Long Lost

Lord Hurons fourth full-length effort and the follow-up to 2018s Vide Noir, the aptly named Long Lost sounds trapped in amber -- nostalgia has always been a topical and stylistic throughline for the Los Angeles-based/Michigan-bred indie-folk group. A fever dream of Baroque pop and country-western twang, the 16-track set commences with the first of several interstitial pieces before launching into the opulent single Mine Forever. Outfitted with plenty of open road imagery, lush vistas, and wet, Morricone-inspired guitar stabs, its unabashedly retro, stunningly beautiful, and generally indicative of what follows. Peppered with interludes that run the gamut from gang vocal callbacks to spectral radio emissions, Long Lost aims for total immersion, and when consumed in a single sitting, it is undeniably transportive. The sonic touchstones of past outings remain prominent -- the snappy Not Dead Yet bears the hallmarks of a Lindsey Buckingham production, and the title cut is awash in dense Fleet Foxes harmonies -- but for the most part, the bands verdant, Midwestern splendor has been consumed by rolling tumbleweeds and open prairies. Except for the jocular At Sea, an exercise in Nilsson-esque Tiki Torch exotica, Long Lost feels like it was conceived and constructed in the alternate reality of an Old West version of the Moody Blues. Agreeable yet melancholic and peppered with moments of cinematic Lynch-ian weirdness, its the purest and most satisfying distillation of Lord Hurons pastoral folk-pop to date, and the perfect soundtrack for a road trip to nowhere. ~ James Christopher Monger