December 27th, 2014
The Growlers, “Going Gets Tough”
The Growlers must be taking in a lot of Jimmy Cliff lately. The standout of their album “Chinese Fountain” finds the beach goth goons channeling that same sunshiney optimism with this rocksteady-reminiscent gem.
Hiss Golden Messenger, “Saturday’s Song”
Understated and breezy, M.C. Taylor’s ode to the weekend matches the peaceful, easy feeling of a hard-earned day’s rest. Complete with whistle-clean guitar lines from Merge labelmate and…
December 23rd, 2014
On Dec. 16, Ryan Nicholaus Grahn died in his Fargo home. A little piece of Fargo’s music history died as well. He was 41. Fargo’s underground music scene isn’t quite that old, but it’s getting there. When some guy passes on before his time, the question that inevitably crosses the mind is, “How did he die?” Can we talk about how he lived instead? Let’s suppress our morbidly curious lizard brains for a while and delve…
December 23rd, 2014
What happens when you Google “Fargo death metal”? Gorgatron happens, that’s what.
The “doomishly” loud, scarily fast music project will release its second full-length album, “Inner Supremacy,” on Jan. 10 with a show at The Aquarium.
Many Fargo music fans know Gorgatron as one of the top, if not the top, metal projects in area. The group has been around for nearly eight years and has opened for national acts such Machine…
December 19th, 2014
No “best of” list will ever truly satisfy anyone besides the compilers themselves. One person’s musical treasure is just as well another’s rubbish, and there just aren’t enough hours in a day to listen to everything. That being said, these 15 songs seem to hover above the rest, and demonstrate how immensely inventive and diverse this year’s releases have been. Whether you agree with this list or not, the songs listed deserve a first listen at the very least.
December 11th, 2014
In a year marked with monstrously popular and impossibly creative albums from indie newcomers (Sylvan Esso, Perfect Pussy), breakout novices (tUnE-yArDs, Angel Olsen, The War on Drugs) and stalwarts (Ariel Pink, Real Estate, Caribou) alike, some gems inevitably get buried in the hubbub. I’ll be wrapping up this year in music with a special list of 2014's most deserving underdog albums.
An all-killer-no-filler collection of rocking outlaw country,…
December 10th, 2014
By Rod Hadland
In a house in Moorhead sit some amp stacks, a PA and a drum kit. The basement is the base camp where S0und, a band featuring Ben Hill on guitar/vocals, Michael Beatrez on bass/vocals, Alex Johnson on guitar and Frankie Maxwell on drums, came together. Breaking off from the group Bear North, S0und ultimately became for Hill, 20, a group that he had long wanted to form. Suave and Lennonesque, he sat down with me, and we discussed the group.
HPR: Let’s start at the very…
December 5th, 2014
It’s OK, you can call him Twinkie Jiggles, Sean McPherson says. The bassist for Minneapolis hip-hop acts Dessa and Heiruspecs says he got the nickname while handing out Twinkies at baseball games in high school, and he wore a shirt that said jiggles on the back. He was the game’s DJ/emcee.
He likes the name. So much so that he titled his own project after it: Twinkie Jiggles Broken Orchestra. A four-piece arrangement of the band, which will include vocalist Linnea Mohn of Rogue…
December 3rd, 2014
North Dakota music has reached a new level of wild. A four-piece Americana band from Minot, Wild Hands, has just released its debut album, “Oh, River.” And it’s oh so good.
Perhaps Wild Hands is a response to the polished, clean-cut country/rock groups that are popular in North Dakota – groups like Tigirlily and 32 Below. Though even if the guys of Wild Hands didn’t start the band to rebel against the popularity of Tigirlily, they…
November 28th, 2014
Seven years before Natalie Portman averred their life-changing capabilities in the soundtrack-reliant indie sleeper “Garden State,” The Shins were five basement-shaking slackers united under the moniker Flake Music, quietly releasing their one and only record, “When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return.” In the 17 years since, The Shins sharpened their literate jangle to a precise point, James Mercer went space-disco for Broken Bells and, most tellingly, the iPod, that…
November 19th, 2014
What’s really in a name? In an age when music is consumed à la carte, listeners dragging and dropping their earworms of choice into infinite playlists, what value does an album title hold? With the passing of bassist Gerard Smith in 2011, as well as the weight of expectations driven by the group’s excellent string of albums previous, the title of TV on the Radio’s fifth album is worthy of rumination.
Suggesting rebirth and promise, a fresh beginning borne of familiar roots,…
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By Bryce Vincent Haugen By his own account, Edwin Chinchilla is lucky to still be in the United States. As a 12-year-old Salvadoran, he and his brother were packed into a semi with a couple dozen other people and given fake…
By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…
February 21, 6-8 p.m.Turtle River State Park, Arvilla, NDEnjoy a self-guided hike in the picturesque woods of Turtle River State Park. The trails will be lit with luminary candles. After the hike, warm those bones by the fire at…
By Sabrina HornungThe quote, "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command” from George Orwell’s iconic novel “1984” has come up in conversation more times than…
By Ed Raymond‘Dakota Attitude’ should be read by all North Dakota studentsI have been meaning to write about this book by James Puppe for several years, but the world has been in such a mess I thought I should write about …
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
Friday, March 13, 4-10 p.m.Brewhalla, Fargo, 1702 1st Ave. N., FargoPolish up those dancing shoes and come hungry for this ticketed event you won’t want to miss. Expect unlimited samples paired with wine and beer from 20+…
Saturday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 N. BroadwayFM Opera’s Artistic Director and tenor Joshua Kohl will be sharing the stage with internationally-renowned tenors Anthony Ciaramitaro and Luke Norvell to perform a variety…
By Greg Carlson The great documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras had to work diligently to convince Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh to be the subject of one of her films. Most accounts and reviews of “Cover-Up,”…
Saturday, March 7, 4-8 p.m.Swing Barrel Brewing, 814 Central Ave., MoorheadEmpty Bowls is a nationwide, grassroots, artist-led movement to support hunger related organizations in their communities. On March 7, prepare to fill your…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liverani In January 2026, the 2026-2030 dietary guidelines for Americans were released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They are supposed to be revolutionary and a “reset” from the previous ones.…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
By Vern Thompson Benjamin Franklin offered one of the most sobering warnings in American history. When asked what kind of government the framers had created in 1787, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Few words…
