For Immediate Release

UNDER THE RADAR SHARES TWO NEW TRACKS FROM THEIR

UPCOMING 20TH ANNIVERSARY COVERS OF COVERS COMPILATION ALBUM

CULTS “BOURGEOIS” (PHOENIX) + NATION OF LANGUAGE “STARS AND SONS” (BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE)

 

COVERS OF COVERS COMPILATION OUT THIS FRIDAY MARCH 4

VIA AMERICAN LAUNDROMAT RECORDS - DIGITAL + DOUBLE-CD

$1 FROM EACH SALE TO SUPPORT SWEET RELIEF MUSICIANS FUND

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM VIA AMERICAN LAUNDROMAT | BANDCAMP

 

SPECIAL 20TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE OF THE PRINT MAGAZINE

ON STANDS NOW FEATURING A DOUBLE FRONT COVER WITH

FARIS BADWAN (THE HORRORS) • BAT FOR LASHES • MIKI BERENYI (PIROSHKA/LUSH) • THE DIVINE COMEDY • ROSE ELINOR DOUGAL •

GUY GARVEY (ELBOW) • JASON LYTLE (GRANDADDY) • LAUREN MAYBERRY (CHVRCHES) • KAMASI WASHINGTON • WEYES BLOOD • NILUFER YANYA

 

 

(BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE)

New York, NY (February 28, 2022) - Under the Radar will release their Covers of Covers 20th anniversary compilation this Friday, March 4 via American Laundromat Records. In anticipation, today they have shared two more singles from the album, Cults covering the Phoenix classic “Bourgeois” and Nation of Language’s take on Broken Social Scene’s beloved “Stars and Sons.” Cults recently announced a 10th anniversary reissue of their acclaimed, eponymous debut, along with a fall U.S. tour. Nation of Language are riding high on the success of their acclaimed sophomore album, A Way Forward. The Brooklyn trio hit the road across North America starting Wednesday, followed by a spring European tour. Read Under the Radar’s new interview with Nation of Language.

 

The Covers of Covers compilation features some of Under the Radar’s favorite musicians covering artists who have graced the cover of the magazine over the past 20 years. A first pair of singles were released last December to mark the official 20th anniversary, including the magazine’s first cover stars, Grandaddy covering Metric’s Blindness,” along with EMA covering Modest Mouse’s Trailer Trash.” Followed last month by Cassandra Jenkins covering the Animal Collective + Vashti Bunyan collaboration, It’s You,” and Peter Bjorn and John’s take of The Divine Comedy’s Songs of Love.”

 

The artwork for the compilation, created by co-founder/co-publisher/photographer Wendy Redfern, features a stack of each print issue of the magazine.  $1 from each double-CD or digital download will go to support Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

 

Under the Radar was launched in December 2001 by co-founder/co-publisher/senior editor Mark Redfren and Wendy and a special edition 20th anniversary issue of Under the Radar is on stands now. The issue features new interviews with artists originally featured in the magazine’s first issue (including Ladytron, Doves, The Charlatans, and Mogwai) along with an in-depth article on Elliott Smith's final album, From a Basement on a Hill, which was finished after his death, in which they speak with the two producers who worked on it, Rob Schanpf and David McConnell. You can order a copy directly from Under the Radar.

Photo Credit: Koury Angelo                                                                 Photo Credit: Derrick Santini

 

Discussing their inclusion on Covers of Covers, Cults noted, “Under The Radar might have been our first time our music was ever printed about in a magazine. When we saw the list of bands that had been on the covers over the years, our initial thought was ‘Wow.’ Our second thought was, ‘Let’s do that Phoenix song.’ We’ve had ‘Bourgeois’ on our tour playlist for two album cycles now, and it always stands out amongst all the other tunes. We love its lyrics as a critique of social structures that the French do better than anyone. We tried a few different ways of approaching the cover before we gave up and just dove in, playing the song as we would if it was a Cults song."

 

Discussing their cover of “Stars and Sons," Ian Richard Devaney of Nation of Language stated that “Once we settled on Broken Social Scene, and this song, we realized that loving ’Stars and Sons’ so much, if we didn’t transform it a fundamental way, we would end up just copying it straight up. Not wanting to do that, we decided to change the rhythm to turn it into a shuffle, which made it easier to get loose with the structure and have fun with it. We worked with Nick Millhiser of Holy Ghost!, who worked on parts of A Way Forward. On the album, we have a song called ‘Former Self’ that’s also a shuffle, but in a much more reserved way, so we wanted to go all-out here, and turn it into a weirdo dance song.”

      Cults credit: ​Maxwell Kamins                                              Nation of Language credit: Andreia Lemos

 

Discussing the love-story origins of Under the Radar in an article in the 20th Anniversary Issue, Mark Redfern recalls, “Under the Radar was born out of love and that love was fittingly born out of music and dancing. It was in the dimly lit basement of Hollywood’s oldest Italian restaurant, Miceli’s, that I first saw her across a crowded dance floor. December 2, 2000 was the date. The occasion was Par Avion, a weekly dance club night focused mainly on international indie pop. Just as we began to dance together, the lights went up. We exchanged a few words at the bottom of the stairs and some awkward glances outside as we waited for our friends (one of mine had disappeared to the goth club next door), and then I walked off to my car. Halfway there I had a feeling that I would regret leaving it at that. Running back to Miceli’s, almost like a scene from a movie or a Pulp song, I was relieved to find that the beautiful girl was still there. Her name was Wendy and I gave her my number on a cheap business card I had printed myself.

