Aug 20, 2024 By Christopher Roberts

Starting today, fans of Seattle music and its history from jazz to grunge to rap to experimental are able to celebrate the region thanks to a new title, The Sound of Seattle, written by husband and wife duo Eva Walker (a DJ at KEXP and frontwoman of The Black Tones) and Jake Uitti (a longtime Under the Radar Contributor). More

Aug 07, 2024 By Mark Redfern

Toro y Moi (aka Chaz Bear) is releasing a new album, Hole Erth, on September 6 via Dead Oceans. Now he has shared two more songs from it: “Hollywood” (which features Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service) and “CD-R.” More

Oct 12, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism and The Postal Service’s Give Up have both turned 20 this year and as both bands are fronted by Ben Gibbard they have been on a joint tour where they perform both albums in their entirety. In honor of all this, Car Seat Headrest (aka Will Toledo and band) have covered Transatlanticism track “We Looked Like Giants” and The Beths have covered Give Up song “Brand New Colony.” The covers form a double A-side single for Sub Pop. More

Oct 06, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Chris Walla, the former Death Cab for Cutie founding member/guitarist/producer, has surprise-released a new EP of songs he originally recorded in 2002. It’s fittingly titled 2002 ep and is out now, timed to Bandcamp Friday. More

Aug 18, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Welcome to the 25th Songs of the Week of 2023. Songs of the Week was on hiatus for the last month because Wendy and I were on a much needed vacation to England and Iceland. I received several reader emails worried we had killed Songs of the Week, but have no worries, it’s back. As well as a regular Songs of the Week, we have put together an additional Spotify playlist featuring all the songs we also liked while Songs of the Week was taking a break. More

Aug 16, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie have shared a brand new song, “An Arrow In the Wall,” as well as a CHVRCHES remix of the single. More

Apr 21, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Now that Issue 71 is out, we’ve decided to offer 40% off our previous issue, Issue 70 (aka the My Favorite Movie Issue). The print version is available now for a limited time for only $3.60. Buy it here. More

Mar 29, 2023 By Andy Von Pip

Frightened Rabbit and Death Cab For Cutie donate signed bass guitar to raise funds for Mental Health Charity More

Jan 31, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie have announced an acoustic version of their 2022 album, Asphalt Meadows, which was considered by many to be a true return to form, and shared the album’s cover of Low’s “The Plan,” as well as an acoustic version of the band’s own “Pepper.” More

Jan 27, 2023 By Mark Redfern

Ben Gibbard and composer Tom Howe have teamed up for the new song “Frightening Fishes,” which is the theme song for the new Apple TV+ show Shrinking. The comedy stars Jason Segel and Harrison Ford and premiered today. More

Dec 23, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Are things back to normal in 2022? They are, aren’t they? Well not quite. More

Dec 08, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Next year, Ben Gibbard will be opening for himself. Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, both which he is the frontman of, have announced a joint tour for 2023. Death Cab for Cutie will be performing their 2003 album, Transatlanticism. The Postal Service will be performing their 2003 album (and only full-length), Give Up. Both are celebrating their 20th anniversary next year. More

Nov 18, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, the My Favorite Movie Issue, in which musicians and actors tell us about their all-time favorite movies. Issue 70 features Sharon Van Etten and Ezra Furman on the two covers. It also features an in-depth joint interview between singer/songwriter Kevin Morby and actor/musician Jason Schwartzman about Rushmore, Morby’s favorite film (which Schwartzman starred in). More

Oct 03, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie recently performed a live session for SiriusXM, where they played a cover of Liz Phair’s “Go West.” More

Sep 16, 2022 By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)

Welcome to the 35th Songs of the Week of 2022. This week we had a very clear #1. Two album tracks, from records released today, made the list. And all in all we settled on a Top 9. More

Sep 16, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie have released a new album, Asphalt Meadows, today via Atlantic. Read our rave review of it here. Last night, they made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where they performed the album’s title track. They also performed the songs “Roman Candles,” “Foxglove Through the Clearcut,” and “A Movie Script Ending” in an online-exclusive performance. More

Sep 14, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie have shared their full Live From Home livestream concert performance, which took place this past Monday. The performance featured a cover of R.E.M.’s “Near Wild Heaven” and a stripped-down version of the previously unreleased track “Pepper,” from Death Cab For Cutie’s forthcoming album, Asphalt Meadows, which will be out this Friday (September 16) via Atlantic. More

