Interviews
May 31, 2013
By Laura Studarus
Is Tropical
It’s Gary Barber’s birthday, but he’s not in a rush to leave his London area flat to celebrate. During our Skype session the Is Tropical member, one of two guitarist/keyboardist/singers, pauses from answering a question about his band’s most recent album to hold his cat Oven Mitt up to the camera for examination. Unperturbed, the oversized feline stretches, showing off an abnormal extra toe that makes her paw look like a human hand.
May 10, 2013
By Austin Trunick
Web Exclusive
Only in her early 20s, Katie Crutchfield is already a road-tested indie rock veteran. She’s been forming bands, recording albums, and touring the country with her twin sister, Allison, since they were in high school. More
Dec 24, 2012
By Frank Valish
Web Exclusive
Liam Power, vocalist and guitarist for the U.K. band By the Sea, grew up in an old Viking village on the Wirral Peninsula called Meols (pronounced “melz”), a residential seaside town that he calls “quite quiet and quite close knit.” More
Oct 12, 2012
By Laura Studarus
Poolside
It seems appropriate that Poolside has sunshine on the brain. The Southern California-based duo (DJ Jeffrey Paradise and Filip Nikolic, formally of Junior Senior and Ima Robot) created their debut album Pacific Standard Time in the most regionally appropriate of settings: over drinks in their poolside studio, before literally stepping out the door to air cuts for a few friends. The result? A lackadaisical, lush blend of Balearic beats, shiny synths, and UV-baked posturing that they call “daytime disco.” More
Sep 28, 2012
By John Everhart'.
Web Exclusive
Flying Nun is as synonymous with indie rock in New Zealand as Chemikal Underground is in Glasgow or Creation Records is in London. Each is a singularly ubiquitous cultural force that has influenced legions of acts worldwide. Kody Nielson, the mastermind behind New Zealand’s Opossom, has ties to Flying Nun. He previously played in The Mint Chicks while in high school, a band signed to the fabled New Zealand label. Before that, he’d been enthralled by its rich musical pageantry. More
Sep 21, 2012
By Mike Hilleary
Web Exclusive
When Matthew Hines, songwriter and creative leader of the Austin-based ensemble The Eastern Sea set out two years ago to start work on his debut full-length, he already had settled on a name for the record, one inspired while reading Albert Camus’ 1947 novel The Plague. Hines now looks back on the decision with at least a few regrets. More
Sep 14, 2012
By Frank Valish
Web Exclusive
Brian Borcherdt is best known for his work with the Canadian electronic collective, Holy Fuck, but his new project, Dusted, is a left turn. Under the Radar caught up with Borcherdt to discuss his current project and its future.
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Sep 07, 2012
By Laura Studarus
Issue #42 - The Protest Issue
It’s appropriate that French musician Melody Prochet named her solo project after a dream. The songs on her self-titled debut seem imbued with a logic of their own, spinning psych pop, electronics, and just a whiff of chanson française into a billowy cloud of sound. Although, Prochet admits that the dream that inspired Melody’s Echo Chamber owes more to her nerdy side. More
May 02, 2012
By Laura Studarus
Coachella 2012
Keep Shelly in Athens actually hail from Athens, Greece. This much we do know. But very little else has been said about the enigmatic duo, who seemingly snuck onto the music scene with last year’s debut EP Our Own Dream.
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