After a string of head-turning, critically acclaimed releases on Hush Records, Portland’s Loch Lomond has brought their unique brand of raw symphonic chamber pop to Tender Loving Empire. The stunning track “Elephants & Little Girls,” the first single, is available to download and listen to below!
The album was mixed by Adam Selzer (who has recorded all of M Ward’s records), Tucker Martine (Laura Veirs, The Decemberists), and Kevin Robinson (of Viva Voce).
In addition to employing notable visceral and expert melodic acrobatics, the co-ed sextet of Loch Lomond distinctly incorporates the use of harmonic vocals, mandolin, theremin, bass clarinet, and all manner of exclamatory percussion minutia to foil the even more distinct and arresting voice of lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Ritchie Young. He’s able to switch from high-pitched fragility to alto thunder in the turn of a phrase, yet he knows the power of restraint intuitively, saving vocal tornadoes for emotional apexes buoyed by string swells and moving arrangements.
Few bands, especially of Loch Lomond’s unique ilk, come from as disparate of backgrounds or intents: some members are teachers; some are computer programmers, some are visual artists and small business owners, and almost all are former high school band nerds, although one would never know it given the band’s tapestry-tight weave of mesmerizing grandeur.