Under the Radar

Thanks to Ian's review for alerting me to the fact that The Radar Brothers have a new album out.

Their second, 1999's The Singing Hatchet, is excellent - slow-motion country with sweet vocals over the top, simple but effective. I haven't got their third record, And The Surrounding Mountains, and Ian's not overly convinced by The Fallen Leaf Pages, but it's good just to know they haven't disappeared off the map.

Back in the mists of time I sat in on an interview with them conducted by He Who Cannot Be Named in a Highbury pub - they were due to play the Garage that night, a warm-up show for the Mogwai-curated All Tomorrow's Parties where we saw them again. Unassuming and amiable blokes, although frontman Jim Putnam was a bit dazed by jetlag and utterly bemused by the sight of "soccer" on the TV rather than baseball.

Also on Stylus: Hope Zabriskie's Top Ten Knee-Jerk Reaction Songs.