Dec 18, 2014 By Matt Fink Twin Peaks

Cadien Lake James is a lucky guy, and he knows it. Just 20 years old, he is the frontman of Twin Peaks, the Chicago quartet whose 2013 breakthrough, Sunken, established them as the vanguard of the city’s guitar-rock resurgence.

Dec 17, 2014 By Mark Redfern Artist Surveys 2014

For Under the Radar’s 12th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to 2014. We asked them about their favorite albums of the year and their thoughts on various notable 2014 news stories involving either the music industry or world events, as well as some quirkier personal questions.

Dec 17, 2014 By Matt Fink Issue #51 - September/October 2014 - alt-J

Nika Danilova aspires to be more than a cult artist—she’s not afraid to admit that. In fact, with her fifth full-length release as Zola Jesus, Taiga, she is aiming for the Top 40 charts, for pop stardom, for a place beside Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Rihanna.

Dec 16, 2014 By Mark Redfern Telekinesis

For Under the Radar’s 12th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to 2014. We asked them about their favorite albums of the year and their thoughts on various notable 2014 news stories involving either the music industry or world events, as well as some quirkier personal questions.

Dec 16, 2014 By Matt Fink My Brightest Diamond

After My Brightest Diamond‘s Shara Worden released her last album, 2011’s All Things Will Unwind, she found herself in an existential crisis. Having spent most of her adult life learning how to craft meticulously-arranged, exhaustingly-detailed albums, she was met with the realization that her music wasn’t translating into the era of iPod playlists and short attention spans.

Dec 15, 2014 By Laura Studarus Bear in Heaven

It’s Bear in Heaven‘s first interview in support of their fourth album Time Is Over One Day Old and it’s early in our conversation. But already they’ve been stumped.

Dec 12, 2014 By Matt Fink Best of 2014

Even if Lost in the Dream hadn’t become The War on Drugs’ breakthrough album, the story of its creation could have become the stuff of legend. The album was born of six months of isolated songwriting sessions in Adam Granduciel’s Philadelphia home while the songwriter endured a nervous breakdown of sorts. He often retreated to his bedroom with paralyzing panic attacks. He obsessively and meticulously constructed the album layer by layer in the studio, keenly aware that almost any choice—a certain guitar texture here or a drum pattern there—could push the album in a completely different direction. Just what kind of album was he making? He didn’t know. Would anyone care? It was impossible to say.

Dec 11, 2014 By Mike Hilleary Issue #51 - September/October 2014 - alt-J

In the two weeks Avi Zahner-Isenberg spent at San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone studios laying down the foundation of his band Avi Buffalo‘s sophomore album At Best Cuckold, the Long Beach, CA native rarely spent his nights in the hotel room that was booked for him and his bandmates for their stay.

Dec 10, 2014 By John Everhart Issue #51 - September/October 2014 - alt-J

In the Kübler-Ross model of grieving, a crucial step for the individual is moving on from depression to acceptance after a life-altering loss. It’s an oversimplification, but one that often holds true. For Cymbals Eat Guitars’ frontman Joseph D’Agostino, the depression he suffered from the sudden death of his best friend and musical collaborator Benjamin High in 2007 has been understandably protracted.