Another favorite music act of mine is American folk rock band Lord Huron. Originally formed as a solo act by singer-songwriter and guitarist Ben Schneider in 2010 after he relocated from Michigan to Los Angeles (his name was inspired by the Great Lake he grew up near), Lord Huron eventually became a four-piece that now includes Miguel Briseño on bass, keyboards & theremin, Tom Renaud on guitar, and Mark Barry on drums & percussion. Their uniquely beautiful music is a glorious mash-up of folk, western, rock and roll, pop, surf rock and new age, and has been described by music writers as evoking the ‘high-lonesome’ sound of such legendary acts as The Band and Neil Young, as well as newer acts like Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket (whose song “Time Waited” has spent the past three months on my chart, peaking at #1). The most striking features of their sound are the lush twangy and shimmery guitars, backed by stirring orchestral strings, and lead singer Ben Schneider’s beautiful warm vocals, which often convey an arresting and heartfelt vulnerability.

They’ve released four outstanding albums – Lonesome Dreams in 2012, Strange Trails in 2015, Vide Noir in 2018 and the gorgeous Long Lost in 2021, which is one of my favorite albums of the last 10 years. Their beautiful ballad “The Night We Met”, from Strange Trails, was their breakout hit and, shockingly, their only song to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at only #84. Nevertheless, it’s been streamed more than three billion times on Spotify. In January they released “Who Laughs Last?”, a hard-charging rock song featuring spoken word verses from actress Kristen Stewart, which they followed in late March with “Nothing I Need”. Those tracks, along with their latest single “Looking Back”, will be included on their forthcoming fifth album The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, scheduled for release on July 18th.

“Nothing I Need” is gorgeous, featuring the band’s signature rich and colorful guitar work and Schneider’s marvelous vocals. It takes over the #1 spot on my latest Top 30 chart, marking Lord Huron’s third song to reach #1, after “Not Dead Yet” and “Mine Forever”, both from Long Lost, and both of which ended up placing in the top 10 of my 100 Best Songs of 2021 list, with “Mine Forever” ranking #2.

The bittersweet lyrics tell of a man lamenting his lost youth and the love he squandered away through his endless traveling, possibly for his career that now brings him no pleasure: “I fell asleep and when I woke up, I was old. I said goodbye to my youth and my blood ran cold. I got a feeling I just had to get away. I left it all behind on an endless road, but I see her face everywhere I go. I got everything I want and I got nothing that I need.” Schneider, who wrote and sang the lyrics, stated “Nothing I Need” “wonders if it’s possible — within the short time you’ve got — to ever truly know what you want, if it’s worthwhile wanting anything at all, and if there’s any point in pondering what’s down the roads you didn’t take.“

In other chart highlights, sombr‘s “back to friends” continues its strong upward movement, climbing three spots to #3. Three songs enter the top 10 after hovering in the low teens the past few weeks – “Archbishop Harold Holmes” by Jack White, “Barbarian” by L.A.-based alt-rock band AWOLNATION and “Porcelain (Losing All My Patience)” by Irish indie pop-rock band Somebody’s Child – all advancing three spots to #s 8, 9 and 10, respectively.

There are two new debuts again this week, the first of which is the exuberant “Ripple” by English indie rock duo Good Neighbours. Based in London and comprised of Oli Fox and Scott Verrill, they released their debut single “Home” in January 2024, The song was successful, reaching #26 in the UK and #2 on the Billboard AAA chart. I was never wild about that song, but I do like “Ripple”, which I find more infectious and appealing. The second debut is the wonderful “Better Off Eventually” by British Columbia, Canada-based alt-rock band Bealby Point, which I featured in the same Fresh New Tracks post as last week’s debut entry “Moody” by Royel Otis. 

1. NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (3)
2. IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (1)
3. BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (6)
4. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras (4)
5. WALLS – Frank Joshua (2)
6. LAREDO – Leon Bridges (5)
7. SNAKESKIN – NAVE (9)
8. ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (11)
9. BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION (12)
10. PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (13)
11. LET THINGS GO – Caamp (14)
12. POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix (10)
13. BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (17)
14. THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown (18)
15. CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (20)
16. MORTAL WOUND – The Veils (7)
17. BAD LARRY – Cloakroom (8)
18. EVERYTHING IS PEACEFUL LOVE – Bon Iver (19)
19. RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (22)
20. SPACEMAN IN TULSA – Counting Crows (23)
21. BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (27)
22. SCARS – Secret Postal Society (25)
23. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (26)
24. WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (29)
25. MOODY – Royel Otis (30)
26. THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys (15)
27. TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket (16)
28. SO LONG – Wavves (21)
29. RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (N)
30. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (N)