Sep 09, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie have shared a new song, “Rand McNally.” It is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Asphalt Meadows, which will be out on September 16 via Atlantic, and as of now, it is only available for listening in-person at one of the 800+ venues the band has performed at since their inception. The band have also announced a Live From Home concert, which will be streamed live on Monday, September 12 at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET. The livestream will feature a Q&A, and all proceeds will benefit the reproductive rights organization The Brigid Alliance. More

Aug 26, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Noah Cyrus has shared a video for her new single, “Every Beginning Ends,” a duet with Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie. It is the latest release from Cyrus’ forthcoming debut album, The Hardest Part, which will be out on September 16. More

Aug 19, 2022 By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)

Welcome to the 31st Songs of the Week of 2022. This week’s list covers songs from the last two weeks, as I was on vacation last week. This week we’re doing things slightly differently, with just a main Top 12 list and some honorable mentions, without the longer list of songs also released in the last week. More

Aug 12, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie have shared a new single, “Foxglove Through the Clearcut.” It is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Asphalt Meadows, which will be out on September 16 via Atlantic. More

Jul 26, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Asphalt Meadows, on September 16 via Atlantic. Last night they were the musical guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where they performed the album’s recent single, “Here to Forever.” More

Jul 15, 2022 By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)

Welcome to the 27th Songs of the Week of 2022. It was a strong week for new tracks. Really any of the Top 6 could’ve been our #1 song. We settled on a Top 12 this week. More

Jul 13, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Asphalt Meadows, on September 16 via Atlantic. Now they have shared the album’s second single, “Here to Forever,” via an amusing video in which frontman Benjamin Gibbard has to press the band’s own vinyl after encountering some incompetent workers at the pressing plant. Lance Bangs directed the video, which also features comedians Natalie Palamides and Courtney Pauroso. More

Jun 01, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Asphalt Meadows, on September 16 via Atlantic. Now the album’s previously shared first single, “Roman Candles,” has a music video that was shot in one-take and features the band performing the song while roman candle fireworks explode around them. More

May 13, 2022 By Mark Redfern (with Joey Arnone)

Welcome to the 19th Songs of the Week of 2022. It was a stellar week for new tracks, thanks in part to some exciting album announcements and their corresponding singles. So this week we have a slightly super-sized Top 13. More

May 11, 2022 By Mark Redfern

Death Cab for Cutie have announced a new album, Asphalt Meadows, and shared its first single, the short and distorted “Roman Candles,” via a lyric video. The band have also announced some new fall tour dates. More

Feb 15, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab for Cutie have shared a cover of Yoko Ono’s 1973 song “Waiting for the Sunrise.” It is the latest cover to be released from the upcoming Ono tribute album, Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, which will be out this Friday (Feb. 18). More

Jan 26, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Japanese Breakfast (aka Michelle Zauner) has shared a cover of Yoko Ono’s 1981 song “Nobody Sees Me Like You Do.” It is the latest cover to be released from the upcoming Ono tribute album, Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, which will be out on February 18. More

Jan 05, 2022 By Joey Arnone

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records have announced the release of a Yoko Ono tribute album, Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, which will be out on February 18. Curated by Gibbard, the album features 14 covers of Ono tracks from artists such as Sharon Van Etten, Death Cab for Cutie, US Girls, Japanese Breakfast, Jay Som, and Thao. A David Byrne and Yo La Tengo cover of Ono’s “Who Has Seen the Wind?” has just been released. More

Dec 02, 2021 By Joey Arnone

San Francisco producer Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie have shared a remix of their collaborative track “Only Love” done by Oakland duo Brijean. It is out now via Mom + Pop / Ninja Tune. More

Oct 19, 2021 By Joey Arnone

Ontario-based trio Ellevator have shared a video for their new single, “Charlie IO.” The song was produced by Chris Walla (formerly of Death Cab for Cutie) and will be featured on their debut album, which is set to release in early 2022 via Arts & Crafts. More

Oct 13, 2021 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie have announced a reissue of their 2001 third studio album, The Photo Album, in honor of its 20th anniversary. The 35-track reissue will feature a remastered version of the original album, along with unreleased tracks, rarities, UK b-sides, and covers of Björk’s “All is Full of Love” and The Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored.” In addition to the announcement, the band shared a previously unreleased demo for their song “Coney Island.” The reissue will be out digitally on October 29 via Barsuk, and will be released on vinyl in spring 2022. More

