POP MUSIC MATTERS

LADYTRON -- "Gravity The Seducer"

For FILTER MAGAZINE:

"Brian Eno once—apparently—said that Ladytron were the “best of English pop music.” I reckon even the members of this dependable and sturdy electro band would disagree, although it is one hell of a compliment. They’ve certainly stuck around for longer than anyone could have imagined and after one listen to Gravity the Seducer, it’s clear that Ladytron’s loyal fan base and worldwide acclaim are well deserved. Well, mostly." READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

WATCH the official music video for "White Elephant"

 

SPIN DOCTORS -- "Pocket Full Of Kryptonite" 20th Anniversary Edition

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

"I was eight years old when Pocket Full of Kryptonite was released. Apparently 1991 was a big year for music, for example: R.E.M.’s Out of Time; the debut Smashing Pumpkins album, Gish; Seal’s enduring self-titled debut; Metallica’s Black Album; the debut Blur album, Leisure; Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik; Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls; Crowded House’s Woodface; Michael Jackson’s Dangerous; Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock; My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless; U2’s Achtung Baby; Pear Jam’s Ten; and Nirvana’s Nevermind were all released that year. I’m certain there were other important records, too, but that list is just to put things in perspective." READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR -- "Blue Songs"

For FILTER MAGAZINE:

"It’s been three years since HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR released its self-titled debut to much acclaim, and from just about every angle it seems the follow-up was worth the wait." READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

BLOOD ORANGE -- "Coastal Grooves"

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

"Earlier this year Dev Hynes, best know for his work in Test Icicles and as Lightspeed Champion, unleashed the first single under his latest moniker Blood Orange. “Dinner” was co-produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and then released as a tantalizing 7" single on Taylor’s label, Terrible Records. With a much darker spin on early ’90s soul and R&B, “Dinner” was an instantly satisfying retro summer slow-jam, which featured Hynes’ lamenting in his half falsetto, 'Hoping that you die unhappy/I’ll do everything I can/To make sure that you are never happy.'" READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

WATCH the official music video for "Sutphin Boulevard":

 

Blood Orange - Sutphin Boulevard from Blood Orange on Vimeo.

MARVIN GAYE -- "What's Going On" The 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

"There isn’t much more that can be said about Marvin Gaye’s enduring masterpiece, What’s Going On, that hasn’t already been said. It truly is a perfect, transcendent record. Still, for the principled and discerning music consumer, having a record company try and sell you a third reissue of an album is pretty off-putting. They’ve made this one pretty tantalizing, though, playing up all the right angles and gimmicks; Motown/UMe is cashing in on the recent revival in vinyl fetishism by including a first-ever-vinyl copy of the ultra warm and dry original “Detroit-mix” of What’s Going On, which would later be sweetened up and soaked in reverb when Gaye followed Motown to Los Angeles and released the final version." READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

ANDY BUTLER of HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

"It's been over three years since HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR released their sophisticated and captivating self-titled debut. Hercules and Love Affair was one of 2008's most talked about records; disco-revivalism at its finest, indeed. Their sophomore album, Blue Songs (released this past January in the U.K.) is finally coming to America on August 16th and just to say, "sorry for the wait," it'll be packaged with a handful of—mostly—superfluous remixes, which is an arguably lame gimmick, seeing as anybody in America who cares about Hercules has probably already paid the outrageous import price. Bonus material aside, the heavy-hitting Chicago-house thud and avant-garde songwriting that make up the material on Blue Songs makes it an album well worth the wait." READ THE INTERVIEW HERE

WATCH the official video for "My House":

 

Hercules and Love Affair "My House" from Alanedit on Vimeo.

TOM FLEMING of WILD BEASTS

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

Deconstructing Masculinity and the Mainstream with Tom Fleming

"Kendal, England's WILD BEASTS have just released their third album, Smother, to what is pretty much worldwide acclaim. Known for their elaborate but spacious arrangements and the flabbergasting vocal techniques of the male alto Hayden Thorpe, Wild Beasts make music where the weird meets the gorgeous, the creepy meets the sexy and the devastating meets the inspirational. Their sophomore album, Two Dancers, was nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2009 and as a result they've secured a seat at the table with Britain's most respected and adored modern bands. Under the Radar caught up with the Wild Beast's multi-instrumentalist and other lead vocalist, Tom Fleming, to talk about Smother, masculinity, and the avant-garde." READ THE INTERVIEW HERE

Listen to "BED OF NAILS" from WILD BEASTS' latest album Smother:

Wild Beasts - Bed Of Nails by DominoRecordCo

A Quicky w/CHAD VALLEY

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

CHAD VALLEY: Beaches, Bongos + Tropicalism

"Hugo Manuel wears two hats (that we’re aware of). He’s primarily known as one-third of Oxford, England’s well-respected math-rock band Jonquil, but lately he’s been doing something altogether different: Manuel is the man-behind-the-curtain of CHAD VALLEY, his self-described “sun-drenched Balearic pop” solo project. Last year, Chad Valley graced the Internet with a handful of gorgeous, tropical-electro, bedroom-pop teasers and left underground-music junkies jonesing for an official release." READ THE FULL PIECE HERE

Listen to "PORTUGUESE SOLID SUMMER" from CHAD VALLEY's self-titled debut EP:

Chad Valley - EP - 01 Portuguese Solid Summer by CASCINE

JOHN MCGUANE | In Memoriam

Lt. Cdr. John McGuane: 1923-2011

A video I put together for the McGuane Clan's recently deceased Patriarch, Grandpa Jack, featuring home movies, photos and the music of Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Elbow and John Lennon.

 

WILD BEASTS -- Smother

For UNDER THE RADAR MAGAZINE:

"Few are on the fence about WILD BEASTS: You’re either madly in love with the Kendal, England four-piece or you find them alienating and off-putting. Either way, Wild Beasts have, for better or worse, refined a distinct and singularly affecting musical aesthetic, which is an achievement that commands respect all its own. Sensual, haunting, and inimitably bizarre and beautiful, their third album, Smother, is 10 tracks of the Beasts at their most vulnerable." READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

www.wild-beasts.co.uk

www.undertheradarmag.com

"Albatross" from Smother: