Reviewed on Wednesday March 23
It’s not that Lord Huron weren’t on form, or that they were reserving energy for their (perhaps?) more noteworthy set at Bluesfest. It wasn’t that I found myself entombed within a maze of the most obnoxious audience members I’ve seen in an age – that’s beyond the band’s ken. It was more a matter of structure, I suspect. An uneven setlist. A gypsy curse. An unmarked grave. Whatever the cause, try as I might to engage with one of the most entertaining, interesting and inspiring bands I’ve stumbled across in years, Lord Huron’s Oxford Art Factory show left me feeling that we were all walking away having missed the mark.
Let’s get one thing immediately clear; while frontman Ben Schneider’s banter is clearly cut from a Bob Dylan cloth, his presence up there is impressive. He sings with a seriousness and passion that leaves you surprised that his lyrics have not singed the air in their passage, and indeed the band members are, to a man, immaculate performers. Bassist Miguel Briseno also proved an atmospheric hand at playing theremin, while particular esteem should be showered on drummer Mark Berry (AKA Admiral Blaquefut – his avatar in the indie-folk/rock fantasy world in which Lord Huron exist), who is so freakishly talented and rocks out a washboard vest, so bonus points right there.
But there was something that threatened to spill across into blandness throughout the performance, and that was largely found whenever material surfaced from their latest album, Strange Trails. There were exceptions to this that had the crowd focused and energised – ‘Fool For Love’ and ‘Hurricane’ among them – but for the most part, these recent tracks suffer a similar fate to the studio versions; they are undistinguished affairs, lacking the lyrical or narrative imagination of debut album Lonesome Dream.
I hope not be one of those self-righteous fans bemoaning a band that dares try and progress from the style that established it, but to hear a brace of songs like ‘Ghost On The Shore’ followed by the exceptional ‘She Lit A Fire’ – both tracks that are as rich and deep as Lake Huron themselves – simply affirms that these guys bottled lightning, then lost the recipe along the way.
As we wandered off with ‘Time To Run’ still sounding in our ears, I remain in thrall to Lord Huron, but I feel their best live incarnation is still some way ahead of them.