 

When I saw Mark that night, in that tiny basement, my first thought was, ‘There he is again!’Wendy Redfern remembers. “At this point, I had seen Mark twice before. Once at a Grandaddy in-store at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset Blvd., and the second time at a different club night called Club Bang! on Hollywood Blvd. that specialized in Britpop. Both times, with a girl, so no-go. But when I saw him a third time, and without the girl, I thought, ‘What are the chances!’ And the rest is history.”

 

Mark continues, “After our initial meeting at Miceli’s it didn’t take long for our romance to flourish. We only had a short time before I was due to fly home to London for Christmas, so we had three dates in only two weeks. By the time I was back from London in January we were official. Without Wendy and I meeting, there would be no Under the Radar. Neither one of us on our own had great ambitions to start a music magazine, the genesis required the combining of our individual talents.

 

Around the time Wendy and I met, I had already started writing about music. It was college friend Lina Rivera that can be credited for helping to jumpstart my music journalism career, launching the music zine Mix Tape Journal, through which I landed my first interviews opportunities—Broadcast and The Delgados. Wendy was working as a photo assistant to celebrity photographers, helping out on shoots with Jennifer Aniston, Monica Lewinsky, and others, but was ready to move beyond assisting to being behind the camera herself. So we hatched the idea to launch our own music magazine. My words plus Wendy’s pictures.

 

The first issue was put together in the summer and fall of 2001 and finally came out that December, a year after Wendy and I had first met. Issue 1 was only 57 pages and was all black & white. We printed one thousand copies and gave them away for free at record stores, shows, and clubs around Los Angeles and London. It featured interviews with Gorillaz, The Charlatans, Ladytron, Mogwai, Arab Strap, Black Box Recorder, Idlewild, Doves, Placebo, Scanner, Geggy Tah, Sebastian Tellier, and cover stars Grandaddy. And here we are 20 years later.”

Covers of Covers track list:

1. Grandaddy: “Blindness” (Metric)

2. Piroshka: “The Crystal Lake” (Grandaddy)

3. Peter Bjorn and John: “Songs of Love” (The Divine Comedy)

4. Cults: “Bourgeois” (Phoenix)

5. Nation of Language: “Stars and Sons” (Broken Social Scene)

6. Kevin Drew: “The Loose Ends Will Make Knots” (Stars)

7. Hatchie: “FUBT” (HAIM)

8. Sondre Lerche: “Townie” (Mitski)

9. C Duncan: “Acrobat” (Angel Olsen)

10. Cassandra Jenkins: “It’s You” (Animal Collective)

11. NZCA LINES: “Debra” (Beck)

12. Oceanator: “The Biggest Lie” (Elliott Smith)

13. Black Belt Eagle Scout: “Calculation Theme” (Metric)

14. Strand of Oaks: “’81” (Joanna Newsom)

15. Ora the Molecule: “The Fox in the Snow” (Belle and Sebastian)

16. Girl Ray: “Another Try” (HAIM)

17. James Yorkston: “Smoke Signals” (Phoebe Bridgers)

18. EMA: “Trailer Trash” (Modest Mouse)

19. Alex Lahey: “New York” (St. Vincent)

20. Water From Your Eyes: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (R.E.M.)

About Sweet Relief Musicians Fund

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing physical or mental health issues, disability, or age-related problems.

 

In 1993 Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has since been offering vital assistance to professional musical artists in need. Many prominent musicians, professionals and music fans have contributed enthusiastically to Sweet Relief. Benefits have been performed in venues from Miami to Seattle, with performances donated by many established and emerging artists. Nightclubs, concert halls, radio stations, internet sites, restaurants, clothing and shoe companies, music retailers, athletes, actors, corporations, foundations and music fans have all participated with Sweet Relief to assist struggling musicians.

 

Music has made all our lives, and the events in our lives special and memorable. While few find fame and fortune, most musicians remain in the field for their love and passion of music. The choice an individual makes to be a professional musician is one of sacrifice. The average income across the various employment options while accounting for the part-time nature of most opportunities is less than $25,000 annually. Over 65% of professional musicians do not have health insurance. Since the mid 1960s (post-Beatles) the number of individuals choosing music as a career grew exponentially. Before this time most professionals were either orchestra and classical players or jazz and blues artists. The explosion of pop, rock and country career musicians over a 20-year period in the U.S. represented an artistic and cultural revolution.

 

While the financial hardship a musician faces when dealing with illness or disability may be a constant, we now face a burgeoning elder population of artists with little or no resources available for such emergency situations.

 

About American Laundromat Records

American Laundromat Records is an independent record label based in Mystic, CT. Started in 2004 by Joe Spadaro, the label is best known for its critically-acclaimed tribute compilations, award-winning charity projects, and an impressive roster of original artists which includes Juliana Hatfield, Tanya Donelly, The Loyal Seas, and Dragon Inn 3.

 

For additional information on Under the Radar's 20th Anniversary, please contact:

Brendan Bourke | The Syndicate | brendan@thesyn.com | 347.564.2927

The Syndicate

1801 Willow Ave

Weehawken, NJ 07086

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