What does it sound like?:
When Lord Huron’s second album Strange Trails was released in 2015 the band revealed that they had converted their studio into a mock-up of the Red Room from Twin Peaks, and many of the songs featured wouldn’t have been out of place as part of the soundtrack to that glorious TV series. Vide Noir (‘black void’) expands the premise from the weird and earthly into outer space. The shimmering guitars and reverb are still there, but the sound has been beefed up considerably. It’s a gamble that pays off well – Ancient Names (Parts I and II) in particular benefiting from a much chunkier approach. It’s a sort of concept album with a loose intergalactic theme pulling together songs like Lost In Time And Space, Back From The Edge and Moonbeam; some of it works well, some less so, but there are plenty of decent songs to keep the album afloat. The band sound a bit like Fleet Foxes on steroids, and they haven’t quite thrown off that David Lynch obsession – Wait By The River sounds like a reverby doo-wop song that Audrey Horne might have danced to in the Double R diner. Vide Noir isn’t exactly Dark Side Of The Moon for millennials despite the nod in the cover art, but it is the sound of a band getting into their stride, and for those with a twangsome disposition there’s plenty here to enjoy
What does it all *mean*?
There’s good music in the stars.
Goes well with…
Stargazing, and a fertile imagination.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Chris Isaak before he went all showbiz….
bungliemutt says
Baron Harkonnen says
Bloody hell bunglie, I feel like I’m stalking you first Laura Viers now Lord Huron of whom I am also a fan. I will have to get this on LP ‘cos I got the first two on the same format. Your review intrigues me, so after checking the music fund I will be ordering this.
Matthew Best says
I’m enjoying this one quite a bit, which is just as well as I’m going to see them live next week, at the Lexington of all places.