Oct 06, 2021 By Mark Redfern

Lala Lala (aka Lillie West) is releasing a new album, I Want the Door to Open, this Friday via Hardly Art. Now Lala Lala has shared its fourth single, “Utopia Planet,” which features a spoken word section from West’s grandmother, as well as some saxophone playing by Sen Morimoto. Meggie van Zwieten directed the accompanying video. More

Jul 13, 2021 By Mark Redfern

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has teamed up with San Francisco producer Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) for the new song, “Only Love.” More

May 06, 2021 By Emma Goad

Death Cab For Cutie have announced a new full-length live album, Live At the Showbox, available for only 24 hours tomorrow (May 7) as a Bandcamp Friday exclusive. Some proceeds will be donated to NIVA (National Independent Venue Association). More

Mar 18, 2021 By Mark Redfern

One of the reliable fixtures of the early days of COVID-19 and the lockdown was Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie performing his Live From Home livestreaming solo concerts from his home studio. To mark the one-year anniversary of the launch of those concerts, last night Gibbard brought the format back and performed nine songs over the course of 52 minutes. More

Dec 03, 2020 By Joey Arnone

Death Cab For Cutie have announced a new 5-track EP, The Georgia E.P., which will be available on Bandcamp this Friday (Dec. 4). The Georgia E.P. features covers of songs by legendary artists originally from Georgia, including TLC, Neutral Milk Hotel, R.E.M., Vic Chestnutt, and Cat Power. It will be available for download for 24 hours (beginning 12:01 a.m. PT), and all proceeds from the EP will benefit Fair Fight Action, a voter’s rights organization founded by politician Stacey Abrams in 2018 that works to fight against voter suppression. More

Jun 29, 2020 By Mark Redfern

Stereogum have launched a new Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign to help raise money to keep the site going and the centerpiece is an exclusive compilation of current artists covering songs from the 2000s, the decade the site launched. Among the artists taking part are Death Cab For Cutie, Julien Baker, The National, Mac DeMarco, Soccer Mommy, Shamir, Sharon Van Etten, Dirty Projectors, Waxahatchee, Anna Calvi, Hamilton Leithauser, Strand of Oaks, The New Pornographers, Wye Oak, Ty Segall, Ryley Walker, El-P, Car Seat Headrest, Charly Bliss, Bedouine, Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast, and many others. More

May 28, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been livestreaming solo concerts from his home studio since March. Tonight he performed his final concert for a while and his wife Rachel Demy got to pick the setlist, which included a cover of Björk’s “All Is Full of Love.” More

May 28, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has shared a new song, “Proxima B,” as well as a cover of Minor Threat’s “Filler.” More

May 14, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie was the musical guest on last night’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He performed his recent single, “Life In Quarantine,” doing it solo acoustic from home. More

May 07, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. Tonight’s concert was an all-Beatles covers set. More

Apr 24, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. During last night’s concert he performed a new song, “Proxima B,” and covered Nirvana’s “All Apologies” in what was an all-piano set. More

Apr 10, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. During last night’s concert he performed all of Death Cab for Cutie’s 2000-released album We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. More

Apr 02, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming daily solo concerts from his home studio. He has now switched from daily to weekly concerts and today during his first weekly one he covered Fountains of Wayne’s “Barbara H.” in tribute to the band’s Adam Schlesinger, who died yesterday due to COVID-19. More

Mar 30, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming daily solo concerts from his home studio. Yesterday was his last daily concert, he is moving to weekly concerts starting this Thursday, and for the occasion he did another all-covers set (as he did last Sunday). He covered R.E.M.’s “Half a World Away,” The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” Morrissey’s “Everyday Is Like Sunday,” Hall & Oates’ “Out of Touch,” The Magnetic Fields’ “Strange Powers,” Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge’s “Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Only Living Boy In New York,” and Spiritualized’s “Hold On.” More

Mar 27, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

Welcome to the twelfth Songs of the Week of 2020. It was another scary week out there, as America surpassed China and Italy to become the country with the most COVID-19 coronavirus cases in the world, with 101,242 known U.S. cases at the time of this writing and 1,588 American COVID-19 deaths. Meanwhile the world economy is in tatters and there’s no realistic end to the quarantine in sight, despite what President Trump says about everything opening back up again in time for Easter. More

