Under the Radar Magazine

British guitar slayer Anna Calvi recently took part in a program where musicians perform live at The Tate in London. (via Watch: Anna Calvi Performs at The Tate Museum | Under The Radar)

Much like she did with TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me” and The Shirelles’ “Baby It’s You,” UK musical artistAnna Calvi has come forth out of nowhere with yet another notable cover.

It may have been a difficult year for many people for a multitude of reasons (not least of all, the weak economy), but 2011 was certainly a great year for music. Here at Under the Radar we’d argue that it was an even better year for music than 2010 was, which is why this year we’ve come up with a Top 40 best debut albums of 2011, versus last year’s Top 30. (via Under the Radar’s Top 40 Debut Albums of 2011 | Under The Radar)

It may have been a difficult year for many people for a multitude of reasons (not least of all, the weak economy), but 2011 was certainly a great year for music. Here at Under the Radar we’d argue that it was an even better year for music than 2010 was, which is why this year we’ve come up with a Top 80 best albums of 2011, versus last year’s Top 50. (via Under the Radar’s Top 80 Albums of 2011 | Under The Radar)

Issue #35 - Winter 2011 - Death Cab for Cutie

Under the Radar’s Winter 2011 issue is about to hit stands. The cover features Death Cab for Cutie, who gave writer Matt Fink insight into the band’s forthcoming album, Codes and Keys (due out in May). The article features an exclusive photo shoot with the band conducted by co-publisher/photographer Wendy Lynch Redfern at a creepy former retirement home in Seattle.

“There are some songs [on the new record] that are dark and deal with darker themes, but there are also songs that are very celebratory and things that I think people will be surprised to hear coming out of my mouth.” – Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard

“I hesitate to say that it’s an electronic record, because I think that means something in contemporary terms that this record isn’t. But if I said in 1978 that we were making an electronic record, I think that’s sort of what it is.” – Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla

The issue also includes the 2011 Preview section, for which we checked in with some artists who were ready to discuss their upcoming 2011 projects. Artists we talked to with albums due out in April 2011 or later include: The Antlers, The Big Pink, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Japandroids,Jens Lekman, Okkervil River, Panda Bear, and Vivian Girls. There’s also info on 27 other albums coming out later this year.

“They’re all heartbreak or post-heartbreak songs.” – Jens Lekman, on his next album

“We want to make [an album] that has a good groove to it, like a Dr. Dre, early Sean Paul, or Sly and the Family Stone album.” – The Big Pink’s Milo Cordell, on the band’s next album

“I like records that put you in an altered headspace. That’s what I was looking for on this record, something that would give you that sort of uncomfortable feeling.” – Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, on the band’s next record

We also looked ahead to new artists prepared to make a splash in 2011 with an expanded Pleased to Meet You section, a new artists for 2011 section which includes interviews with: Anna Calvi, Chad Valley, IO Echo, Porcelain Raft, Smith Westerns, Treefight For Sunlight, and Yuck; as well as info on 19 other new artists to check out this year.

“I listen to what I do a lot afterwards just to understand what I’m doing.” – Porcelain Raft’s Mauro Remiddi

 “I think I can be quite fearless in music, but not so much in real life.” – Anna Calvi

For our Detection section, we chatted with the following artists about their new albums: Bright Eyes, British Sea Power, The Dears, The Decemberists, Destroyer, The Dodos, Duran Duran, Elbow, Iron and Wine, Lykke Li, R.E.M., Telekinesis, and Toro Y Moi.

“The best thing to do as an artist is to follow your own impulses and do what you feel compelled to do at the time regardless of how people are gonna react to it.” – Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst

“Thinking back on how it happened, of course I had to get into a car accident in order to make the record that I made.” – Telekinesis’ Michael Benjamin Lerner

“When I was writing [“Calamity Song”] Sarah Palin was talking about how everybody was going to move to Alaska when the end times come.” – The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy

Over 120 CDs, DVDs, books, comic books, films, TV shows, and comic books are reviewed in the issue, including reviews of releases by: Acid House Kings, Akron/Family, Richard Ashcroft, Asobi Seksu, Juilanna Barwick, Beans, Bright Eyes, Tim Buckley, Anna Calvi, Cut Copy, Danielson, The Dears, Death, DeVotchKa, The Dodos, Drive-By Truckers, Ducktails, The Duke Spirit, Duran Duran, East River Pipe, Eisley, Erland & The Carnival, Ensemble, Esben and the Witch, Eulogies, The Get Up Kids, The Go! Team, Grouplove, PJ Harvey, Heidecker & Wood, Lia Ices, I Was A King, Talib Kweli, The Kills, La Sera, The Low Anthem, Lykke Li, David Lynch, J Mascis, Jessica Lea Mayfield, MEN, Mogwai, The Mountain Goats, The Naked and Famous, Noah and the Whale, Papercuts, Josh T. Pearson, Peter Bjorn and John, Parts & Labor, Porcelain Raft, Puro Instinct, R.E.M., Rival Schools, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Seefeel, Sin Fang, Smith Westerns, Tahiti 80, Telekinesis, Tennis, Toro Y Moi, The Twilight Singers, John Vanderslice and the Magik*Magik Orchestra, The Veils, Kurt Vile, Wye Oak, Young Galaxy, Young Prisms, Yuck, and much more.

Under the Radar is distributed across the USA and Canada on newsstands, in independent record and book stores, and at such chains as Borders, Barnes & Noble, Hastings, and Books-A-Million. 

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Reviews

All Eternals Deck
Anna Calvi
Blood Pressures
Civilian
Collapse Into Now
Degeneration Street
Gimme Some
Gone Blind EP
La Sera
Last Night on Earth
Last of the Country Gentlemen
Let England Shake
Music Sounds Better With You
Nightingale
No Color
Passive Me, Aggressive You
Rolling Blackouts
ST/II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
The People’s Key
The United Nations of Sound
Wounded Rhymes
Yuck
Zonoscope

(via :.. Under The Radar ..:)

On Tuesday, June 7, 2011, Anna Calvi performed at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA with support from Cuckoo Chaos. Photographer, Wendy Lynch Redfern, was there to capture the action. Check out the full gallery.

(via :.. Check Out Photos of Anna Calvi Perfoming at The Troubadour in Los Angeles | Under The Radar ..:)