Album Review: Harrison Rapp (Self-Titled) – Nadine Records
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
So let me get the chronology down for you all. First, I was doing my Bandcamp treasure hunt when I heard “Tell Us What We’ve Won” by Portland artist Harrison Rapp. It immediately put its hooks in me. Very minimalist and lo-fi. The song begins with a simple 4/4 drumbeat, and then the guitar kicks in.
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Written by Harry Kaplan
August 26, 2026 @ 11 AM – Left for the airport. It is going to be a long day of flying – Portland, OR (PDX) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Detroit, MI (DTW). I am less than a month out of vascular surgery, so I am a little nervous. Should I go? Am I healed enough? Will the flight get me sick? Will the airplane pressure cause me problems? All questions I had. They were answered once the PDX flight took off at 2 PM. No issues. Up in the air. No pressure issues. There was no need to stress. Note for next time: be calm.
Landed at ORD. Then came the taxiing and taxiing and taxiing – 45 minutes of taxiing!!!!! My connecting flight to DTW was two terminals over, and I only had 25 minutes. In the words of Pink Floyd, you better “Run Like Hell.” And I did. I got to the terminal and the plane hadn’t arrived yet! All that running for naught. Oh well, at least I didn’t miss my connection, the last flight of the night. A two-hour delay and more taxiing followed. The taxiing at ORD took longer than the flight to DTW. Finally arrived at DTW and took a shuttle bus to the hotel. I arrived at 1:30 AM ET, felt icky and took a shower. The glass door got stuck, and I thought I was going to get trapped in the shower overnight.
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Album Review: Jeff Tweedy (Love Is the King/Live Is The King) – dBpm Records
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
I just found out about this album yesterday. How this slipped through my radar is inexplicable. I’ll blame it on COVID and move on. I started playing the tracks on Bandcamp and it was love at first listen. Stripped down, raw, and vulnerable. This is when Jeff Tweedy is at his best. It really reminds me of the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos. It has that same feel. The power is in the restraint.
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Album Review: Brother Townsend (Heavy Hands)
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
Four songs and the release clocks in at 24 minutes. Having four rather long songs is quite an undertaking, but Brother Townsend rises to the occasion. An unconventional melding of blues, pop, rock, cosmic country, and psychedelia is the signature of this release. What it may give up in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. All four songs are expertly crafted. Discipline is also the operative word here. While the album is entitled “Heavy Hands,” the production, mixing, and engineering is surprisingly light and ambient. Lots of open space to let the listener reflect on the music without being overwhelmed with production gimmicks. All the instrumentation is spot on and the fills, while sometimes understated, are all in the right place at the right time. It is hard to keep a listener engaged for six-plus minutes of a song but Brother Townsend executes perfectly.
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Auguste Patino: Simply In Clover (DK Records) – Album Review
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
Anyone who has read a few of my reviews knows that I gravitate toward the unconventional. That doesn’t mean I like weird for weird’s sake; there still has to be something that hooks me. And “Simply In Clover” plants that hook deep into my palate. There is no squirming out of it, no escaping it. The hook is set.
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Album Review: Boone Creek (Remastered 2026) – Craft Recordings
Reviewed By Harry Kaplan
I will get into the music in a bit, but first I want to focus on the album cover. Holy smokes! This is pure Olan Mills studio work in the back of Sears Roebuck. It takes me straight back to my childhood. It looks like a photograph of the community church board of directors posted in the church business office. A true classic. There is not a natural fiber within 25 miles of this picture. All the food groups are represented: nylon, polyester, Naugahyde, and acrylic. I would buy this album for the cover alone.
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Alex Blum and the Roadside Quartet: Funerals For Fun – Album Review
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
Joe DiMaggio had a 56-game hitting streak, Orel Hershiser pitched 59 consecutive scoreless innings, and the UCLA men’s basketball team won 88 consecutive games between 1971 and 1974. Added to the list is Patrick Storedahl with at least 12 great releases in a row that he was either the lead or a contributor. That is significant and you can add Funerals For Fun to the list. Astoundingly good writing, vocals, musicianship, and production is the hallmark of this release. I keep waiting for one Storedahl release that maybe isn’t quite as good as the others, but it hasn’t happened yet.
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Talk Talk: Spirit Of Eden (Parlophone (EMI)) – Album Review
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
This album was released on September 16, 1988, which was my very first day working at an independent record store. Yes, record stores were a thing in 1988 and I was lucky enough to score a gig working at one. I had listened to almost nothing voluntarily apart from Grateful Dead music for the previous four and a half years. My horizons needed expansion, only I didn’t know it yet.
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Album Review: Tony Rice (Remastered 2026) – Craft Recordings
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
Where has this album been all my life? How did I miss this one? I guess my love of bluegrass didn’t fully develop until later in my life. As a youngin’ I was much more moved by loud rock, electric and aggressive music. Shame on me! This is absolutely stunning. Nothing outlandish, nothing experimental. Just absolutely pristine bluegrass adjacent music. I say adjacent because it differs from straight bluegrass in its presentation with more pop sensibilities. But still sublime.
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Uncle Lucius: Live In ’25 At Gruene Hall (Boo Clap Records) – Album Review
Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
There are a handful of storied concert halls that when performers play there, they know they’ve made it. You’ve got The Ryman, of course, Red Rocks, The Garden, and Gruene Hall. Yes, Gruene Hall in country music circles is the fulcrum of playing music. It’s been around since 1878 and has hosted Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Loretta Lynn, Asleep At The Wheel, and too many others to mention them all.1 So to play there and release an album from this storied location is a big deal and Uncle Lucius has played there numerous times. The album cover echoes the importance of this institution because the center of the cover – in a 72 bold font is “Gruene Hall” with a white background. Uncle Lucius and Live in 25 appear bottom center in a smaller font. Nothing else has to be said and no pictures are necessary. A true motion of the utmost respect for this historic musical landmark.
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