Houndmouth's 'Lordy' is a Big-Hearted Triumph of Stripped-Back Songcraft
Houndmouth went quiet for five years, and frontman Matt Myers has been open about the creative drought behind that silence — nearly two years where the songs just wouldn’t come. Lordy, out on Dualtone, is what happened when they did. NPR made it a New Music Friday Starting 5 pick, and Atwood Magazine called it “among the year’s most captivating returns.” They’re both underselling it.
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: Producer Brad Cook (yes, that Brad Cook) built the record outward from one-take acoustic captures, so the rhythm section sits close and warm instead of stadium-wide. Nothing is quantized into submission; the bottom end breathes with the take.
The Spatial Dynamics: The guest layer is where the mix gets generous — MJ Lenderman’s guitar threads through multiple songs without ever bigfooting them, Phil Cook drops color in the margins, and Sam Bean of Iron & Wine joins the closer “Holy Moses” like a benediction.
Standout Performance
Myers, singing like a man with something to prove to himself. On “Tiger Blood” he goes from soft-verse blissful unawareness to full throttle over ragged guitars and driving drums, and the call-and-response bridge — casino anecdote included — is the most fun this band has sounded on tape.
Why It’s Certified
Myers wrote much of this at home on an acoustic guitar in daylight hours, and you can hear that honesty in the frame of every song: “naked, honest, and immediate” is the campaign line, and for once the campaign line is accurate. The title track and “Tiger Blood” handle the vitality; “Holy Moses” handles the grace. Comeback records usually sound careful. Lordy sounds alive. Certified great.