Music / folk
Review: Lord Huron, SWX
When they last played in this fair city, at Thekla in late 2015, Lord Huron had two resplendent albums to their name. They’ve been conspicuously absence since, more Lord Lucan (showing my age?) in their illusiveness. Upon their 2018 return to SWX, their album count still numbered two. What could we expect from them this time round? Does anyone ever tour if they haven’t got new material to promote?
Ultimately, there is a new record in the pipeline. Lead singer, Ben Schneider, confirmed so before giving us a preview of their new sound, through the track, Wait By The River, an Americana-meets-doo-wop slow lament. Other than that piece of understated self-promotion, we got all the old material, but mostly rearranged and innovated. Ends of the Earth showcased Mark Barry’s fine drumming (and maraca skills), whilst ‘Way Out There’ allowed bassist Miguel Briseño to show off his theremin skills.
They mostly spent the evening burying their indie-folk former selves, as many of the wistful tracks of Lonesome Dreams and Strange Trails were given a doom-laden makeover, sounding beefed-up and rocked-out. It was like their albums were sufficiently old now to have reached a turbulent stage of adolescence, raging and strutting, more than chiming sweetly. Set closer, The Stranger ended with such a tempest of sound and fury that you were expecting them to smash a guitar or two. Maybe if they’d had a bigger tour budget and fewer nights of the tour still to play…
is needed now More than ever
You’ve got to like a band that gives it some serious rock action whilst wearing jackets and shirts. They looked like a works outing that had started at four o’clock (possibly wearing ties at that point) that was still going strong at midnight, looking smart-casually dishevelled. They were full of the uninhibited, ‘have it’ self-belief that such a party of beery pilgrims would also possess after a long day.
Their most vigorous songs, like Time to Run and final encore piece, Fool For Love animated the audience with palpable Sunday-night frenzy. Yet, despite all their newly souped-up roar, with Ghost on the Shore and She Lit a Fire, Lord Huron proved they can still quietly captivate.
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