For Lord Huron, what once was old is new again. The Los Angeles four piece has always had a foot in classic country. But with the release of its fourth LP, Long Lost, it dives in headfirst. The mid-tempo track "Love Me Like You Used To" and its anthemic guitar motif, in the cadence of riding horseback, could easily slide into a crate of 45s alongside mid-century gems from Buck Owens or Johnny Cash — who, incidentally, recorded a song of the same name in the 1980s. Its lyrics, too, seem old as the hills. "I have traveled many miles / I don't wanna walk no more / Every road and every highway led me right back to your door," frontman Ben Schneider sings. "Love Me Like You Used To" is a story of heartache that somehow seems more gut-wrenching in this archival style. Rich with warbly background vocals and strings, it cuts deeper than it might as a stripped-down, contempo acoustic ballad. The facade of the past adds weight, steeping old sounds in the sorrow of all the hearts that broke before our own.
Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5