Mar 26, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming daily solo concerts from his home studio and watch this week’s ones here. Last week Gibbard also shared a video where he performed the new song “Life In Quarantine,” which is inspired by what we’re all going through with COVID-19, and now he has shared the studio version of the song. More

Mar 23, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has been live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. His latest concert was yesterday and it was an all-covers set in which he covered songs by Phoebe Bridgers, Elliott Smith, Rilo Kiley, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Big Star, and Def Leppard. More

Mar 20, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has shared a video where he performs the new song “Life In Quarantine” which is inspired by what we’re all going through with the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. He’s also shared his latest Live From Home live streamed concert. More

Mar 19, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, for the next few weeks Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie will be live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. The second performance was yesterday and during the 50 minutes he covered New Order’s “Ceremony.” More

Mar 18, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, for the next few weeks Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie will be live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. The first performance was yesterday and during the 45 minutes he covered Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” Gibbard has also announced on Twitter that he’s taking requests. More

Mar 17, 2020 By Christopher Roberts

With most spring tours and festivals either postponed or cancelled, and with most of the world being told to stay at home as much as possible, all in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, some musicians are finding creative ways to still perform. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie has announced that starting today and for the next few weeks he will be live streaming solo concerts from his home studio. More

Nov 05, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Last night at the Bellco Theater in Denver, CO Lana Del Rey sang a duet with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, covering his classic 2005-released song “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.” Del Rey also performed a duet with Australian singer/songwriter Julia Jacklin, doing Jacklin’s own song “Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You.” More

Sep 06, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Khan) has released a new album, Lost Girls, today via AWAL Recordings and it’s our Album of the Week. We also have streams of other notable albums and EPs released today: Iggy Pop, Lower Dens, Death Cab for Cutie, Frankie Cosmos, Miles Davis, and Kindness. More

Sep 06, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Welcome to another Songs of the Week. It should’ve been a quiet week due to Monday’s Labor Day holiday here in America. And it was quiet at first, but then in the latter half of the week there was a rally of worthy new tracks. We settled on 11 tracks this week (we did only nine last week). More

Sep 06, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie have released a new EP, The Blue EP, today via Atlantic. Now that it’s out, you can stream the whole thing here. Also, the band have shared a video for the EP’s closing track, “Blue Bloods,” which is labeled a studio video since it features footage of them recording the song. More

Aug 16, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Welcome to another Songs of the Week. It was a super strong week for new songs. There was lots of debate about how many tracks we should include this week and what would make the list. Hence we ended up with a Top 12, instead of our usual Top 10. There are also a whole lot of honorable mentions. More

Aug 16, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new EP, The Blue EP, on September 6 via Atlantic. Now they have shared another track from it, EP opener “To the Ground,” which is a bit more propulsive than recent Death Cab for Cutie material. More

Jul 30, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie have announced a new EP, The Blue EP, and shared its first single, “Kids in ‘99.” The Blue EP is due out September 6 via Atlantic. Check out “Kids in ‘99” below, followed by the EP’s tracklist and cover art. More

Jul 26, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Welcome to another Songs of the Week. It was another strong week for new tracks. There are some repeat offenders (artists who have had previous Songs of the Week in recent months), some newbies, and a surprising collaboration. More

Jul 26, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Chance The Rapper has finally released his debut album, The Big Day, today. The Big Day features a slew of special guests, but of most note to our readers might be the song “Do You Remember,” which features guest vocals from Death Cab for Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard and was co-written by Gibbard and a bunch of other people, including Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon. More

Jul 10, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Tiny Changes - A Celebration of The Midnight Organ Fight is a new tribute album where different artists cover each song on Frightened Rabbit‘s 2008 album The Midnight Organ Fight. The band put it together and now they have shared another track from it, a cover of “Keep Yourself Warm” by Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. More

May 09, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard has shared a cover of Minor Threat‘s “Filler.” The original was the first track on Minor Threat’s self-titled debut EP from 1981. More

Apr 22, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Acclaimed best selling authors Nick Hornby, Dave Eggers, and Michael Chabon have teamed up for the new charity project Setlists for Young Voices, where they are auctioning autographed setlists by R.E.M., Mitski, Wilco, Janelle Monáe, Sigur Rós, Better Oblivion Community Center, Death Cab for Cutie, Jim James, Patti Smith, More

