Under The Radar

It may be called "Under the Radar," but this indie-rock music mag is way above average. Stuffed with insightful articles, relevant news and outstanding bands, Under the Radar is a must-have for fans of good indie-pop, rock and blow-your-mind alternative. Don't look for greasy gossip or trends -just music, music and music.

It starts off with some smaller interviews and Q&As, which still manage to be insightful as they interview people like Stephen Malkmus and Interpol. Then it's on to the major articles -in-depth studies of the bands and the individual people. But Under the Radar also delves into the background of the music, how the bands feel about their fans, the inspiration, the side projects, and much more.

Under the Radar also keeps an eye on the future: They cover future music releases by bands like Hot Hot Heat, the Doves, and Sparklehorse, as well as giving tabs on what other bands (Broken Social Scene) are doing in the limbo between albums. And of course -new bands! They offer some good looks into promising newcomers who are just starting out in the musical world.

The music-journalism world has undergone a bit of a revolution -commercialized, aging mags like Spin and Rolling Stone are being supplanted by smaller but more relevant magazines like Filter and the online Kludge. Under the Radar is one such magazine -except for frequency, there is nothing to complain about in this wonderfully in-depth, well-written exploration of good music -Modest Mouse, Dntel, Beta Band, Clinic, the Decemberists, Sun Kil Moon and much more.

Let's get this out of the way quickly -compared to most music magazines, Under the Radar comes out infrequently. As a result, if you pick it up in a bookstore, you may find that the "future releases" have already come out. However, the insightful content and all the music it can introduce you to are worth the wait.

The interviews are the best part of it all. The writing is calm, without the hyperactive, jokey wannabe-coolness that most magazines are infected with. The interviewers and columnists for Under the Radar are respectful and laid-back -no "about your girlfriend" questions, thankfully. In these interviews, the musicians seem relaxed and at ease, like they know they're in good hands. But they can also be solemn -in the sixth issue, Marcus Kagler gives a poignant tribute to the late Elliott Smith, remembering what Smith was like.

While still a relative newcomer, Under the Radar shows that it it should be up there with Mojo and Filter as a must-have for music geeks. Toss out your copies of Rolling Stone and pick up Under the Radar instead.

Under the Radar might be the best American music magazine around these days. The writing and photography is great, and the layout and overall quality of the mag just gets better with each issue. If you're into indie-rock then you're bound to love at least some of the bands they've covered, they seem to interview almost everybody. They squeeze so many amazing bands into each issue. My only complaint is that is doesn't come out more regularly.

I've sampled a lot of indie-rock mags, and Under the Radar is definitely more ahead of the curve than indie magazines like Amplifier, Rockpile, Big Takeover, Resonance etc. (all worthy music mags) or than bigger mags like Rolling Stone, Spin, Filter, Blender etc. Most of my new favorite bands in the last year or two were discovered through Under the Radar, then a couple of months later I'd start reading about some of those bands in other music mags. Via Under the Radar I first discovered bands like The Thrills, The Sleepy Jackson, Mew, The Streets, Rilo Kiley, Clearlake, British Sea Power, Interpol, The Polyphonic Spree, The Dears, The Velvet Teen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On the Radio, Electrelane, Hot Hot Heat, Elbow, stellastarr*, The Shins, and the list goes on. Plus their articles on bigger bands are usually more in-depth than other US music mags. They've done great articles on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Spiritualized, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Belle & Sebastian, The Flaming Lips, Blur, Super Furry Animals, Bright Eyes, Ride, Badly Drawn Boy, Broken Social Scene, etc. etc. And they were the last magazine to interview Elliott Smith before he died because they were the only ones who bothered to track him down and catch up with him. The photography is usually great too. For ahwile I wasn't into the layout, but they've really improved on that with the last couple of issues. There are other music mags that I buy too, like Devil In the Woods, Magnet and Big Takeover, but Under the Radar is the one I trust the most.

Buy Under The Radar Now

Here's a tip. Subscribe to this rag directly through Under the Radar's website and you'll get to choose from a selection of free CDs. These aren't compilations, but actual albums from new indie artists. In many cases, the CD costs more than the subscription, which is still a meager $12.50. There's no sense in purchasing this magazine through Amazon and losing out on the bargain.

Current CD selections include:

Bright Eyes/Neva Dinova: One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels

Caribou: Swim

Casio Kids: Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar

Dr. Dog: Shame, Shame

Gayngs: Relayted

Here We Go Magic: Pigeons

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: I Learned the Hard Way

Jamie Lidell: Compass

Steve Mason: Boys Outside

Plants and Animals: La La Land

Read Best Reviews of Under The Radar Here

Now i dont usually write reviews for things, but when i do its because i really like it or i really hate it. And i must say this is one of the best, if not the best music magazine out there. But before you go on if you like bands like simple plan or new found glory just stop and go read something else. this magazine is for indie rock fans or just plain rock. They give you reviews on at least 30 albums and have great interviews with artists. Now this is not like "Spin" who jumps on anything that is popular at the moment to make some money. I enjoyed reading this summers issue ( with Death Cab for Cutie on the front) so much that I ordered it the day i got the magazine. A must have for indie fans.

Want Under The Radar Discount?

as a new subscriber i have only gotten one issue of under the radar. however the one issue i have recieved is fantastic. it has pages of great reviews and a very in-depth story on the cover artist. there is virtually no filler and there's page after page of stories on up and coming talent and lesser known musicians. this also isn't a magazine that you breeze through in 20 minutes and never look at again. my only complaint about this magazine is it's quarterly publication, i wish i could have one every month.

under the radar is worth the money to subscribe

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