Elegiac indie-folk trio Loma have their second album, Don’t Shy Away, coming out next month, and off the strength of previous singles “Ocotillo” and “Half Silences” it has quietly become one of of our most anticipated releases. That excitement grows today with the revelation of two new tracks, “I Fix My Gaze” and “Don’t Shy Away”, and the accompanying videos.
“I Fix My Gaze” is set to be the opening track of the forthcoming album, but is not the sonic assault you expect from a first track. Instead, it’s a quietly whispering song that beckons you in, eschewing percussion in favour of atmosphere. With a voice as dazzling as Emily Cross’, that’s not difficult, but Loma give her an exceptionally regal backing of gorgeously interlaced woodwinds, tangling you in a naturally beautiful cloister of sound.
The album’s title track “Don’t Shy Away” is similarly slow-drifting, again conjuring a mystical atmosphere with relatively minimal layering. Not that there isn’t plenty happening in the song, as guitar, piano, horns, minute percussion and other minimal strings plucking play their part in wreathing themselves around Cross’ voice. As one, they convey her message of brave intimacy with the grace of a warm caress, genuinely instilling a feeling of peace within you.
Both songs come with videos that perform a similarly simple-but-knockout effect. “I Fix My Gaze” was filmed, directed, and edited by Cross herself. She says: “I wanted to convey the feeling of being free even within a walled-in space. Recognising that you’re trapped, in a way, but that there is still beauty and joy to be found.”
“Don’t Shy Away” was directed by the band’s Dan Duszynski, who says: “I knew I wanted a single shot with a gradual reveal to complement the slower enveloping mood of the song. The time-stopping effect draws me in without distracting from the music. I also love Jonathan and the dogs’ cameos.”
Watch both clips below.
Loma’s new album Don’t Shy Away comes out through Sub Pop on October 23. You can find the band on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
