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Issue #37

#37 – St. Vincent

Jul 28, 2011

Under the Radar’s Summer 2011 Issue features St. Vincent on the cover and includes articles on M83, Bon Iver vs. Fugazi, The Horrors, Washed Out, Stephen Malkmus vs. Gus Van Sant, WU LYF, Dum Dum Girls, Friendly Fires, Memory Tapes, John Maus, Niki & The Dove, Purity Ring, Youth Lagoon, and many others; as well as over 115 reviews. The digital version of the magazine also includes 50 extra pages of bonus content, including articles on My Morning Jacket, The Rapture, Eleanor Friedberger, Handsome Furs, Moonface, Stephin Merritt, Laurel Halo, and more.

St. Vincent’s Annie Clark graces the cover and the issue contains an extensive in-depth 12-page article on Clark, written by Matt Fink, with an exclusive photo shoot by Tommy Kearns. For the article we not only interviewed Clark about her upcoming new album, Strange Mercy, but also spoke to her aunt and uncle (Tuck Andress and Patti Cathcart), her producer John Congleton, Sufjan Stevens (whose band Clark used to play in), My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden (who was also in Stevens’ band), and Midlake’s McKenzie Smith (who drums on St. Vincent’s records).

The second you go down the road of ‘I have some fans, and I want to make sure I please them,’ that’s a really self-defeating rabbit hole.– St. Vincent’s Annie Clark

“Annie’s got big heart, big licks, big jams, but she plays it so cool you fall for it every time.” – Sufjan Stevens on St. Vincent’s Annie Clark

Our main features section includes chats with The Horrors and Washed Out about their new albums. We also went into the studio with M83, to get the scoop on his forthcoming new album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

“For some reason this album reminds me a lot of my childhood. I feel so nostalgic about my childhood, especially listening to this album.” – M83’s Anthony Gonzalez

The section also includes two unique match-ups. Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon interviewed Ian MacKaye (of Fugazi, Minor Threat, and The Evens), while Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus (who has a new album coming out with The Jicks) interviewed filmmaker Gus Van Sant (Milk, My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and his new film, Restless).

“I’m not in touch with my teenage self at all. Like death, I’m in denial about what went on then.” – Stephen Malkmus

“It’s hard to speculate as a human about the afterlife because you’re not in it. And it’s probably as wild and wacky as you could imagine. The idea that people have figured it out, I’m not sure if I can fathom that.” – Gus Van Sant

“Fugazi was one of the first bands that I ever went deeply into and went to the records for personal advice.” – Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon

“I think it’s a fallacy, too, that the only way you can make money in music is through advertising.” – Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, The Evens)

Our Detection section includes interviews with the following artists about their new albums: Apparat, Dum Dum Girls, Friendly Fires, Laura Marling, Memory Tapes, The Rosebuds, and The War on Drugs.

“Almost half the record has to do with [my mother’s passing].” – Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee Penny

“Our music is meant to be three minutes of release and the world making sense.” – Friendly Fires’ Ed Macfarlane

“I’m not good with crowds…. I’m not a very social person.” – Memory Tapes’ Dayve Hawk

The section also includes a special article on Polyvinyl Records’ 15th Anniversary, featuring interviews with co-founder Matt Lunsford, as well as with members of Mates of State, Japandroids, of Montreal, Joan of Arc, and Saturday Looks Good to Me.

“Everything that Darcie and I have done has been a very organic thing. It’s never been about a business plan.” – Polyvinyl co-founder Matt Lunsford

Our Pleased to Meet You section features interviews with 11 of our favorite new artists: Cloud Control, Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross, Beth Jeans Houghton, I Break Horses, John Maus, Niki & The Dove, Purity Ring, S.C.U.M., When Saints Go Machine, WU LYF, and Youth Lagoon.

“I liked Marc Bolan when I was a kid. I used to think I could talk to his ghost.” – Beth Jeans Houghton

“I have this thing where I can’t stand the beat of my own pulse.” – I Break Horses’ Maria Lindén

“In our minds, there is very little mystery around us. Maybe we’re a little more private. We don’t have a Twitter account that you can follow every five minutes.” – WU LYF’s Ellery Roberts

