Lord Huron songwriter and bandleader Ben Schneider hails from Michigan, but on their latest album, his band looks beyond its folk-rock roots to the darkened streets of Los Angeles. Vide Noir (“black space,” or “black emptiness,” if you want to get literal) adds touches of garage-rock distortion to a narrative of love love and fortune found, inspired by classic pulp fiction writers like Raymond Chandler and illuminated by a mysterious emerald glow. It’s the spookiest entry yet in a growing catalog of the atmospheric, the melodic, and the arcane.
Vide Noir is Lord Huron’s third full-length album, following 2015’s Strange Trails and 2012’s Lonesome Dreams. Advance singles included “Ancient Names,” parts 1 and 2; the creepy “Wait by the River,” for which the band also released a lo-fi new video today; and the smoldering “When the Night Is Over.” Among the album tracks, “The Balancer’s Eye” is an early highlight. As usual, Lord Huron have an extensive tour schedule lined up; they’ll play an album release show in Grand Rapids, Michigan tonight and tour the U.S. and Europe through the fall. They’re also set to appear on the May 2 episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers.
Stream Vide Noir in full below, and while you listen, read an in-depth interview with Schneider from our friends at Stereogum.
