afternoon outside of Labrador Records in Stockholm Sweden to check on the progress on fifth full-length, Music Sounds Better With You.

Nov 03, 2010 By Danielle Sills Villagers

Conor J. O’Brien has been making music for years, but for the first time, he’s leaving his Dublin hometown to play around the world. He started Villagers the day after his previous band, The Immediate, dissipated. While O’Brien is used to touring the pubs in Ireland, his stateside tour with Villagers is an entirely new experience for him.In the couple short years since he started writing songs under the name Villagers, O’Brien has been nominated for the U.K.’s prestigious Mercury Prize, and his debut album, Becoming a Jackal, has shot to the top of the Irish Albums Chart and the indie charts in the U.K.

Nov 03, 2010 By Laura Studarus Web Exclusive

One man band Ernest Greene—aka Washed Out—found unexpected success last year when the blog-endorsed rise of chillwave coincided with the release of his debut Life of Leisure EP. Now, having completed tours with Beach House, Yeasayer, and Small Black, Greene is diving back into the recording process for his next big trick—Washed Out’s first full-length. Greene spoke to Under the Radar from his bedroom studio about the creative process and expectations for what’s in store.

Oct 22, 2010 By Frank Valish Web Exclusive

Last month, Rose Elinor Dougall spoke with Under the Radar about her participation on the new Mark Ronson album, Record Collection (see our current issue). However, she was kind enough to also spend some time giving us the scoop on her own new, fantastic solo debut, Without Why.

Oct 22, 2010 By Laura Studarus Web Exclusive

Kisses take their name very seriously. The Los Angeles duo Jesse Kivel (vocals) and Zinzi Edmundson (keyboards) spin Baltic-style pop laced with shamelessly sweet lyrics—sung with a conviction that would make Jens Lekman proud. Theirs is a world of martinis served straight up, drives under a starry sky, and retro interiors untouched by hipster hands.

Oct 18, 2010 By Chris Tinkham First Aid Kit

Klara Söderberg of First Aid Kit would like people to know that she and her sister Johanna were an active duo performing shows in Sweden before folks in the U.S. discovered them through their cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” on YouTube. “I don’t want them to think we were not making music and then did the Fleet Foxes cover and were like, ‘Oh, we can make music,’” Klara explains. “We’ve always been doing our own songs, and that has been the main thing.”

Oct 12, 2010 By Frank Valish Mark Ronson

Going into the follow-up to his 2007 smash album Version, Mark Ronson knew he needed to do something different. Although Ronson’s previous production work with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen catapulted him to the forefront of prestigious DJs/producers worldwide, Version established him as an artist in his own right, with its danceable, horn-filled reinterpretations of seminal British songs from the likes of Radiohead, The Jam, and The Smiths. The album was cutting edge, but with its success came a backlash, especially from those who took offense to his genre-hopping covers of what Ronson refers to as beloved sacred cows.