I had the privilege of listening to Lord Huron for the first time in preparing for this piece and was impressed by the creativity in their music, the impact of their lyrics and the general vibe that they create for their listeners.
Lord Huron isn’t your typical music group. They are not a pop band with cultural references in every song they make and they are not a rap ensemble that imposes an intense lifestyle on the listener. Instead, they give their audience a peaceful vibe that beckons them to adventure and exploration. Much of their music takes inspiration from American expansion and pioneering to create an experience in each of their songs that is similar to the book “The Call of the Wild.” This can be a stretch if you don’t know what the book is about, but for those of you who have read it (which I strongly recommend you do), it makes perfect sense.
In “The Call of the Wild,” the main character, Buck, undergoes a treacherous journey as a sled dog who experiences all kinds of hardships, whether it be mistreatment from his owners, the cruelty from other sled dogs or even attacks hostile local tribes. All these experiences lead to Buck becoming a dog of legend that many others refer to as “Ghost Dog.”
In the same way that Buck has become this legendary dog, Lord Huron builds a ghostly or eerie tone to their music, including phrases such as “haunted by the ghost of you” or “He will roam forever, haunting the desert.” These lyrics came from two different songs and show the dark and ghostly side of Lord Huron, but it doesn’t stop there. In their song “Dead Man’s Hand,” the first verse includes morbid imagery about finding a dead man along the road during a long journey. This scene painted by Lord Huron depicts something that could very well have happened in “The Call of the Wild” during Buck’s journeys.
Similar to the book, Lord Huron also encapsulates in their songs a feeling of adventure and wandering. These feelings are prevalent in songs such as “The Night We Met” and are almost essential to any Lord Huron song. There is a heavy emphasis on exploration and travel. The same theme is the premise of “The Call of the Wild,” as it follows Buck’s travels and all the adventures he experiences throughout the book.
This parallel between Lord Huron and “The Call of the Wild” is unique to the artist and isn’t something you see in modern day artists very often. The consistent themes of travel and exploration within Lord Huron songs, mirroring “The Call of the Wild,” provide the listener with an interesting perspective on the music itself. While I listened, I was immersed in the theme and stories almost as if I were a part of it. Not many artists can do the same — or even try to do the same.
The songs create feelings of adventure and exploration through the lyrics and vocals, but also through the instruments being used and the style of music that Lord Huron produces. Using instruments such as guitars, basses, and even synthesizers in a way that caters to the folksy style Lord Huron wants to produce makes for an eerie and unfamiliar sound that invites the listener and draws them further into the fantasy of Lord Huron’s musical landscape. Vocals are not necessarily at the forefront of their songs, as they usually take a back seat to the music and the feelings it invokes.
Upon concluding my time with Lord Huron, it felt as if I had gone on a journey myself. The music transported me to a place I was unfamiliar with, as their style of music isn’t something I would usually listen to. I was captivated by their style and reminded that despite all we know about this world, there is still much left to be discovered.