written by Lindsay McWilliams | photos by Jason Quigley
Loch Lomond consists of lead singer-songwriter Ritchie Young and many band members and instruments. “We’ve had over seventy-five different members in total,” Young said. The standard group today is about eight people, but some performances are done by Young alone. “It’s like a Swiss Army knife—you can use one tool or you can use all of them.”
He defines the band’s sound as “slow pop.” With the incorporation of many rare instruments, such as glass harmonicas and musical saws, there is something whimsical about this fluidly numbered collaboration. Loch Lomond’s use of instruments is reminiscent of solo artist Sufjan Stevens, though the band’s recent 2016 album Pens From Spain has grown to include more electronic elements.
Perhaps that whimsical quality is what led LAIKA Productions to ask Loch Lomond to create original music for its 2014 stop-motion picture The Boxtrolls, including “Little Boxes” and “Whole World.” Since its formation in 2003, Loch Lomond has had other gigs such as touring with The Decemberists and signing with U.K. label Chemikal Underground.