Album Reviews
Broken Social Scene
Let’s Try the After Vol. 1
Mar 21, 2019 Web Exclusive
This Canadian indie rock collective needs no introduction as they have been creating a sophisticated and multi-layered indie/art/prog rock hybrid sound that has influenced artists and entertained the masses since 2001's Feel Good Lost.
Sleaford Mods
Eton Alive
Mar 20, 2019 Web Exclusive
Parting ways with Rough Trade following the mild disappointment of their 2017 English Tapas platter, the Nottingham austerity-punk duo Sleaford Mods have, for their fifth album "proper," formed their own imprint and made a new record that is as bleak as it is bold, as funny as it is despairing, and as surprisingly tuneful as it is atonal and hard.
Karen O and Danger Mouse
Lux Prima
Mar 19, 2019 Web Exclusive
Any doubts that one may have about Karen O (enigmatic lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and artist/producer Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Broken Bells, Gorillaz, etc.) making strange bedfellows are quickly dismissed upon hearing the imaginative and gratifying Lux Prima.
Classic Interviews
Pet Shop Boys
Pop Stars Turned Political Pundits
Jun 03, 2009 Web Exclusive
Listening to any of the endless dance-floor-oriented hits from Pet Shop Boys in their 13-year-long career, you would think the duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have nothing but disco balls on their mind. But the two, who have just released their tenth studio album, Yes, have a lot more running through their brains. Starting their musical career in the mid-'80s, Pet Shop Boys have been through the boom of that decade, through the changeable '90s, and are now closing out the doom-filled '00s with not a lot changing in their songwriting process.
- The Antlers A Divided Mind
- Lush - Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson on 1996 Album “Lovelife” and the Last Days of the Band "Lush was so tied up with Chris, and without him, it's just really, really difficult to consider [a reunion]." - Miki Berenyi
- Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman's Four-Panel Terror Shambles Onto TV
Comic Book Reviews
Ye
Top Shelf
Mar 15, 2019 Issue #65 - Mitski and boygenius
Ye, by Guilherme Petreca, is a really gorgeous book; the art is idiosyncratic—both cartoony and lush—and lends itself very well to the fable/fairy tale-esque storytelling regarding a mostly mute man who is grappling with the influence of The Colorless King—which is revealed, at least for Ye, to be something close to PTSD.
Book Reviews
Peter Benjaminson
The Story of Motown
Feb 23, 2019 Web Exclusive
Originally released in 1979 and reissued here with a forward by Greil Marcus, The Story of Motown is a riveting introduction to the famous record label.
News
Tamaryn Shares NSFW Video for New Song “Path to Love” and a Remix by The Horrors
Mar 21, 2019
Tamaryn is releasing a new album, Dreaming the Dark, tomorrow via Dero Arcade. Now she has shared one more pre-release song from the album, "Path to Love," via a NSFW video for the song. She has also shared a remix of the song by The Horrors that completely transforms the track into something slower and more beat-heavy.
Interviews
My Firsts: Louise Wener of Sleeper
Mar 21, 2019 Web Exclusive
My Firsts is our email interview series where we ask musicians to tell us about their first life experiences, be it early childhood ones (first word, first concert, etc.) or their first tastes of being a musician (first band, first tour, etc.). For this My Firsts we talk to Louise Wener of Sleeper.
16th Annual Artist Survey: Mew
Mar 20, 2019 Issue #65 - Mitski and boygenius
For Under the Radar's 16th Annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the last year, plus some fun personal questions. We asked them about their favorite albums of the year and their thoughts on various notable 2018 news stories involving either the music industry or world events, as well as some quirkier personal questions.
Pleased to meet you
Pip Blom Share Video for New Song “Daddy Issues”
Mar 06, 2019
Pip Blom are a four-piece band from Amsterdam, but it's also the name of the band's frontwoman. They are releasing their debut album, Boat, on May 31 via Heavenly/[PIAS]. Now they have shared another song from the album, "Daddy Issues," via a video for the track.
Lists
Ranked: 2019 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts
Feb 24, 2019
Best Documentary Short is routinely one of the strongest categories, perhaps because the natural, open-ended approach to documentary filmmaking sees incredibly ambitious projects peter out. Certainly the reverse happens, as with Hoop Dreams. Unfortunately, this year includes two entries that might technically fall within the parameters of documentary filmmaking, but are too calculated and told from the benefit of hindsight to have the typical effect of nonfiction storytelling. No, not every documentary needs to be vérité, but every documentary should create a sense of the present tense. The two that do not heavily dilute the category.
By Shawn Hazelett
Live reviews
The Art Institute of Chicago, February 15th, February 16th
Mar 20, 2019
Outside, Chicago was in the nucleus of another gelid winter. Inside The Art Institute of Chicago for three consecutive nights, the interaction between artists and onlooking attendees was reaching intimate levels.
Blog
Hard Rock Corner: Y&T
Mar 20, 2019
Hard rockers Y&T showed its diehard fans an epic good time in Sellersville on a cold Wednesday night in March.
Media
- Cate Le Bon Announces New Album, Shares New Song “Daylight Matters” Cate Le Bon
- Listen: M83 “Karl” From Knife + Heart Soundtrack M83
- Watch: Boy Genius KEXP Live Session Boy Genius
- Listen: Sam Evian 7” “Cherry Tree b/w Roses” Sam Evian
- Listen: Rodrigo Amarante “That Old Dream Of Ours” From Devendra Banhart Unreleased Demos Vinyl Devendra Banhart
- Listen: Rafiq Bhatia Reworks “Breaking English” feat. Sam Dew Rafiq Bhatia
Cinema Reviews
Transit
Mar 13, 2019 Web Exclusive
Based on Anna Segher’s World War II novel of the same name, much ado has been made over Christian Petzold’s decision to place the story in modern times.
DVD Reviews
The Kid Brother
Studio: The Criterion Collection
Mar 20, 2019 Web Exclusive
Harold Lloyd’s heart-warming 1927 feature, The Kid Brother, plays like an unexpectedly contemporary-feeling romantic comedy.
Television Reviews
Leaving Neverland
(HBO, Sunday March 3 and Monday March 4)
Mar 03, 2019 Web Exclusive
Leaving Neverland, a sprawling account of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of Michael Jackson, was set for controversy from the moment it premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.