Over 115 CDs, DVDs, books, comic books, films, video games, and comic books are reviewed in the issue, including reviews of releases by Apparat, Archers of Loaf, Beirut, Blitzen Trapper, Blondie, Blood Orange, BOBBY, Bon Iver, Cassettes Won’t Listen, Chad Valley, The Chain Gang of 1974, Cloud Control, Crystal Antlers, CSS, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Com Truise, Depeche Mode, Dum Dum Girls, Brian Eno, Marianne Faithful, Liam Finn, Fool’s Gold, Eleanor Friedberger, Fruit Bats, Fucked Up, Gardens & Villa, GIVERS, Handsome Furs, Jolie Holland, Hooray for Earth, Hospital Ships, The Horrors, Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Junior Boys, The Ladybug Transistor, Little Dragon, Male Bonding, Laura Marling, Lotus Plaza/Odonis Odonis, Paul McCartney, John Maus, MellowHype, Memoryhouse, Memory Tapes, Stephin Merritt, Mister Heavenly, Moonface, Marissa Nadler, NewVillager, Pepper Rabbit, Pictureplane, Pure X, Portugal. The Man, The Rapture, R.E.M., Rey Pila, SBTRKT, S.C.U.M, Ty Segall, Serengeti, Shabazz Palaces, Shine 2009, Sons and Daughters, St. Vincent, Luke Temple, They Might Be Giants, Tom Vek, When Saints Go Machine, Washed Out, The War on Drugs, Gillian Welch, Wild Flag, Wooden Shjips, WU LYF, YACHT, Neil Young, and much more.

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More pull quotes from the issue:

“‘If it sounds good, it is good.’ Charlie Parker said that. Follow that and don’t worry about the other stuff, because if you are, you’re really getting your own ego too involved.” – St. Vincent’s Annie Clark

“With this record, it’s the first time that we did anything that was so personal in a concrete way, which was terrifying at first.” – The Rosebuds’ Kelly Crisp

“I feel like the kid who got invited to the party by one of his friends, but not directly.” – Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross’ Dexter Tortoriello

“There’s no [college] course in how to discover the magical instant of music.” – John Maus

“When I listen to some pop music, I can understand, better, the essence of life.” – Niki & The Dove’s Malin Dahlström

“My mind tends to make up things, worrying about things that aren’t real. But it turns into good music.” – Youth Lagoon’s Trevor Powers

“I think maybe a lot of bands forget, or maybe it doesn’t come into their heads, that they don’t want to repeat themselves.” – The Horrors’ Faris Badwan

Under the Radar is distributed across the USA and Canada on newsstands, in independent record and book stores, and at such chains as Barnes & Noble, Hastings, and Books-A-Million. Click here for an interactive map of U.S. stores that carry Under the Radar, just enter your zipcode to find a store near you. And click here for an interactive map of Canadian stores that carry Under the Radar.

Digital Magazine Exclusive Bonus Features:

The digital version of the magazine includes the same articles that appear in the printed version—plus 50 extra pages of editorial content not found in the print version, including extra full page photos, 11 bonus articles, and 13 bonus reviews.

The digital magazine’s Detection section is expanded to include the following bonus articles: Eleanor Friedberger, Handsome Furs, Moonface, My Morning Jacket, Pepper Rabbit, The Rapture, and Stephin Merritt.

“I think we’ve kind of evolved into a political band.” – Handsome Furs’ Dan Boeckner

“I want to collaborate with different people for each album that Moonface releases, so that it will be impossible for it to not be constantly evolving (or devolving).” – Moonface’s Spencer Krug

“The band is not the most important thing in my life, my family is.” – The Rapture’s Luke Jenner

“Making drastically different albums is normal.” – Stephin Merritt

Our digital magazine’s Pleased to Meet You section is expanded to include bonus articles about: Com Truise, Craft Spells, Laurel Halo, and Twin Sister.

“I started watching more ’80s films and I slowly came to realize what I was missing out on.” – Com Truise’s Seth Haley

“I still feel like I am that kid that was in his bedroom making music.” – Craft Spells’ Justin Paul Vallesteros

“It’s just a really exciting time to make music, because people’s ears are more open.” – Laurel Halo

“The last time I saw [my twin sister] was maybe two Christmases ago…. She’s in Mexico now.” – Twin Sister’s Andrea Estella

The digital magazine includes bonus reviews of releases by the following artists: Active Child, Beyoncé, Big Star with John Davis of Superdrag, Bodies of Water, Boston Spaceships, Jeff Bridges, Digitalism, FM Belfast, Gomez, I Break Horses, Metronomy, Tig Notaro, and Ume.

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Interviews
Com Truise
Niki & The Dove
Youth Lagoon

 

Reviews
A Creature I Don’t Know
Again Into Eyes
Another Earth
Coastal Grooves
Don’t Act Like You Don’t Care
Endless Now
Good One
Hearts
In the Grace of Your Love
Leave No Trace
Lenses Alien
Let It Beard
Lotus Plaza/Odonis Odonis 12”
Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim (Android)
Mirror Traffic
One Day
Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped
Out of Love
Red Velvet Snowball
Restless
Slave Ambient
Strange Mercy
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
The Future
The Ornament
The Rip Tide
The World Is Just a Shape to Fill the Night
Tripper
Wild Flag
You Are All I See