Loch Lomond rocks Nyne on way to Europe
![Loch Lomond, which is retiring from performing in the U.S., lands at Nyne on Saturday night.](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
Loch Lomond epitomizes Northwest indie-rock for any long-bearded hipster or his equally ironic female counterpart.
Every second of the Portland 11-piece band’s sprawling chamber-folk-pop oozes with the wooded character of the corner that spawned it.
Led by the stunning vocal acrobatics of Ritchie Young, Loch Lomond pushes a distinct picture into shape with pieces of classical, psychedelic, Celtic, and freakshow Americana, explored on an array of traditional instruments such as flute, clarinet, vibraphone and mellotron.
Originally Young was going to name this project The Mountain, but that didn’t quite capture the scale of the concept.
Young’s vision possesses a fearless grandiosity that is better reflected in naming it after the Scottish lake – Loch Lomond happens to be the largest lake in Great Britain.
How notable then that at the peak of its game Loch Lomond is retiring from performing in the United States altogether.
If you pass up this opportunity to see them, the next time you better be ready for a trip overseas. After this last U.S. tour – which brings the full 11-piece ensemble to Spokane on Saturday – Loch Lomond will only be performing live in Europe.
All offers in the United States will be rejected, Young said during a telephone interview.
“Loch Lomond has been active in the U.S. for a decade and I’m proud of what we’ve done here but I would feel better spending our time traveling abroad,” he said. “I will still live in Portland but we have done as much as we can do in the U.S. It’s weirdly satisfying to close the chapter here and use the band to tour in Europe and turn the U.S. into fertile ground for a new project.”
Young and company released the “White Dresses” EP in Europe in March, and they are heading back to Europe to release the companion piece, “Black Dresses,” in early 2013.
U.S. fans will have to settle for the recorded version.