Mar 25, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

The Beths are a New Zealand band that released their debut album, the amusingly titled Future Me Hates Me, back in August 2018 via Carpark. Now they have announced some new summer U.S. tour dates covering late June to early August. They also recently covered Death Cab for Cutie’s “Soul Meets Body” (from 2005’s Plans) for SiriusXMU. More

Mar 18, 2019 By Christopher Roberts

Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes) recently teamed up as the new band Better Oblivion Community Center and in January they surprise released their self-titled debut album via Dead Oceans. Last night the dynamic duo performed in Seattle and during their set they covered a song by hometown heroes Death Cab for Cutie. The song in question was “Title and Registration,” from Death Cab’s 2003 classic Transatlanticism. More

Sep 05, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie released a new album, Thank You For Today, last month via Atlantic. Now they have stopped by Spotify to cover Frightened Rabbit‘s “My Backwards Walk,” a song from the Scottish band’s 2008 album The Midnight Organ Fight. More

Aug 31, 2018 By Mark Redfern

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our new print issue, which is out now nationwide (on newsstands, in such stores as Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, and elsewhere) and available to buy directly from us here. The issue features Kamasi Washington on the cover. More

Aug 23, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie released a new album, Thank You For Today, last week via Atlantic. Now they have stopped by SiriusXM to perform a cover of Richard Swift’s “Most of What I Know,” from his 2006 album Dressed Up For the Letdown. Swift passed away back in July and Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard was friends with Swift, as he talks about in an interview with SiriusXM (“There are very few people that I would call a genius, and I really believe that Richard was one of those people”). More

Aug 17, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie released a new album, Thank You For Today, today via Atlantic. Last night the band stopped by The Late Late Show with James Corden to perform the album’s first single “Gold Rush,” which might be Death Cab for Cutie’s catchiest single in years. More

Aug 16, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Thank You For Today, this Friday (August 17) via Atlantic. Last night the band stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform the album’s first single “Gold Rush” on the air. Then they did a mini concert of four other songs for a web-exclusive performance, including Thank You For Today tracks “Autumn Love,” “Your Hurricane,” and “Summer Years,” as well as the classic track “The Sound of Settling” (from 2003’s Transatlanticism). More

Aug 13, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Thank You For Today, this Friday (August 17) via Atlantic. Now you can stream the whole album a few days early. More

Aug 03, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Lots of strong Songs of the Week contenders this week. We were tempted to do a Top 12 again like last week, instead of our usual Top 10, but resisted the excess. There are lots of Europeans in this week’s list. More

Aug 01, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Thank You For Today, on August 17 via Atlantic. Now they have shared another song from the album, “Autumn Love.” More

Jul 20, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Songs of the Week returned last week after a five-week hiatus and now we’re back into the full swing of things. This week’s list features some returning artists who have appeared on other Songs of the Week lists lately, including a repeat #1, as well as some artists making their debut on the list. It all ends with one of the silliest songs to ever make the Songs of the Week list, which will hopefully lift your spirits. More

Jul 19, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Thank You For Today, on August 17 via Atlantic. Previously they shared a video for its first single, “Gold Rush,” performed the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and also shared a lyric video for “Gold Rush” featuring frontman Ben Gibbard holding the lyrics on large cards, Bob Dylan-style. (“Gold Rush” was one of our Songs of the Week.) Now they have shared another song from the album, “I Dreamt We Spoke Again,” via a lyric video that features the lyrics on top of images of clouds. More

Jul 13, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Hello again. We haven’t done a Songs of the Week for almost five weeks, since June 9. We were on vacation from mid to late June and then when we returned there really weren’t enough compelling songs last week to justify doing Songs of the Week lists, mainly because of the July 4th holiday being smack dab in the middle of the week and so labels mainly avoided sharing new songs. More

Jun 27, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Thank You For Today, on August 17 via Atlantic. Previously they shared a video for its first single, “Gold Rush,” and performed the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Usually a band releases a lyric video prior to the main video, but Death Cab for Cutie have done it the other way around and have now shared a lyric video for “Gold Rush.” It features frontman Ben Gibbard holding the lyrics on large cards, standing in the middle of the road, and discarding the cards one by one as the song progresses. It is, of course, reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s 1965 promotional film (proto music video) for “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” More

Jun 22, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie are releasing a new album, Thank You For Today, on August 17 via Atlantic. Previously they shared a video for its first single, “Gold Rush.” Last night they stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform “Gold Rush.” Watch the performance below.

