Artist of the Week: Lord Huron

Lord Huron, an up-and-coming atmospheric indie band, began as the solo project of Michigan born Ben Schneider, a self-described “man of extremes.” While reconnecting with nature on a trip home, inspiration struck and the EP “Into The Sun” was produced. Several months later in August 2010, the live band began touring, and their second EP “Mighty” was released. Their first full-length album, “Lonesome Dreams,” was released on Oct. 9 and I’ve had it on repeat ever since.

Schneider used to be a part-time art teacher to pay the bills for his music goals. Album art is critical to him, and he says he associates visuals with each song while writing. He’s also clearly one with nature, and uses the mountains and the trees as a coping mechanism for modern day woes. This therapy is blatantly stated in “She Lit A Fire,” with lyrics, “I’ve been through the desert / And I’ve been across the sea / I’ve been walking through the mountains / I’ve wandered through the trees / For her.”

When prompted about his writing style in Interview Magazine, Schneider said, “I have the songs pretty much fully fleshed out by the time we actually go to the studio, and the way I think about it a lot is visually—imagining landscapes that I’m trying to describe sonically.” Besides nature, he’s described some of his strongest influences to have come from old Western movies, particularly in their storytelling qualities.

A lot of the influence on this album came from Schneider’s travels, and consequently the album is great road trip music. Songs to check out are “The Stranger,” “We Went Wild,” “Lonesome Dreams,” “End of the Earth,” and “She Lit a Fire.” Lord Huron is currently touring in California.