Music

A river wild

December 3rd, 2014

Wild Hands’ debut album a North Dakota gem

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…

Basement’s Best: “When You Land” a return to the Shins’ roots

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…

Basement’s Best: TV on the Radio

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,…

Later, G

November 12th, 2014

*Adult language advisory

Where would ND hip hop be without Kipp G? We’ll soon find out.

This Saturday, Nov. 15, North Dakota rapper/promoter Kipp G will put on his last show ever.

This “big deal” event at The Aquarium will include a Love Connection game and performances by local rappers and Minneapolis-based group The Crest. It will be one big last hurrah for the well-connected, well-versed (pun intended) Kipp G.

“It’s bittersweet for me for sure,” he said to HPR. “And I am…

Basement’s Best: New Basement Tapes

November 12th, 2014

New Basement Tapes, same “old, weird Americana”

Masterminded by Americana champion and curator extraordinaire T Bone Burnett, the New Basement Tapes, an appropriately Traveling Wilbury-esque supergroup, shake the dust from lyrical scraps salvaged from Bob Dylan’s infamous 1967 Woodstock retreat. In the spirit of Billy Bragg and Wilco’s “Mermaid Avenue” records, the ensemble, comprised of Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Elvis Costello, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), Rhiannon Giddens…

Basement’s Best: Flaming Lips

November 5th, 2014

Flaming Lips get high marks with a little help from their “fwends”

With the same kill-your-idols exuberance displayed on their handful of previous collaborative tribute albums, the Flaming Lips and their sizeable stable of “fwends” dare to tackle one of the most acclaimed albums of, well, ever. A song-for-song rebuild of the album that arguably changed the course of modern music, the Lips and their band of merry pranksters’ take on the Beatles’ monolithic “Sgt. Pepper’s…

Far East to Fargo

November 5th, 2014

Variety is the spice of life and also of the symphony. For its second concert of its Masterworks Series, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra is continuing its trek across the globe with “Along the Silk Road.”

After a South American-styled opener to its 84th season this September, the F-M Symphony’s next stop with its “Embrace the World” theme is the Far East. “Along the Silk Road” rounds up contemporary composers as well as some older works for a specially styled concert.…

For show: O’fosho! celebrates five years

November 5th, 2014

Photo by Holly D Photography

Fargo’s own O’Fosho! is now five.

To celebrate, the jam-fusion band is hosting a show at The Aquarium, where they’ll be recording video and audio to release for a later date.

“I feel like our live show is where we are at right now so I think that’s kind of where we want to showcase where we are, (it’s) definitely the best option for sure,” said Matt Johnson, O’fosho’s vocalist and guitarist.

As an original touring band of five years, O’fosho said it’s immensely…

Basement’s Best: Kevin Morby’s ‘Still Life’ anything but still

October 30th, 2014

By Stephen Anderson

Deceptively titled, Kevin Morby’s sophomore release is all moving and shaking. A onetime member of ramshackle indie collectives Woods and the Babies, Morby follows up on the sleepy promise of last year’s low-key solo release “Harlem River” with a song cycle of musings on his constant state of motion.

With a road-worn authority, Morby weaves not-too-tall tales of modern Americana through sparse, rootsy arrangements. Soberly examining death from arm’s length,…

Vinyl revisited: The Fargo Record Fair returns

October 22nd, 2014

Dig out your turntables and dust off your record collection: the Fargo Record Fair is returning for its fifth consecutive year.

Since 2010 the Fargo Record Fair has been the F-M area’s great annual vinyl sale and get-together. At the fair’s helm is Fargo resident Dean Sime, who has organized the event every year. Initially inspired by a trip to New York’s colossal WFMU Record Fair, Sime set out to supply the F-M area with its own version – albeit one a little smaller in…