Cinematic, sorrowful and quietly bold

LA-based indie rock band Lord Huron returns with The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, their fifth studio album and a continuation of their genre-blending, cinematic sound. Known for tracks like the triple-platinum “The Night We Met,” the band again taps into themes of memory, loss and longing. Across twelve tracks, Lord Huron weaves soft folk, hazy rock and ambient textures into a deeply emotional listening experience.

The album opens with “Looking Back,” a gentle ballad built on fingerpicked guitar and Ben Schneider’s steady vocals. Ethereal instrumentals add a dreamy weight to the song’s grief: “Something changed the day you left and I’ll never know just what.” The sorrow carries into “Bag of Bones,” where long, hazy guitar strums and slow pacing convey resignation: “Nothing lasts and no one stays.” “Nothing I Need” stands out for its sharp lyrical contrast. With an arpeggiated guitar line and understated vocal delivery, it captures both bitterness and clarity: “Now I got everything I want and I got nothing that I need.”

“Is There Anybody Out There” dives deeper into isolation, layering piano, bass and synth beneath lyrics that feel adrift in space. The recurring theme of loneliness reaches its most direct point here, both musically and emotionally. “Who Laughs Last” offers a shift in form—Kristen Stewart delivers spoken word verses over a dynamic bass groove. The track reflects the healing process of moving on: “Now that I’ve left that place I feel like someone for the first time in my life.”

“The Comedian” returns to the familiar Lord Huron blend of slow-build instrumentals and introspective lyrics. Its rich arrangement, featuring horns and strings, adds emotional depth to lines like “I’m just writing to say I’m alive.” “Watch Me Go” picks up the tempo with strummed guitars and a tone of defiance. It’s one of the few tracks that gestures toward hope, grounded in the lyric: “But you can watch me go.”

“Fire Eternal” features harmonized vocals from Kazu Makino, adding a haunting texture to the mix, while “It All Comes Back” centers on loss again—this time with sharp, provocative imagery like “Staring into the fire and hoping I go blind.” The following tracks, including “Used To Know” and “Digging Up the Past,” keep the emotional tone steady with nostalgic lyrics, slow-burning guitar and ambient effects like harmonica and reverb-laced vocals.

The closing track, “Life Is Strange,” encapsulates the emotional core of the record. A simple, guitar-based arrangement underlines the quiet devastation in its final lines: “In the end we all turn to dust / And I’ll stay forever right here if you want me to.”

While The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 doesn’t veer far from the band’s established sound, it deepens their worldbuilding with even more atmospheric production and quietly devastating lyricism. It’s a collection that doesn’t shout its heartbreak—it drifts, lingers and leaves a mark.