The band… Read Full Bio ↴Loch Lomond is an American band based in Portland, Oregon.
The band started as a solo recording project of Ritchie Young in 2003. With help of engineer/producer Rob Oberdorfer, Young crafted the first Loch Lomond album, When We Were Mountains. Over the next few years, Loch Lomond performed around Portland and the Pacific Northwest in various incarnations. Live performances would range from Young by himself to a full band. During this time, many different recording sessions took place in various studios and homes. These recordings were compiled on the early 2006 EP Lament For Children.
In the later half of 2006, Loch Lomond solidified into a nine-person band. In this format, they produced their 2007 album "Paper the Walls", which was more reminiscent of traditional chamber folk music while featuring many non-traditional instruments. They toured with The Decemberists in late 2008. In 2010, Loch Lomond's song, Wax and Wire, was featured in the short film Danny MacAskill's Way Back Home produced by Red Bull Media House.
2011 saw the release of Little Me Will Start A Storm, Tender Loving Empire. 2012 Chemikal Underground released the EP White Dresses.
Pens From Spain, their most recent album will be released on September 2, 2016, on Hush Records.
Loch Lomond effortlessly combines their symphonic nature with chamber-pop melodies. The six to nine performers orchestrate instruments to provoke a visceral experience that is both raw and emotional, weaving the distinct use of mandolin, theremin and saw along with the traditional indie instrumentation.
Luring the listener with the unique range and power of his voice, Ritchie Young's vocal ability enables him to switch from fragility to thunder in the turn of a phrase. Yet, Young exercises the power of restraint, saving vocal tornadoes for emotional apexes, buoyed by the four-part harmonies, string section swells and rhythmic dynamics of the ensemble.
Drawing inspiration from the iconic Funky Church, a Portland venue that serves as a home to local artists and musicians , Loch Lomond utilized this space to nurture their music in a way only a high-domed ceiling and absent sound system can convey. In conjunction with the cathedral's influence, Ritchie Young calls on inspiration from within to infuse his creativity. "My internal inspiration comes out of me in strange ways," says Young. "I lock myself in a room until I scream, knock stuff over, whatever I'm compelled to do to make a song emerge. Once a song does come out of me, I leave it alone. Changing the structure or the lyrics would feel like I was second-guessing my art."
There are no half measures with Loch Lomond. This group remains a long respected, gathering force that brings their tidal waves of sound to a much wider audience by immersing itself in a myriad of trained musicians. Ritchie explains, "It was a very slow process of finding the right people that fit. I say this in the most humblest of ways. Amanda Lawrence for example was at a show we were playing and her husband leaned over to her and said 'This is the band you need to be in; this is what you have been looking for!' She gave Peter Broderick a call and the next week she was playing with us and she fits so well."
The third official recording from Loch Lomond, Paper The Walls, evokes an emotional response to deeply imprint itself on the listener with songs comprised of gently narrated stories unraveling with rustic charm; simple in form, but saturated with tone and texture. Recorded at Portland's Type Foundry (M Ward, The Decemberists) and their second release from Hush Records, the album is rich with detail while retaining an uncommon sense of space.
A Field Report
Loch Lomond Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Field report to you oh my god
I wasted your time
Field report to you oh my god
Field report to you oh my god
I wasted your time
The sounds of children laughing makes my eyes bleed
and my heart
Teeter totters and daughters
Teeter totters and Daughters
are things I'll never have in my back yard
Cause I'll never have a back yard.
Field report to you oh my god
Field report to you oh my god
I wasted your time
Field report to you oh my god
Field report to you oh my god
I wasted your time
In this song, Loch Lomond sings about a person who is reporting to their superior, referred to as "oh my god." This person apparently wasted their superior's time and is giving a field report to explain why. However, as the lyrics progress, the song becomes less about the report and more about the singer's own personal problems.
The line "sounds of children laughing makes my eyes bleed and my heart" suggests that the singer may have some unresolved personal issues related to not having children or a family of their own. They mention "teeter totters and daughters," alluding to the innocence and joy of childhood that they appear to long for, but cannot have. This feeling is heightened by the fact that they do not have a backyard, which is a symbolic space typically associated with family life in American culture.
Overall, the song seems to be about the ways in which our personal problems and emotional baggage can interfere with our professional responsibilities. The singer seems to be aware that they have wasted their superior's time, but cannot help but be preoccupied with their own personal issues that are bleeding into their work.
Line by Line Meaning
Field report to you oh my god
I am reporting to you, oh my god.
Field report to you oh my god
I am reporting to you, oh my god.
I wasted your time
I have taken up your time in a way that may have been unproductive.
Field report to you oh my god
I am reporting to you, oh my god.
Field report to you oh my god
I am reporting to you, oh my god.
I wasted your time
I have taken up your time in a way that may have been unproductive.
The sounds of children laughing makes my eyes bleed
The sound of children laughing is unbearable to me, causing me physical discomfort in my eyes.
and my heart
It also causes me emotional pain in my heart.
Teeter totters and Daughters
The things I lack in my life, such as a yard to have things like teeter totters and daughters.
are things I'll never have in my back yard
Due to my situation or choices, I will never be able to possess these things in my own backyard.
Field report to you oh my god
I am reporting to you, oh my god.
Field report to you oh my god
I am reporting to you, oh my god.
I wasted your time
I have taken up your time in a way that may have been unproductive.
Contributed by Jayden C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.