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Joshua Radin performs tonight.Spotlight show • The 38-year-old singer-songwriter will release his fourth studio album, "Underwater," on July 31. The title has a special significance, he said in a phone interview. He had never actually been underwater at any time in his life; he had so many ear infections as a child that he punctured his right eardrum. "I grew up in Ohio, not in Hawaii, so it wasn't awful," he said. But one day, while writing the songs for "Underwater" near the Pacific, he bought state-of-the-art earplugs and took the plunge. "I had never heard that silence before," Radin said. "And I started to hear a melody underwater. It was a whole other world that I had never experienced. Any moment like that inspires me when I've been afraid. I didn't know what album I was going to make until that moment." Songs generally come slowly to Radin. "I started writing every day when I started, and it was all crap," he said. Now, he waits for inspiration to strike underwater or out of it.
When • Tuesday at 8 p.m.Where • The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake CityTickets • $25 at SmithsTix