Oct 11, 2010
By John Everhart (Intro by and Moderated by)
Lætitia Sadier
Deerhunter and Atlas Sound’s Bradford Cox has long professed his love for Stereolab, in particular 1999’s Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night, his favorite album by the band. He went so far as to effusively explicate upon its merits on a Deerhunter blog post back in 2007. In an impassioned manner akin to the prime years of the fiery late gonzo journalist Lester Bangs, he also excoriated the publications that panned the album.
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Oct 06, 2010
By Laura Studarus
Happy Pills
Some countries are known exporters. The U.K. has been a rock giant ever since the Fab Four busted out of their borders, Sweden has carved out a notable Scandinavian pop niche, and Canada has been busy breaking social scenes and setting arcades on fire for some time now. But what about other countries whose bands don’t always make it to stateside indie stardom? In such an interconnected world, why are there still large places on the musical map with question marks? On a recent visit to Poland to cover the OFF Festival; Under the Radar set out to fill in some of those blanks. Assisting our exploration were musicians Natalia Fiedorczuk, Jacek Kąkolewski. Both scene stalwarts, and members of Happy Pills—a six piece who take cues from Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Smashing Pumpkins among others—they told us about the Polish music scene, cultural expectations, and their big break in the U.S. that didn’t happen.
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Sep 30, 2010
By Stephen Humphries
Beak>
Legend has it that the apocalypse will be preceded the sound of the hooves of four horsemen. But the British trio BEAK>, fronted by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, creates a Krautrock sound so exquisitely doom-laden that you’d be forgiven for thinking that the end of days are near.
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Sep 30, 2010
By Kyle Lemmon
Web Exclusive
Summer Camp is not a chillwave band. Despite the warm, analog indie-pop tunes coming from the North London-via-Surrey duo, their catchy blend of hazy nostalgia has legs beyond the warm months of June, July, and August. It’s the soundtrack to compassionate first kisses, awkward prom portraits, dancing all night long, stupid keggers where you go out of complete boredom, and well, high school in general. Read our interview with Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey.
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Sep 10, 2010
By Frank Valish
Guided By Voices
On the final night of his New York City art show, The Public Hi-Fi Balloon, Robert Pollard agreed to give Under the Radar a glimpse into the process of his collage work and explain what’s behind his other artistic passion.
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Sep 10, 2010
By Kyle Lemmon
Taken By Trees
Victoria Bergsman’s music doesn’t seem like the work of a thrill seeker—her melodies float about on gossamer wings—but when she thought of traveling to Pakistan to record East of Eden, her second album as Taken By Trees, she decided to act on it. “Where others may hesitate, I go all the way,” she says from her home in Sweden. “I guess it also helps that I’m extremely curious and stubborn.”
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Aug 23, 2010
By Kyle Lemmon
!!! (Chk-Chk-Chk)
It’s hard to think that !!! (Chk-Chk-Chk) have been together for 14 years. That’s quite the feat in and of itself. In anticipation of their danceable (of course) fourth LP, Strange Weather, Isn’t it?, streeting this week (August 24), we talked to Nic Offer, singer and leader of the NYC/Sacramento/Portland/Pittsburgh band.
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Aug 06, 2010
By Frank Valish (as told to)
Camera Obscura
I think Grease was the first film I actually was taken to the cinema to see, which seems kind of bizarre to me because I must have been about three or four years old.
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Aug 04, 2010
By Peter J. Silberman
The Antlers
When I was six years old, Friday night was important.
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Aug 03, 2010
By Ryan Hahn
Local Natives
I can remember the first time I played Super Street Fighter II. It must have been 1993, I was seven years old and we were living in Mission Viejo, California.
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