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Thursday, November 14th, 2024  

Album Reviews

Eazy Peazy

Man/Woman/Chainsaw
Eazy Peazy

Nov 14, 2024 Web Exclusive

Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s debut EP, Eazy Peazy, can, on occasion, hit like a sonic hurricane—chaotic, unpredictable, a little abrasive, and impossible to ignore.

Feats of Engineering

fantasy of a broken heart
Feats of Engineering

Nov 13, 2024 Issue #73 - Maya Hawke and Nilüfer Yanya

Are you feeling nostalgic for mid-’00s indie pop?

AM-DRAM

Spectres
AM-DRAM

Nov 12, 2024 Web Exclusive

Spectres’ fourth album, AM-DRAM, is meant to be their last. There will be no more gut-wrenching shows. No more albums in packaging that needs a hammer to break it free.

Classic Interviews

Primal Scream

Primal Scream
Directing the Sound

Jun 13, 2016 Primal Scream

“I just think of the record as ecstatic depressive realism, but I’m kind of laughing when I’m saying that but I’m also being fucking truthful,” says Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie of the band’s twelfth album, Chaosmosis.

Comic Book Reviews

Second Hand Love

Second Hand Love
Drawn & Quarterly

Sep 06, 2024 Web Exclusive

Yamada Murasaki never received international acclaim during her lifetime. But now, thanks to Drawn & Quarterly’s excellent English language translations of her work, the groundbreaking manga artist is starting to get some of her much deserved recognition. Second Hand Love builds on the outstanding 2022 release, Talk to My Back, and contains two of the author’s most important stories: “A Blue Flame” and “Second Hand Love.”

Book Reviews

Hollywood Dream: The Thunderclap Newman Story

Mark Ian Wilkerson
Hollywood Dream: The Thunderclap Newman Story

Nov 11, 2024

Hollywood Dream: The Thunderclap Newman Story is a deep dive into the band that pulls you in like the best novel.

Interviews

Self-Portrait: Matthew Caws of Nada Surf

Self-Portrait: Matthew Caws of Nada Surf

Oct 29, 2024 Issue #73 - Maya Hawke and Nilüfer Yanya

For our recurring Self-Portrait feature, we ask musicians to take a self-portrait photo (or paint/draw a self-portrait) and write a list of personal things about themselves, things that their fans might not already know about them. This Self-Portrait is by Matthew Caws of Nada Surf.

The Second Draft of History: Inside Elliott Smith’s Recording of “From a Basement on the Hill”

The Second Draft of History: Inside Elliott Smith’s Recording of “From a Basement on the Hill”

Oct 22, 2024 Issue #69 - 20th Anniversary Issue

In the fall of 2004, Rob Schnapf and Joanna Bolme didn’t really want to talk to the press. Having combed through 45 hours of material to assemble the final Elliott Smith album, From a Basement on the Hill, they were the only logical choices to field the questions Smith was no longer around to answer.

Pleased to meet you

The Pill Interview – Making Mischief and Embracing Fun

Oct 25, 2024

​In a lively interview, Lottie Massey and Lily Hutchings of The Pill, discuss the inevitable comparisons to Wet Leg, their fun and carefree approach to music, bad driving, dodgy builders, on line trolls and their recent record deal with AWAL

Lists

Seven Music Documentary Films and Series From 2024 to Watch (and Three to Skip)

Jun 16, 2024

Music documentaries and series are a sure thing, or so it seems. 2024 has seen quite a few of them hit theatres and even more turn up on streamers. Among these are the high-profile ones such as the newly restored 1970 film, The Beatles: Let it Be and Frank Marshall’s The Beach Boys, not to mention Taylor Swift|The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), all on Disney+. Lil Nas X released his interpretation of Madonna’s Truth or Dare with his behind-the-scenes tour film, Long Live Montero (HBO). There is also Eno, the groundbreaking generative documentary feature on Brian Eno. Just as fascinating as the biographical docs are topical ones such as the recently released How Music Got Free (Paramount+).

Coming soon is Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple (HBO), which shines a much deserved spotlight on the multi-hyphenate talent, and I Am: Celine Dion (Prime Movies), which shares the singer’s challenges with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome.

Whether or not you’re into the artists, subjects, or the music, there is a voyeuristic and vicarious thrill in watching musicians, both in their professional setting and personal lives. Music documentary films and series are often worth the time—except when they’re not. Here are seven must-watch music docs and series released in 2024, and three from this year that you can skip.—By Lily Moayeri

Live reviews

Austin City Limits Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, Texas , US, October 4-13, 2024

Austin City Limits Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, Texas , US, October 4-13, 2024

Nov 14, 2024 By Yvan Nguyen

Austin City Limits took over Zilker Park in Austin, Texas for two back to back weekends and Under the Radar’s photographer, Yvan Nguyen, was there to capture the highlights.

Blog

A Culture Guide To Memphis, Tennessee

A Culture Guide To Memphis, Tennessee

Nov 14, 2024 By Dom Gourlay

Memphis is an inherent culture driver with sprawling arts, entertainment and entrepreneurial scenes so here is Under the Radar’s guide to the largest Black city in America