Jun 13, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie have announced a new album, Thank You For Today, and shared a video for its first single, “Gold Rush.” Thank You For Today is due out August 17 via Atlantic. More

May 04, 2018 By Stephen Mayne

Doctors change their story, presidents change their story, the Nobel Peace Prize has a way to make itself even less credible, Death Cab for Cutie return, and Haley Heynderickx channels Miyazaki this week. More

May 01, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie have announced some fall tour dates and shared a new teaser video for their next album, which seems to be due out in August. The trailer features a snippet of new music. More

Apr 06, 2018 By Stephen Mayne

This week we look at Martin Luther King Jr. and the impact he had half a century on from his death, plus there’re sanctions, walls, pay gaps, reworked wedding songs, and Superorganism. More

Apr 05, 2018 By Christopher Roberts

Universal Love is a new EP funded by MGM Resorts that features musicians covering classic love songs but adjusting the gender pronouns so that they would be more appropriate for same sex weddings. It features St. Vincent, Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Dylan, Kesha, Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, and Valerie June. More

Nov 22, 2017 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie played their first ever show 20 years ago today, on November 22, 1997. In honor of that anniversary the band have shared the audio for the acoustic set on Bandcamp for $4.00, with some of the proceeds going to the Seattle-based charity Aurora Commons. More

Jul 14, 2017 By Christopher Roberts

The first four singles from Arcade Fire‘s forthcoming new album, Everything Now, seem to have gotten a mixed response from fans, but we make no apologies for naming the album’s excellent and catchy first single, title track “Everything Now,” our #1 Song of the Week back on June 2. More

Jul 13, 2017 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard is covering Teenage Fanclub‘s 1991 album Bandwagonesque in its entirety. It will be released on July 28 on limited edition vinyl (with a download card) as part of Turntable Kitchen’s Sounds Delicious vinyl subscription series. Now Gibbard has shared a cover of Teenage Fanclub’s “The Concept” via an animated video. More

Jun 09, 2017 By Stephen Mayne

Welcome back. This week we have Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Dave Depper discussing his new solo album and the place of protest music in the Trump era, plus James Comey slamming the President, election surprises in the U.K., the Manchester benefit show, and two ongoing rows amongst musicians. More

May 09, 2017 By Christopher Roberts

Two of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest artists, Death Cab for Cutie and The Decemberists, have teamed up for a benefit concert for both Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. It’s an acoustic benefit that goes down on June 9 at the Paramount in Seattle. Sera Cahoone will be the support act. More

Dec 30, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our joint Best of 2016 / 15th Anniversary Issue, which is out now digitally via Under the Radar’s app and the magazine app Readly. The print version is about to ship out to subscribers and stores and will be on all newsstands soon (as well as available soon digitally via the magazine apps Zinio and Readbug). The issue celebrates the best albums of 2016, reflects on Under the Radar‘s 15th anniversary and albums released in 2001, looks forward to albums due out in early 2017, and features The Flaming Lips on the cover. There’s also a big article examining how the music industry has changed in the last 15 years and in our Artist Survey section various musicians comment on the music and events of 2016. More

Dec 28, 2016 By Charles Steinberg

Under the Radar’s very first print issue came out in December 2001. In honor of our 15th Anniversary some of our writers are reflecting on some of their favorite albums (and movies and TV shows) from 2001, that are also celebrating their 15th anniversary. More

Dec 13, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard is set to cover Teenage Fanclub‘s 1991 album Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque in its entirety. It will be released on limited edition vinyl (with a download card) as part of Turntable Kitchen’s Sounds Delicious vinyl subscription series. More

Oct 10, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie have shared a brand new song and video that is a clear statement against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. “Million Dollar Loan” is inspired Trump’s disputed claim that he started his business career with a small loan from his father of only one million dollars. The video was directed by Simian Design and features a Trump lookalike as a wall is built around him. The song is the first part of the “30 Days, 30 Songs” anti-Trump campaign put together by author/publisher Dave Eggers and Death Cab for Cutie manager Jordan Kurland. More

Sep 09, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of our 2016 Protest Issue (out September, October, and into November), which is out now both digitally and on newsstands. We’ve done a Protest Issue every U.S. Presidential election year since 2004 and as before this issue features articles examining the intersection of music and politics and photo shoots with musicians holding protest signs of their own making. Then in mid-October we will be launching our charity Protest Auction, in which we auction off all the protest signs in the issue, with all profits going to the American Cancer Society. More

