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Howler heard across the ocean

We knew it was coming, but the hype that the British music press is throwing behind Minneapolis' baby buzz band Howler as its full-length record lands is still quite alarming. The quintet's 19-year-old frontman Jordan Gatesmith is featured on the cover of NME (a k a New Musical Express) this week, leading the pack in the magazine's "100 new bands you have to hear" list. Four of the five band members are also featured on the cover of London monthly the Fly, part of another bands-to-watch list. And then its album got a rave 4-out-of-5-rating review by Q magazine, which calls Howler "the latest skinny-jeaned claimants to the indie-rock throne long vacated by the Strokes and currently held by the Vaccines." Not bad, especially for a band whose album-release party back home at the Triple Rock next weekend has yet to sell out. "America Give Up" arrives stateside Jan. 17 via Rough Trade Records. --CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Star gazing

The folks at Sivertson Gallery in Duluth's Canal Park were all a-twitter the other day when actors Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard (her former partner but still friend) sauntered over after lunch at Lake Avenue Café. Lange bought an original Kenspeckle Letterpress print--"Beneath the Stars," by Duluth artist Rick Allen, which depicts a log cabin in the forest and a log sauna with woodsmoke drifting up into the starry night sky. Perhaps it reminded her of her cabin outside Wrenshall, Minn., near her hometown of Cloquet. As she once told AARP magazine, "There is no place I'd rather be. The cabin is in the deep woods, on a hill overlooking a small lake." --LAURIE HERTZEL

Party of one

Apparently not every BoDeans fan got the message that Sammy Llanas left the duo last summer but Kurt Neumann has carried on under the same brand name without him. A few songs into the BoDeans' first sans-Sammy Twin Cities gig last week at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, a disgruntled fan drained his beer and then tossed his empty cup on the stage and left the area. There was no Llanas, and the BoDeans songs he performed, including "Naked," were missing from the set list. The concert promoter received no requests for refunds. Nonetheless, considering that the BoDeans name still translates to lots of tickets sold in Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities, I.W. thinks the billing should now be something like Kurt Neumann's BoDeans. --JON BREAM

Snow measures up

So long, Loring

After canceling many shows in the fall, the operators of the Loring Theater closed the historic downtown arts venue altogether. The Directors LLP, which took over the former Music Box Theater in early 2010 and put the original name back on the marquee, did not renew its lease for 2012. "I believe the business model and the great people we had in place would have made this a very feasible operation under normal circumstances," said Directors artistic director Steve Barberio, whose formula brought in an eclectic mix of music, comedy, theater and film. The abnormal part of the plan, he added, was the down economy that has many other arts venues struggling to fill seats. With its diverse schedule, the Loring also was unable to forge an identity. --CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Gone country

As hinted in our Artcetera blog last week, ex-KDWB program director Rob Morris will land at BUZN, the new Twin Cities country radio station at 102.9 FM. Morris rejoins his ex-KD boss Mick Anselmo, the poobah for CBS stations in the Twin Cities who'd previously built K102 into the area's top country outlet. Because Morris had a noncompete clause in his Clear Channel contract, he can't work in Twin Cities radio until July 2. Meanwhile, he started consulting at WJHM, an Orlando station with a KDWB-like format owned by CBS. That should give Morris time to study the Nashville scene. I.W. can't wait to get a look at his boots. --JON BREAM

A Gagne comeback

Random music notes from Chris Riemenschneider:

Always the first big local music showcase of the year, First Avenue's annual Best New Bands showcase has been booked for Jan. 25. The lineup: Night Moves, Bloodnstuff, MaLLy, Sexcat, Fire in the Northern Firs, Gramma's Boyfriend and Dream Crusher. Night Moves then plays the room two nights later for the Current's birthday bash. ...

A sharp contrast to his 2009 album, "Legend Recognizes Legend" -- more a singer/songwriter record -- Lazerbeak will drop an "instrumental" disc on Jan. 24. "Lava Bangers" will showcase the beatmaking skills behind most of Doomtree's other recent albums. It arrives just as his crew hits the road for a five-week, coast-to-coast tour. ...

Rocking hip-hop stalwarts Junkyard Empire and Guante are pairing up for a benefit Thursday at the Triple Rock for Occupy Foreclosed Homes, an organization fighting to curb the foreclosure mess (9 p.m., $7). ... Pert Near Sandstone is producing a two-day Winter Stringband Gathering Jan. 27-28 at the Cedar with guest bands from Chicago and Denver. ... The release party for the Pines' long-awaited follow-up album for Red House, "Dark So Gold," will be Feb. 17 at the Cedar. ...