Under the Radar Magazine, which is still an actual print publication, turns 20 this month and to celebrate they're releasing their first album, Cover of Covers, which features a bunch of their favorite artists covering songs by artists who have graced the cover the mag. The album features Alex Lahey covering St Vincent, Cassandra Jenkins covering Animal Collective, Girl Ray covering Haim, Cults covering Phoenix, Nation of Language covering Broken Social Scene, BSS' Kevin Drew covering Stars, Sondre Lerche covering Mitski and more. You can check out the full Cover of Covers tracklist below.
You can listen to two of the tracks from the album now: Grandaddy offering up a gentle acoustic/synth version of Metric's "Blindness," and EMA delivering cool piano rendition of Modest Mouse's "Trailer Trash." Listen to both below.
On Blindness, Grandaddy's Jason Lytle says, "I’m a big Metric fan. One time I drove from Bozeman to Salt Lake City (a 9hr. drive) to see them play live. I don’t even like going to shows. That says a lot. I chose “Blindness” as it has been one of my favorite songs of theirs since I first heard it in 2009. I recorded and mixed it all in my garage, and enjoyed treading that line of trying to emulate some of the original sounds and 'feels' but also making it mine for a bit, and have a little fun."
As for EMA's version of "Trailer Trash," she writes, "This song reminds me of a person I used to be in love with. We were teenage robo-buddies. We drove around on gravel roads, pulling over at abandoned barns and country cemeteries. We weren’t physical, except once when I started crying, gave them a kiss and then ran out of the car. Very dramatic. People used to say we were going to end up married and living like the 'trailer trash' couple in this song. It didn’t happen."
Cover of Covers will be out March 4, 2022 via American Laundromat and $1 from every album sale will be donated to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. Under the Radar's 20th anniversary print issue will be out in January
Covers of Covers tracklist:
01 Grandaddy – “Blindness” (Metric Cover)
02 Piroshka – “The Crystal Lake” (Grandaddy Cover)
03 Peter Bjorn & John – “Songs Of Love” (The Divine Comedy Cover)
04 Cults – “Bourgeois” (Phoenix Cover)
05 Nation Of Language – “Stars And Sons” (Broken Social Scene Cover)
06 Kevin Drew – “The Loose Ends Will Make Knots” (Stars Cover)
07 Hatchie – “FUBT” (Haim Cover)
08 Sondre Lerche – “Townie” (Mitski Cover)
09 C Duncan – “Acrobat” (Angel Olsen Cover)
10 Cassandra Jenkins – “It’s You” (Animal Collective Cover)
11 NZCA Lines – “Debra” (Beck Cover)
12 Oceanator – “The Biggest Lie” (Elliott Smith Cover)
13 Black Belt Eagle Scout – “Calculation Theme” (Metric Cover)
14 Strand Of Oaks – “81” (Joanna Newsom Cover)
15 Ora The Molecule – “The Fox In The Snow” (Belle And Sebastian Cover)
16 Girl Ray – “Another Try” (Haim Cover)
17 James Yorkston – “Smoke Signals” (Phoebe Bridgers Cover)
18 EMA – “Trailer Trash” (Modest Mouse Cover)
19 Alex Lahey – “New York” (St. Vincent Cover)
20 Water From Your Eyes – “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (R.E.M. Cover)
Covers Of Covers is out 3/4 via American Laundromat.