Jun 16, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Scottish electro-pop trio CHVRCHES and American indie-rock mainstays Death Cab for Cutie have had a handful of tour dates together this month. Last night in Charleston, SC, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry got up on stage with Death Cab for Cutie to sing the band’s “Brothers on a Hotel Bed,” from Death Cab’s 2005 album Plans. More

Jun 13, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Scottish electro-pop trio CHVRCHES and American indie-rock mainstays Death Cab for Cutie have a handful of tour dates together this month. In honor of this The Talkhouse Music Podcast have gotten CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard together for a joint interview, which was apparently the first time the two had ever actually met. More

Jun 07, 2016 By Christopher Roberts

Death Cab for Cutie’s latest album, Kintsugi, came out last year (via Atlantic). Last night the band stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform album track “No Room in Frame.” More

Mar 31, 2023 By Mike Hilleary

Over the course of a two-and-a-half-year pandemic thousands, if not millions of people across the country—and the globe—were forced into an extended, existential crisis, resulting in all kinds of self-reflection and reevaluation on our emotional and mental wellbeing, the importance of a healthy work/life balance, and how we even want to interact with the rest of the world. More

Dec 21, 2020 By Matt Fink

As Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie walked around Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in the pre-lockdown days of the pandemic it was eerily quiet, like that week between Christmas and New Year’s when most of the city’s tech industry transplants have gone back to their home states. More

Mar 27, 2020 By Jacob Uitti

The city of Seattle is many things. It’s a hub for tech companies, food and drink establishments, and, perhaps most importantly, music. The lineage of Emerald City greats pushes well into the past and continues with standout after standout today from Pearl Jam to Death Cab For Cutie to Thunderpussy, The Decemberists, Car Seat Headrest, and The Black Tones. More

Nov 16, 2018 By Chris K. Davidson

To end out the week, we ask Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie (and also The Postal Service) some questions about endings and death. Death Cab for Cutie has been a pivotal act in bringing indie rock to the mainstream in the mid-to-late 2000s with seminal releases such as Transatlanticism, Plans, and Narrow Stairs. More

Aug 17, 2018 By Chris K. Davidson

Three years after 2015’s Kintsugi, Seattle’s Death Cab for Cutie are releasing their first album as a quintet, Thank You for Today. Founding guitarist/producer Chris Walla left the band following the recording of Kintsugi and didn’t tour that album, but Thank You for Today sees touring guitarists/keyboardists Dave Depper and Zac Rae become official fulltime members (joining founding singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard, founding bassist Nick Harmer, and longtime drummer Jason McGerr). More

Mar 20, 2017 By Matt Fink

In 2001, when Under the Radar‘s first issue was released, the music industry had reached a transitional moment. In January, Apple introduced its iTunes program to the world, laying the groundwork to forever change how listeners interfaced with their music. More

Mar 16, 2017 By Matt Fink

In April of 2001, the members of Death Cab for Cutie should have been on top of the world. With two acclaimed full-length releases (1998’s Something About Airplanes and 2000’s We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes) and a growing audience, they had reached the status every upstart band dreams of: they had quit their day jobs to focus solely on their music. More

Nov 29, 2016 By Matt Fink

On March 23, 2016, the state of North Carolina passed The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, otherwise known as House Bill 2 or HB2. The law, as written, strips out anti-discrimination protections for gay, bisexual, and transgender people, as well as prohibits transgender individuals from using the bathroom of their choice in public buildings. More

Aug 14, 2015 By Mike Hilleary

A few days before our interview, Ben Gibbard broke his right wrist. An avid long-distance runner for the past number of years, regularly clocking in 50 or more miles in a given week, the Death Cab for Cutie frontman was taking part in a 50K trail race on Washington’s Orcas Island when he crossed a slick wooden bridge along the 20 mile mark. More

Aug 14, 2014 By Benjamin Plotkin

For this Throwback Thursday we revisit our 2002 article on Death Cab For Cutie. It was our first interview with the band and appeared all the way back in issue #2 of the magazine. We are posting it in honor of yesterday’s announcement that guitarist Chris Walla is leaving the band. Death Cab For Cutie were one of the bands we knew we had to interview when we started Under the Radar. The interview was conducted in honor of the band’s third full-length album, 2001’sThe Photo Album, and 2002’s The Stability EP. The lineup at the time was Walla, singer Benjamin Gibbard, bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Michael Schorr (current drummer Jason McGerr took over in 2003 in time for their next album,Transatlanticism). Under the Radar’s co-publisher and co-founder Wendy Lynch Redfern did a photo shoot with the band at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles around the time of their soundcheck. Walla was happy enough with the article that he wrote us a letter to thank us, which we ran in the following issue. Later Walla would write a regular column for us for many years titled “Chris Walla Explains It All.” Read on as Benjamin Gibbard and Chris Walla discusses never taking a sick day, avoiding day jobs, the emo tag, their early recordings, and hints of The Postal Service. More

Nov 02, 2012 By Matt Fink

If you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed that Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla released a solo record in 2008, the well-received but mostly overlooked Field Manual. And if you did pick up that album, if you didn’t listen all that closely, you might have missed that it was actually a fairly political album, with what Walla self-effacingly says are 10 “ill-fated protest songs.” More

Nov 10, 2009 By Matt Fink

Though it’s reputed to be the most widely spoken musical language in the world today, rock and roll was born on the margins. More

Apr 30, 2009 By Mike Hilleary

Death Cab for Cutie is currently on the road alongside Ra Ra Riot and Matt Costa (with Cold War Kids as the opener during the first half of the tour). While on tour Death Cab’s vocalist Ben Gibbard doesn’t do much with his available free time. The things he does do, however, he commits to with consuming sincerity. Aside from raiding the inventory of numerous cities’ record shops, with the new season of Major League Baseball starting up, Gibbard has been living in a state of nine-inning increments: watching games, checking the latest stats, and listening to all kinds of sports commentary. He’s even managed to get out to an actual ballpark, recently catching the Twins face off against the Blue Jays in Minneapolis. More

Apr 02, 2008 By Matt Fink

There’s the “next big thing” buzz band, riding a wave of hype that becomes more important than the music they make. And then there’s the band with a hard-earned indie rock pedigree that is making the integrity-risking move of jumping to a major label, a move that is greeted with suspicion by anyone from the keeping-it-real old guard that equates corporate involvement as a contaminant that endangers any honest expression. In 2006, Death Cab for Cutie learned that having a story that’s too good to ignore can drown out all other subplots. More

Aug 02, 2005 By Matt Fink

Justin Mitchell is the producer and director of the Death Cab for Cutie tour documentary Drive Well, Sleep Carefully: On the Road With Death Cab for Cutie, which was recently released on DVD by Plexifilm. More

Aug 23, 2018 By Stephen Mayne

Age is the great enemy of rock music, or it used to be until all the youthful bands grew old and went on never-ending nostalgia tours. Death Cab for Cutie aren’t close to that, but neither are these Pacific Northwest indie stalwarts bright young things anymore. More

Mar 30, 2015 By Zach Hollwedel

Kintsugi, Death Cab for Cutie‘s newest album and the follow-up to 2011’s Codes and Keys, takes its title from the Japanese art of piecing broken pottery back together; this is especially apt, given recent changes to the group. More

Nov 14, 2013 By Aaron Passman

I don’t know if anyone aside from Death Cab for Cutie completists was really demanding a deluxe reissue of Transatlanticism, but here we are with one anyway, having entered the era in which nearly every record gets a reissue for every milestone. More

Dec 07, 2011 By Luke Winkie

The post-release victory-lap remix EP has become a remarkably ubiquitous item in the industry, but it still feels strange for Death Cab for Cutie to be doing one. The Keys and Codes Remix EP (get it?) is a remarkably beat-driven affair, with everyone from The 2 Bears to Yeasayer reconfiguring some of the central tunes of the parent LP. More

May 30, 2011 By Jim Scott

Perfection is the goal for Death Cab for Cutie. One listen to its seventh album, Codes and Keys, reveals a band as conscious as ever of the power of the studio. More

May 21, 2009 By Aaron Passman

Before they hit the big time and had money coming out of their ears, Death Cab For Cutie toured in a van, slept on floors and played small, smoky clubs rather than thousand-seater theaters and arenas. And, in between records (which were generally superior to their more recent work) they put out stop gap EPs to keep the bills paid and fans satiated between full-lengths. So now on the heels of last year’s Narrow Stairs LP comes The Open Door EP, with four songs culled from the Stairs sessions and a ukulele-backed demo-version of Stairs’ “Talking Bird.” More