Lord Huron Strange Trails 2LP (Opaque Color Vinyl)

Strange Trails is the second studio album by indie rock band Lord Huron, released in 2015.

Lord Huron's debut album, Lonesome Dreams, was released in 2012 and the track "Ends of the Earth" was featured in the finale for the television series Community. The band's name was inspired by Lake Huron, the lake which frontman and Michigan native Ben Schneider grew up visiting and where he would spend evenings playing around the campfire. The group's second album, Strange Trails, was released in April 2015 and received positive reviews from music critics. Rachel Brodsky of Spin called the album "enchanting from start to finish," praising the lyricism, vocals, and instrumentation. The album's final song "The Night We Met" was featured in the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

The album's lyrics tell haunted stories of adventure and survival, with nature imagery, and the occasional old-time turn of phrase. With warm electric guitar sounds, soft and constant reverb, harmonized vocals, and a faint but persistent twang, it's a contemporary, specifically Fleet Foxes-reminiscent, indie folk-influenced rock haunted by allusions to the Old West. Listeners may envision fringe and spurs without any overt country presence (though there's certainly a subtle one) outside of lilting vocals, such as on 'Way Out There.' The band still focuses more on atmosphere and haunting, harmonic sound and rhythm than on progressions or memorable hooks, but the landscapes that they create are consistent and sound-defining, and there's no shortage of eerie beauty in the melodies.