Lord Huron emerged on the scene a few years back and has
several EP’s to his credit, all of which were well received. The Michigan native and L.A. resident,
otherwise known as Ben Schneider, found success by marrying the wide-open
spaces of Americana and folk rock with electronic and world influences. The results weren’t easy to pin down, but
they were guaranteed to be exciting and to produce a number of unexpected
turns. It is with some disappointment
then that Schneider’s debut LP arrives with such a well tread story line. On Lonesome
Dreams, he’s ditched most of the experimental aspirations in favor of
straightforward folk rock, a plan that leaves more to be desired.
This record is decidedly post-Fleet Foxes, which is a let
down since there is certainly no shortage of lonesome, dusty travelers ready to
tell you about their trials and tribulations.
Opening track ‘Ends of the Earth’ even goes so far as to borrow the vocal
harmonization that Fleet Foxes have made their bread and butter.
When some artists decide to trim the fat and hone in on one
sound it can be a welcome change, but in the case of Lord Huron it seems like
he is doing himself a disservice by not expanding his sound. Lonesome
Dreams is a one-note record. Spread
across it’s ten tracks you’re not likely to find much difference from one to
the next which is unfortunate coming from a guy that has inserted everything
from spaced out synthesizers to Caribbean drums into his songs in the past.
Schneider is able to hit the mark though, even if it is for
just a few brief moments. The sprawl of
‘I Will Be Back One Day’ and the spaghetti western panache of ‘Brother’ are
easily the cream of the crop here. But
otherwise this record yields only middling results. Schneider is a talented songwriter no doubt
about that, but he’s not flexing his creative muscles as much as he has in the
past.
Perhaps that is what is most memorable about Lonesome Dreams though. It’s a bunch of well-built songs that aren’t
terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but at the same time you yearn for
what they could’ve been.
Grade: C+
I completely agree with your review; however, they were in Buffalo on the 13th and are so much better live. I cannot stress this enough. The band has much more life and more variation! They seem like completely musicians on stage than through your speakers. More Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros stage presence. And that's saying something! You can actually hear how many instruments they're using and how passionate the band is to be sharing their music.