Stream: Lord Huron, ‘Ancient Names (Part I)’ & ‘(Part II)’

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Lord Huron (photo by Ian Holliday)

Lord Huron returns with their third full-length album, “Vide Noir,” inspired by songwriter/producer Ben Schneider wandering around the vastness of Los Angeles at night. He says, “My nighttime drives ranged all over the city — across the twinkling grid of the Valley, into the creeping shadows of the foothills, through downtown’s neon canyons and way out to the darksome ocean.” His explorations took on a cosmic perspective. “I started imagining ‘Vide Noir’ as an epic odyssey through the city, across dimensions, and out into the cosmos,” Schneider explains. “A journey along the spectrum of human experience. A search for meaning amidst the cold indifference of The Universe.”

“Ancient Names (Part 1)” and “(Part 2)” introduce us to some of the moods on the album, coated with a gritty layer of fuzz. Schneider and his band, percussionist Mark Barry, bassist Miguel Briseño and guitarist Tom Renaud, recorded “Vide Noir” over the last two years at Whispering Pines, Lord Huron’s Los Angeles studio hangout. The album was mixed by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips/MGMT) and engineered by Sonny DiPerri (Portugal. The Man, Animal Collective). It arrives April 20 on Whispering Pines/Republic Records, with the promise of some engaging multimedia material in the form of imagery, videos and immersive experiences.

||| Stream: “Ancient Names (Part 1)” and “(Part 2)”

||| Live: Lord Huron performs at the Greek Theatre on June 2. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 2.