It’s a rare feat when a band emerges fully formed. On the group's 2012 debut, Lonesome Dreams, Lord Huron made a big impact with its sound, which mixed classic guitar rock, open-road folk harmonies, and a slightly Eastern palette into an evocative and rumbling mix of new Americana — but that was only the beginning. The music also gave way to a swirling world of visuals and storytelling and laid the foundation for a new band that seemed to really understand the music they were starting to make.
Two years and some monstrous tours later, Lord Huron reemerged this week with Strange Trails. The 14-song follow-up to Lonesome Dreams builds on the lush, pastoral feel of its predecessor and injects a brooding, ominous element into the mix. This Monday, the Los Angeles–based quartet heads north for a show at the Lobero Theatre. Prior to the event, I spoke by phone with frontman Ben Schneider about touring, traveling, and comic books.
You guys toured pretty extensively behind Lonesome Dreams. How was the band feeling when you finally landed at home? There was definitely a natural exhaustion from being out that long, but we had breaks here and there, too, which was nice. I think we were all feeling good. We’re all best friends, so spending a lot of time together isn’t hard for us. We’ve known each other since we were kids, so it’s easy for us to operate like a family. We know when to give each other space. I think a lot of people come off the road feeling burnt out because of relationship stuff with people they’re traveling with, but we’re lucky to have it pretty easy on that front. We also have lovely people to come back to when we come home, which makes a big difference. I think mostly we were just feeling good about what we had done and just wanted to do it again but better. We pretty much dug right into recording the next record when we came home, and now we’re refreshed and totally ready to do it again.