Just in time for a month-long trek across the country in support of the Decemberists, Loch Lomond have decided to premiere the lead single from its forthcoming album the best way they knew how: via a grainy, sepia-toned video. The first directing spot for Alicia J. Rose (Doug Fir booker and photographer du jour for most of our folk rock scene), “Blue Lead Fences” sees the seven member chamber folk outfit marching through the woods, following closely behind singer Ritchie Young as he plucks at his violin.

While the sound quality isn’t the greatest, you can hear that they’ve got something here; complete with staccato violins, choral melodies, and Young’s always gorgeous voice, “Blue Lead Fences” takes the lush sound of Paper the Walls and adds a darker, almost sinister vibe—evidenced by this video and the, umm, cultish drowning sequence at the end. And you have to totally dig the warm synth outro, which is something I’ve never heard from Young and co. before. The band has just finished recording its new, untitled record, and if this is any indication of what we can expect, then 2009 looks really promising.

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Loch Lomond

Screencap taken from the video directed by Alicia J. Rose