Lord Huron The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1
Lord Huron's The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 arrives as a widescreen, sun-bleached vision that balances the group's trademark Americana melancholy with pop-leaning experimentation. Across four professional reviews the record earns a 74.75/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to moments where harmonies and strings marry stadium ambition and intimate road-trip imagery to striking effect.
Reviewers singled out “Who Laughs Last (feat. Kristen Stewart)”, “Bag of Bones” and “Fire Eternal (feat. Kazu Makino)” as standout tracks, with additional praise for “Nothing That I Need” and several quieter narrative pieces. Critics note that the album's best songs push the band beyond comfortable folk textures into brighter surf and pop textures while retaining themes of nostalgia, regret and self-discovery. Across the professional reviews, the collaborations register as high points: Kristen Stewart's spoken passages and Kazu Makino's contribution provide dramatic contrast to the plaintive steel and acoustic picking that anchor the record.
Perspectives vary between admiring and measured: some reviewers celebrate the bolder, more ambitious arrangements and stadium-ready vistas, while others find a handful of slower moments that temper momentum, making the collection feel very good rather than universally essential. The critical consensus suggests The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 is worth listening to for its standout tracks and emotional thrust, and it stakes a clear stylistic claim for Lord Huron's next phase. Below are full reviews that unpack how experimentation and tradition collide across the album.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Nothing That I Need
1 mention
"steel guitar...shoots off like sparks"— Paste Magazine
Who Laughs Last (feat. Kristen Stewart)
4 mentions
"the Kristen Stewart-assisted, eerie surf-rock single “Who Laughs Last,”"— Glide Magazine
Bag of Bones
4 mentions
"Songs like the single “Bag of Bones,”"— Glide Magazine
steel guitar...shoots off like sparks
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Looking Back
Bag of Bones
Nothing I Need
Is There Anybody Out There
Who Laughs Last (feat. Kristen Stewart)
The Comedian
Watch Me Go
Fire Eternal (feat. Kazu Makino)
It All Comes Back
Used To Know
Digging Up The Past
Life Is Strange
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Lord Huron's The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1
Key Points
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The best song, “Who Laughs Last”, stands out for its magnetic feature and explosive rock energy.
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The album's core strength is blending lush indie-folk craftsmanship with occasional successful experimental touches.
Themes
Critic's Take
Lord Huron arrive at a new peak on The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, where the best songs - “Watch Me Go”, “Who Laughs Last” and “Bag of Bones” - show the band stretching their Americana into brighter pop and eerie surf textures. The reviewer's tone is admiring and measured, noting how the band kept their poetic songwriting while pushing into stadium-ready vistas. The album's highlights balance vulnerability and spectacle, with the Kristen Stewart-assisted “Who Laughs Last” and the Blonde Redhead collaboration “Fire Eternal” supplying memorable, sweeping moments. This is an LP that reassures long-term fans and stakes a claim for Lord Huron's next era.
Key Points
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The best song(s) combine Lord Huron's poetic songwriting with brighter pop or eerie surf textures, making them stadium-ready.
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The album's core strengths are its poetic Americana songwriting and successful expansion into pop-leaning and collaborative experiments.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his lucid, narrative-driven way Eric R. Danton presents Lord Huron's The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 as a vision quest where the best tracks - notably “Bag of Bones” and “Nothing That I Need” - do the heavy lifting. He praises the arid arrangements and evocative imagery, pointing to big, glimmering guitars and steel guitar sparks that make those songs the album's emotional centers. The review also highlights “Who Laughs Last” and “Fire Eternal” for their distinct vocal and narrative touches, insisting these songs keep the record musically engaging. Overall, Danton frames the album as compelling, musically rich, and thematically concerned with choices and regret.
Key Points
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The best song is "Bag of Bones" for its evocative guitars and desert imagery that anchor the album.
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The album's core strengths are its cinematic, arid arrangements and thematic focus on fate, regret, and self-discovery.
Themes
Critic's Take
Lord Huron remain delightfully introspective on The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, and the best songs here - notably “Who Laughs Last” and “Looking Back” - underscore that backward-looking melancholy with muscular arrangements and occasional thrills. Patrick Gill’s voice finds the band balancing polish and consistency, praising the eerie road-trip thrust of “Who Laughs Last” while admiring the plaintive nylon-guitar shimmer of “Looking Back”. He flags highlights like “It All Comes Back” and “Life Is Strange” as compelling, even as a few slow burns undercut momentum. The result reads as a really good record rather than a great one, driven by standout moments and reliable songwriting.
Key Points
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“Who Laughs Last” is the best track for its intense, eerie road-trip energy and Kristen Stewart’s spoken-word contribution.
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The album’s core strengths are polished songwriting, nostalgic melancholy, and consistent, well-executed guest flourishes.