Under the Radar’s album reviews that count toward B-Side Breakdowns: 33 reviews of 33 albums, going back to 2010, each next to the album’s Breakdown. 30 of them come from Wikipedia ratings boxes, mostly for older albums.
Top critics
- Mark Moody 2 reviews
- Lily Moayeri 2 reviews
- Jimi Arundell 2 reviews
- Austin Saalman 2 reviews
- Emma Goad 1 review
6 reviews with no named critic yet.
What it reviews
- Indie & Alternative 48%
- Rock 26%
- Electronic 10%
- Pop 6%
- Jazz 3%
Find Under the Radar
By the numbers
68average score it gives, on the 0 to 100 scale (33 reviews)
55%of its reviews score an album 75 or higher
20points: how far a typical review lands from its own average score
1album given a perfect score (3.0% of its reviews)
2A-Sides reviewed, the albums the critics rate highest
23different critics with a byline on its reviews here
52%of its scores landed within 10 points of the other critics’ average for the same album (33 albums)
How its scores spread
- 0–497
- 50s4
- 60s2
- 70s4
- 80s11
- 90+5
Its top scores
RadioheadKid A Mnesia 100 Austin Saalman
Cocteau TwinsGarlands 90 Dom Gourlay
Vampire WeekendOnly God Was Above Us 90 Mariel Fechik
BlurThe Ballad of Darren 90 Michael James Hall
InterpolThis Mirror Weighs a Ton 90 Andy Von Pip
Sufjan StevensA Beginner’s Mind 85 Mark Moody
WireChairs Missing 85 Ian Rushby
Lana Del ReyDid You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd 85 Sam Small
Every review
| Critic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 BlondiePanic of Girls | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 30 3/10 | 56 | 2010 |
| Sufjan StevensA Beginner’s Mind | Mark Moody Read the review via Wikipedia | 85 8.5/10 | 77 | |
 BODEGAAll Inside Aquarium“Brooklyn five-piece BODEGA exploded onto the post-punk scene in 2018 with Endless Scroll, delivering an innovative style that sounded like a convergence of The B-52s on steroids and early Talking…” | not named Read the review | 65 6.5/10 | 67 | |
 Franz FerdinandAlways Ascending | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 71 | |
 Marina DiamandisAncient Dreams In A Modern Land | Emma Goad Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 75 | |
 The Chemical BrothersBorn in the Echoes | Lily Moayeri Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 76 | |
 Robert PlantCarry Fire“At age 69, Robert Plant can still unleash a youthful holler that Tarzan would marvel at.” | Stephen Humphries Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 79 | |
| WireChairs Missing | Ian Rushby Read the review via Wikipedia | 85 8.5/10 | 92 | |
 The Smashing PumpkinsCyr | Jimi Arundell Read the review via Wikipedia | 50 5/10 | 60 | |
 Duran DuranDanse Macabre | Lee Campbell Read the review via Wikipedia | 75 7.5/10 | 66 | |
| Lana Del ReyDid You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd“There was, once, a long pathway with mosaic ceilings and caramel tiles lined along both the floors and terracotta walls of the underground entrance into the shore in Long Beach,…” | Sam Small Read the review via Wikipedia | 85 8.5/10 | 79 | |
 Jean-Michel JarreElectronica 1: The Time Machine“The original electronic music artist, Jean-Michel Jarre, brings the past to the present with an ambitious project, a double album of collaborations with current electronic music superstars—and The Who's Pete…” | Lily Moayeri Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 4/10 | 64 | |
 Bloc PartyFour | Selena Fragassi Read the review via Wikipedia | 40 4/10 | 63 | |
| Cocteau TwinsGarlands“There aren’t many bands that had such a significant impact on music as Cocteau Twins. Particularly since the first wave of punk threw a curveball and changed perceptions on how…” | Dom Gourlay Read the review via Wikipedia | 90 9/10 | 58 | |
 InterpolInterpol“As suggested by the simple title of their fourth album, Interpol pares down their sound, reducing the flourishes and touches that have crept into their music since their debut, 2002's…” | Jim Scott Read the review via Wikipedia | 70 7/10 | 64 | |
| RadioheadKid A Mnesia | Austin Saalman Read the review via Wikipedia | 100 10/10 | 92 | |
 Lady GagaLove for Sale“Two of the greatest and most influential vocalists of their respective generations, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga produce a wealth of richly sentimental, celestial sounds, existing comfortably both in the…” | Austin Saalman Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 70 | |
 MobyMore Fast Songs About the Apocalypse | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 55 5.5/10 | 65 | |
| Vampire WeekendOnly God Was Above Us | Mariel Fechik Read the review via Wikipedia | 90 9/10 | 83 | |
 L7Scatter the Rats“Grunge-era trailblazers L7 have returned with their first album in 20 years, Scatter the Rats, and it's exactly what fans would've expected!” | James Thornhill Read the review via Wikipedia | 50 5/10 | 65 | |
 RöyksoppSenior | Laura Studarus Read the review via Wikipedia | 60 6/10 | 58 | |
 XSmoke & Fiction“Back in 2020, X released Alphabetland, their first studio album since 1993’s Hey Zeus!” | Matthew Berlyant Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 84 | |
 Cage the ElephantSocial Cues | Matthew Raven Read the review via Wikipedia | 80 8/10 | 68 | |
 Kacey MusgravesStar-Crossed“What light through yonder window breaks? Suffice it to say on Kacey Musgraves’ Romeo and Juliet inspired break-up album, star-crossed, the light is not that shared with her Golden Hour.…” | Mark Moody Read the review via Wikipedia | 45 4.5/10 | 72 | |
| BlurThe Ballad of Darren“The Ballad of Darren is an exceptional album, though not at all what the Blur adherents of the ’90s might expect or even want.” | Michael James Hall Read the review via Wikipedia | 90 9/10 | 83 | |
 MuseThe Wow! Signal“Ten albums in, Muse return with a full-length which returns them to their stadium-rocking, wide-ranging hard rocking best.” | Haydon Spenceley Read the review via Wikipedia | 70 7/10 | 76 | |
| InterpolThis Mirror Weighs a Ton | Andy Von Pip Read the review via Wikipedia | 90 9/10 | 80 | |
 Red Hot Chili PeppersUnlimited Love“Critically acclaimed Australian rocker Nick Cave once quipped “I’m forever near a stereo saying ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’ And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” | Kyle Kersey Read the review via Wikipedia | 50 5/10 | 70 | |
 The LemonheadsVarshons 2“No band sweats luscious, dizzying nostalgia like The Lemonheads. Once cover boy Evan Dando is the sole consistent member of the Boston-formed college-rockers and Varshons 2 picks up where his…” | Timothy Michalik Read the review via Wikipedia | 30 3/10 | 57 | |
 Pope FrancisWake Up!“The news of Pope Francis' "prog rock album" went viral when it was first announced, but, like a lot of seemingly exciting things on the Internet, the concept turned out…” | Cody Ray Shafer Read the review via Wikipedia | 45 4.5/10 | 50 | |
 Snow PatrolWildness | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 35 3.5/10 | 65 | |
 EstuaryWolves In The Throne Room“It’s fitting, perhaps, that in a year filled with lots of great releases in USBM (U.S. black metal), and especially so-called “atmospheric” black metal in particular (Panopticon, Woe, Deafheaven), Wolves…” | not named Read the review | 75 7.5/10 | 76 | |
 DIIVZIRP!“When creating their fifth album, ZIRP!, Brooklyn band DIIV had a clear vision. They wanted to advance their previous forays into shoegaze but package it as pop.” | Jimi Arundell Read the review | 85 8.5/10 | 75 |