Lord Huron Deliver Polish and Consistency on New LP » PopMatters
On their fifth studio album, Lord Huron incorporate an array of styles and subjects, including surprise guest appearances, for a varied but familiar result.
The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 Lord Huron Mercury 18 July 2025
Lord Huron are a tough act to pin down. Depending upon their mood, they are Western, folk, rambling, and old-timey, with dark themes and cosmic tapestries sewn into the fabric of their work. I saw them perform in Columbus, Ohio, when they opened for Kacey Musgraves in the slot following Nickel Creek. Frontman Ben Schneider joked about the band’s intensity and depressing themes to a mostly perplexed crowd. Later in the show, Nickel Creek joined Musgraves onstage, as if it wasn’t already apparent which act didn’t fit.
For as much as I enjoy Lord Huron, very few people in my orbit know their work, unless they happen to catch a song on SiriusXM’s “The Spectrum”. Still, somehow their music translates well to film and even radio. Their hit “The Night We Met” is one of the most-streamed songs today, suggesting the group have some reach and a devoted following, or both. They can fill out medium-sized venues, and their sound comes arena-ready, as evidenced by their professional performance on Ohio State’s campus.
The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 was written and co-produced by the enigmatic Schneider. For an act that’s a decade-and-a-half and five proper albums into their career, they aren’t shrouded in mystery. Fans know exactly what they are getting with another Lord Huron record. This time around, they add some guest appearances, including Kazu Makino from Blonde Redhead and Kristen Stewart (yes, that Kristen Stewart). The record features some bangers and is filled with mostly enjoyable tunes, with the occasional letdown sprinkled in. It’s another confident outing from a band that has become one of the most consistent acts around.
Lord Huron remain introspective and are intent on looking backward through time. The appropriately titled “Looking Back” reflects upon a life that was once filled with some fine friends, good money (until it was wasted), and a few years of solitude. As the track floats upon the stringed arrangements, incorporating nylon guitar, it reverberates with melancholic lines, such as “Something tells me you and I will never meet again.” “Nothing I Need”, featuring plucked guitar and snare drum, ambles along in a forlorn manner due to lost love: “I threw away her love on the goddamn road / But I see her face wherever I go.”
Schneider can shapeshift into characters without calling too much attention to the transformations. “Bag of Bones”, a number washed in reverb, recalls the speaker’s sad tale: “This is how my story ends: / I’m stoned and broke and drunk again / No one laughs in nothing’s face / I’m just floating on through my aimless days.” For a band with so many songs containing depressing themes, Lord Huron certainly don’t come across as bleak. Their robust compositions offer a glimmer of hope, even if nothing that’s relayed suggests there’s reason to believe.
As they regularly do, Lord Huron settle things down at times. Even if some of their most celebrated tunes are slow burns, that approach only occasionally works here. As compelling as “It All Comes Back” and “Life Is Strange” may be, “The Comedian” and “Digging Up the Past” emerge equally sleepy. “Who Laughs Last”, the intense and eerie road trip rocker, featuring a driving bassline and spoken words by Stewart, produces a much more satisfying result. Even new elements displayed on the groovy Modest Mouse meets Boy & Bear “Used to Know” or the desert-themed tryst, “Who Laughs Last” (featuring Makino) are executed to perfection.
With another solid outing, Lord Huron prioritize polish and consistency over making a grand statement. They incorporate captivating (albeit repurposed) styles and subjects, and there ends up being plenty of excellent tracks that merit repeated listens, even if nothing on the record has the staying power of their most cherished works. Ultimately, Schneider’s varied songwriting results in The Cosmic Selector, Vol. 1 being a really good record, but not a great one.