With Lord Huron returning for a home-state appearance Saturday in Rochester Hills, Local Spins reviews the band’s new album, along with releases from three other Mitten State artists.
‘The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1’: Screenshot from the video for Lord Huron’s ‘Nothing I Need.’
When Local Spins interviewed Lord Huron frontman Ben Schneider four years ago, he readily conceded that his Michigan roots were inescapable and always present in his music.
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“The northern part of Michigan, it’s just all tied up inside me,” said Schneider, who graduated from Okemos High School and the University of Michigan art school. (Read the full story here.)
Well, Lord Huron just dropped a new studio album and brings the tour behind that release to Rochester Hills’ Meadow Brook Amphitheater Saturday (Aug. 9). Some tickets are still available online here.
Local Spins reviews that release below, along with fresh albums by three other Michigan artists, with links to tracks from each recording. And check out previous reviews of albums by Michigan bands online here.
Lord Huron
“The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1”
What Stands Out: Longing for loves lost, mulling life’s arduous journey, drifting amid human foibles. Michigan native Ben Schneider and Lord Huron’s latest musical pilgrimage winds airily through infectious melancholy in pop-tinged fashion, that while veering slightly off of the Americana-leaning path displayed on 2021’s “Long Lost” continues to embrace the group’s singular and oft-mesmerizing timbre. Not surprisingly, Schneider, who grew up in Okemos before the band relocated to Los Angeles, professed his fascination with sci-fi, “Twiiight Zone” and celestial forces in a recent interview with FloodMagazine.com, thus partly explaining the magically spacey nature of this 12-song collection. “There’s a good relationship between beauty and mystery on this album,” he said in that same interview. Indeed, tracks such as “Is Anybody Out There,” “Watch Me Go,” “Life is Strange” and “Digging Up the Past” straddle those qualities brilliantly.
Digging Deeper: The surprise highlight on “The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1” might be the dark rocker, “Who Laughs Last,” which features eerie spoken-word observations (“UFOs and white noise”) from actress Kristen Stewart, sort of a wild, late-night highway, 2025 reinvention of Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” Throughout, Schneider creates clever, penetratingly memorable lines: “I have everything I want and I’ve got nothing that I need” (“Nothing I Need”); “I want to feel like I did back then, I want to see my name in the lights again” (“The Comedian); “You didn’t see me comin’, no, but you can watch me go” and “I made a deal with the devil, but I never got paid” (“Watch Me Go”). Catchy at times like pop is supposed to be, enigmatic at others but always intriguing, Lord Huron’s latest project cloaks its Michigan-inspired music in L.A. shimmer.
Perfect For: Those shadowy moments when dusk turns to night, with flickering stars emerging and the flood of the unknown begins to sweep through your thoughts. – By John Sinkevics
Website: https://www.lordhuron.com/#/
Upcoming Show: 7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 9) at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Rochester Hills, with S.G. Goodman opening.
Listen: “Who Laughs Last”
Kanin Wren
“WREN”
What Stands Out: 19-year-old Michigan native Kanin Wren steps into a polished pop sound on her debut full-length album. Wren channels inspiration from some of today’s biggest pop stars suc as Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift, and even includes a cover of Carpenter’s “Lie To Girls.” After many fans got to know her through the Taylor Swift Experience tribute show, Kanin Wren is introducing her audience to a set of songs that reflect more of her personal experiences and a refined sound that mirrors the music that Wren herself is a fan of. “WREN” is characterized by groovy basslines, orchestral elements, and a few ballad-style tracks that are reminiscent of Wren’s previous releases.
Digging Deeper: Kanin Wren, who has focused heavily on building a relationship with her dedicated fans, decided to forgo the typical album-release blueprint and drop this album with very little promotion or lead-up. In a statement on social media Wren wrote, “When people discover me, I want them to hear my latest chapter.” Even with the sparkling, polished pop sheen of this new batch of songs, Wren’s music does not sacrifice any of its authenticity and candid storytelling. While covering topics of heartbreak, new love and learning lessons through mistakes, Wren captures the experience of being a teenager in a way that is sure to resonate with Wren’s younger fans.
Perfect For: Anyone who’s still on the lookout for their song of the summer. – By Holly Holtzclaw
Website: https://www.kaninwren.com
Upcoming Shows: Saturday (Aug. 9) Taylor Swift Experience at St. Johns Mint Festival in St. Johns; Sept. 20, Taylor Swift Experience at the River Raisin Center For The Arts in Monroe
Listen: “Eyes Talk”
Low Phase
“So Pretty It’s Perfect”
What Stands Out: This Grand Rapids-based indie-rock band’s second EP may contain only six songs, but the well-crafted lyrics, mix of fast and slow songs, and perfect musicianship makes this collection work perfectly. Every song will have you singing along with enthusiasm, and all of the songs feature lyrics that are poetic and/or relatable. Despite being an EP of 25 minutes in length, it gives off enough energy to feel like an entire album, with enough indie-rock vibes to make you want to rock out the same way you rocked out to Shinedown in 2008. Though this EP picks up where their “Star Dog EP” from 2023 left off, and both sound like a full album when played one after the other, this second EP is more poetic and spiritual, while still having hit potential.
Digging Deeper: Produced and mixed by Joel Ferguson at Planet Sunday Studios in Rockford, and mastered by Al McAvoy, singer-guitarist Caleb Waldvogel noted in a recent interview with Local Spins that the album boasts a “more collaborative” approach in songwriting, with the resulting tracks feeling “the most natural lyrically and musically” since the band formed six years ago. “I Saw You First,” the slowest track of the bunch, will be a song that many people who have fallen in love will be able to relate to.
Perfect For: Alternative rock and indie-rock fans who enjoyed the bands of the late 1990s and 2000s — those who want a reminder that indie hard rock is alive and well and isn’t showing any signs of fading away. – By Tyler Zahnke
Website: https://www.lowphase.com
Listen: “Cannonball”
Rodeo Boys
“Junior”
What Stands Out: On their sophomore outing, Rodeo Boys play fast and hard. It pours out of them on the new LP, especially present on tracks such as “Crystal Pt 1” with its guitar outro. “Sam’s Song” sounds like the grown-up scorning of a predator in guttural screams, and is a firm rebuke to every cleaned-up press release posted in a Notes app on Twitter. “I wanna kill you if it kills me,” vocalist Tiff Hanney asserts, making it clear they’re out for blood.
Digging Deeper: There are multiple emotional threads woven throughout each track, but it’s the loneliness and yearning that stands out. It’s front and center on the aptly named “Lonesome Again,” or lead single “American Man.” “You can call me whatever, just call me again,” they plead. There is levity, like the yelling proclamations of adoration on “Peonies,” but even the love borders on obsession: “I’d do anything you ask me to do.” The intertwining web of fury, regret and longing can feel like emotional whiplash, but it also feels authentic, which is the most important ingredient in punk.
Perfect For: Attending a protest, going to the gym. – By Parker Learman-Blaauw
Website: https://www.rodeoboysofficial.com/
Upcoming Shows: The band goes on an out-of-state tour in September; dates here.
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