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Monday, May 20th, 2024  

Album Reviews

Death Jokes

Amen Dunes
Death Jokes

May 20, 2024 Web Exclusive

Under his moniker Amen Dunes, Damon McMahon’s music is ever-changing. Even at its most accessible, his work is existentialist, mercurial, and layered.

Lives Outgrown

Beth Gibbons
Lives Outgrown

May 17, 2024 Web Exclusive

Beth Gibbons’ Lives Outgrown is a weary but resolute dispatch from the back half of existence.

AMAMA

Crumb
AMAMA

May 16, 2024 Web Exclusive

AMAMA, the new record from New York collective Crumb, is another beguiling chunk of spacey psych-pop, a continuation of their playful experimentation with genre and the possibilities of sound.

Classic Interviews

Ellis – COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check In

Ellis – COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check In
“For an artist like me, touring is the number one most important way to promote a record, and it is completely devastating that I won’t be able to do that.”

Apr 03, 2020 COVID-19 Quarantine Artist Check In

We are checking in with musicians during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to see how they are dealing with everything. What has their home quarantine experience been like so far and how is the crisis impacting both their career and art? Here we check in with Ellis (aka Hamilton, Ontario dream pop artist Linnea Siggelkow).

Comic Book Reviews

Home to Stay!: The Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories

Home to Stay!: The Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories
Fantagraphics

May 02, 2023 Web Exclusive

In 1952 EC publisher Bill Gaines received a hilarious letter from Ray Bradbury gently requesting $50 in payment for the rights to his two stories “The Rocket Man” and “Kaleidoscope.”

Book Reviews

The Ballad of Speedball Baby: A Memoir

Ali Smith
The Ballad of Speedball Baby: A Memoir

Apr 29, 2024

You might not remember Speedball Baby. But bassist Ali Smith’s memoir is engaging in a way that few typical rock and roll stories are.

Interviews

Sitting Down With The Cast Of “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed”

Sitting Down With The Cast Of “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed”

May 12, 2024 Web Exclusive

The cast of The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed sits down for a discussion about the indie comedy’s commitment to authenticity.

Self-Portrait: Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap

Self-Portrait: Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap

May 10, 2024 Web Exclusive

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 Aidan Moffat of the Scottish duo Arab Strap.

Pleased to meet you

Sunday (1994) on Love, Dark Humor, and Leaps of Faith

Apr 30, 2024 Web Exclusive

Sunday (1994) recently made waves with their stunning debut single, “Tired Boy.” Not only does the single resonate like a lost classic, but the band also arrived with a fully formed visual aesthetic.

Lists

Under the Radar’s Top 40 TV Shows of 2023

Jan 29, 2024

Last year was a challenging one for the entertainment industry with the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes. While this double blow—albeit for good causes—had detrimental snowball effects on the industry, there was still a solid grip of high quality material that made it to the not-so-small screen airwaves and streamers. Award-winning series like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Barry took their last bows, and we’re still waiting for a trifecta from Vince Gilligan to round out Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but there was plenty to keep viewers glued to the tube. From superheroes to science fiction, political intrigue to teenage hijinks and dramatized jury service to historical dramas, we continue to be spoiled for choice. It was a battle for Under the Radar’s top television shows of 2023, but we’ve managed to narrow it down to 40 solid watches.

Live reviews

Focus Wales 2024, Wrexham, UK, May 8-11, 2024

Focus Wales 2024, Wrexham, UK, May 8-11, 2024

May 20, 2024 By Dom Gourlay

The 14th edition of Focus Wales was an absolute blast, and Under the Radar was in the thick of it for four musically enriched days.

Blog

A Tribute to Steve Albini

A Tribute to Steve Albini

May 19, 2024 By Matthew Berlyant

On Tuesday May 7th, we lost an American underground icon, legend, and all-around philosopher Steve Albini, who passed away in his long-time home of Chicago at the age of 61 from a heart attack.