Words & Photos by Joe Szopa
After a grinding five week nationwide tour, Lord Huron returned to Los Angeles with a warm welcome and the newly released debut album, Lonesome Dreams. The sold-out audience of cooing females, couples, and enough bearded flannels to make an elephant’s pajamas, jostled and rocked to the vibes of frontman Ben Schneider’s intense stage presence. While their sound is oddly-described by some as “Middle Eastern” and perhaps more aptly by others as “Western”, Ben’s creative sensibilities puts their music nestled somewhere between the woods, the desert, the ocean and the starlit sky.
What surprised most about Lord Huron was how the album sound translated excellently live. “Lonesome Dreams,” unique tone created the expectation of wildly odd instruments might appear on stage; when in fact the band performs with a fairly traditional rock setup of drums, bass, guitars, with a few technological tricks up their sleeves. Ben confidently shined as his well-rehearsed band mates churned out a solid set. Lord Huron shows promise as a band pushing indie music in a brave direction; one more imaginative and less traveled They are opening for Of Monsters & Men at the Visalia Fox Theatre on December 8th. You can listen to Lord Huron on Rdio.
The Lonely Wild
Bathed in subdued incandescent lamps cleverly tampered by vocal amplitudes, the Lonely Wild performed on the raw modern edge of folk rock and the American West. Every member of the multi-instrumentalist band can sing, and sing well, with many of their songs (still unreleased) rounding out with solid harmonies and cutting, high-energy vocals. It’s hard not to get drawn in by Andrew Schneider’s slathering guitar presence and eyebrow raising solos. There’s no shortage of talent in The Lonely Wild. Keep an eye out for their album The Sun As It Comes, which should be releasing early 2013. Their next show is scheduled for December 6th at The Echop in Los Angeles, CA. Check out their song, “Buried in the Murder”:
Thanks to @LordHuron @ericjlawrence & @TheEchoLA for the show last Friday! Excited to return to The Echo on Dec 6th. http://t.co/E2iAmOPd
— The Lonely Wild (@thelonelywild) November 5, 2012
Photo Gallery of Lord Huron and The Lonely Wild:
