Loma

1014 fans

On December 26th, 2018, Emily Cross received an excited email from a friend: Brian Eno was talking about her band on BBC radio. “At first I didn’t think it was real,” she admits. But then she heard a recording: Eno was praising “Black Willow” from Loma’s self-titled debut, a song whose minimal groove and hypnotic refrain seem as much farewell as a manifesto: I make my bed beside the road / I carry a diamond blade / I will not serve you. He said he’d had it on repeat.

At the time, a second Loma album seemed unlikely. The band began as a serendipitous collaboration between Cross, the multi-talented musician and recording engineer Dan Duszynski, and Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburg, who wanted to play a supporting role after years at the microphone. They’d capped a grueling tour with a standout performance on a packed beach at Sub Pop’s SPF 30 festival, in which Cross leapt into the crowd, and then into the sea, while the band carried on from the stage—an emotional peak that also felt like a natural ending. “It was the biggest audience we’d ever had,” she says. “We thought, why not stop here?”

Following the tour, Cross went to rural Mexico to work on visual art and a solo record, while Meiburg began a new Shearwater effort. But after a few months apart (and Eno’s encouraging words), the trio changed their minds and reconvened at Duszynski’s home in rural Texas, where they began to develop songs that would become Don’t Shy Away. Loma writes by consensus, and though Cross is always the singer, she, Duszynski and Meiburg often trade instruments. Meiburg compares their process to using a ouija board, and says the songs revealed themselves slowly, over many months. “Each of us is a very strong flavor,” he says, “but in Loma, nobody wears the crown, so we have to trust each other—and we end up in places none of us would have gone on our own. I think we all wanted to experience that again.” The album that emerged is gently spectacular—a vivid work whose light touch belies its timely themes of solitude, impermanence, and finding light in deep darkness. Stuck / beneath / a rock, Cross begins, as if noticing her predicament for the first time. Then she adds: I begin to see / the beauty in it.

It’s a couplet that evokes the album in miniature. Don’t Shy Away is shot through with revelations, both joyful (“Given a Sign”) and sober (the clear-eyed title track), and winds from moment to moment with confidence and humor. Like Loma’s first effort, there’s a tangible and sensuous feeling of place; insects sing in the trees, an ill-fitting door creaks in the wind. But there’s also a daring and hard-won wisdom, underlined by Cross’s benevolent clarinet, which often sounds like an extension of her singing voice. “Ocotillo”’s desert landscape unreels into a blazing sun; “Elliptical Days” seems to ascend endlessly like Escher’s circling monks; the jubilant “Breaking Waves Like a Stone” appears out of a haze of synthesizers that pulse like fireflies. A series of guests wander through these absorbing soundscapes, including touring members Emily Lee (piano, violin) and Matt Schuessler (bass), Flock of Dimes/Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, and a surprisingly bass-heavy horn section.

And then there’s Brian Eno. Loma invited him to participate in the mantra-like “Homing,” which concludes the album, and sent him stems to interact with in any way he liked. He never spoke directly with the band, but his completed mix arrived via e-mail late one night, without warning, and they gathered to listen in the converted bedroom Duszynski uses as a control room. “I was a little worried,” says Cross. “What if we didn’t like it?” But it was all they’d hoped for: minimal but enveloping, friendly but enigmatic, as much Loma as Eno—a perfect ending to an album about finding a new home inside an old one. I am somewhere that you know, Cross sings, above a chorus of her bandmates’ blended voices. I am right behind your eyes.
  • Facebook page
  • Twitter account

Top tracks

05
Relay Runner
Loma
Loma
05:00
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
17
Vahine Tahiti
Loma
Tahiti: Belle Epoque 4 (Songs of the Atolls and the Islands)
02:56
Writer: Yves Roche / Composers: Yves Roche
10
Black Willow
Loma
Loma
05:17
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg - Valerian Smith - Bob Robin
03
Half Silences
Loma
Don't Shy Away
03:46
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
08
Pink Sky
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
03:20
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
01
Please, Come In
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
03:23
Writer: Emily Cross / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
02
Ocotillo
Loma
Don't Shy Away
04:50
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
03
Unbraiding
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:53
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
11
Turnaround
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
02:15
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
05
How It Starts
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:37
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg - Laurie Anderson / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
03
Joy
Loma
Loma
03:22
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
09
Broken Doorbell
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
07:51
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
01
FOREVER
Loma
FOREVER
02:59
Writer: juma lugogo mwanaloma / Composers: juma lugogo mwanaloma
02
Arrhythmia
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
03:52
Writer: Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
04
I Swallowed a Stone
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
05:08
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
06
Dark Trio
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
01:21
Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
07
A Steady Mind
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:20
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
01
How It Starts (Single Version)
Loma
How It Starts (Single Version)
03:54
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg - Laurie Anderson / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
10
Affinity
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:43
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg - Laurie Anderson / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
01
Black Willow (Single Version)
Loma
Black Willow (Single Version)
03:59
Writer: Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg - Valerian Smith - Bob Robin
01
GO DOWN
Loma
GO DOWN
03:47
Writer: juma lugogo mwanaloma / Composers: juma lugogo mwanaloma
09
Shadow Relief
Loma
Loma
04:49
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
01
Relay Runner (Single Version)
Loma
Relay Runner (Single Version)
03:36
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg

Playlists

Similar artists

Fink
Fink
Villagers
Villagers
Lucy Rose
Lucy Rose
Laura Marling
Laura Marling
Julia Holter
Julia Holter
Richard Hawley
Richard Hawley
  • Discography
Albums
℗ 2024 Sub Pop Records
28-06-2024
How Will I Live Without a Body?
01
Please, Come In
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
03:23
Writer: Emily Cross / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
02
Arrhythmia
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
03:52
Writer: Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
03
Unbraiding
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:53
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
04
I Swallowed a Stone
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
05:08
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
05
How It Starts
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:37
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg - Laurie Anderson / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
06
Dark Trio
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
01:21
Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
07
A Steady Mind
Loma
How Will I Live Without a Body?
04:20
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Emily Cross - Dan Duszynski - Jonathan Meiburg
Access the complete album info (11 songs)
Sonicart
07-07-2023
Chillin Progress
01
Chillin Progress
Loma
Chillin Progress
04:12
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
02
Magic Clover
Loma
Chillin Progress
02:48
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
03
Chill Trip
Loma
Chillin Progress
02:58
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
04
Melatonin And Coffee
Loma
Chillin Progress
04:15
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
05
Cream And Chocolate
Loma
Chillin Progress
03:34
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
06
Blue Office
Loma
Chillin Progress
03:34
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
07
Coconuts Meeting
Loma
Chillin Progress
03:10
Composers: Lorenzo Marinelli
Access the complete album info (10 songs)
Four Corners
21-11-2022
Foundations vol 5
01
Ghoul
Among Us
Foundations vol 5
03:55
02
Big Truffle
Xyde
Foundations vol 5
04:07
03
Depth
Grim Hellhound
Foundations vol 5
03:29
04
Dissociate
Gravital
Foundations vol 5
03:46
05
Sonic Wavey
Overtex
Foundations vol 5
04:52
06
Catastrophe
Dj Zent
Foundations vol 5
05:15
07
Engage
Maniacts
Foundations vol 5
04:13
Access the complete album info (20 songs)
Sub Pop Records
23-10-2020
Don't Shy Away
01
I Fix My Gaze
Loma
Don't Shy Away
03:10
Writer: Emily Cross / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
02
Ocotillo
Loma
Don't Shy Away
04:50
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
03
Half Silences
Loma
Don't Shy Away
03:46
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
04
Elliptical Days
Loma
Don't Shy Away
04:30
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
05
Given a Sign
Loma
Don't Shy Away
04:20
Writer: Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
06
Thorn
Loma
Don't Shy Away
04:54
Writer: Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
07
Breaking Waves Like a Stone
Loma
Don't Shy Away
04:38
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
Access the complete album info (11 songs)
2019 Robson Barenho
25-02-2019
Além-Fronteiras
01
O Mundo É Nosso
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
03:23
Writer: Robson Barenho - Kako Xavier
02
Além-Fronteiras
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
03:39
Writer: Robson Barenho - Joâo De Aquino
03
Saltimbanco
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
03:48
Writer: Robson Barenho - Leonardo Ribeiro
04
De Onde Eu Vim
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
04:30
Writer: Robson Barenho - Joâo De Aquino
05
Passarada
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
03:44
Writer: Robson Barenho - Talo Pereira - Ivaldo Roque
06
Mercosur 21
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
03:06
Writer: Robson Barenho - Leonardo Ribeiro
07
A Festa das Yabas
Loma
Além-Fronteiras
07:31
Writer: Robson Barenho - Joâo De Aquino
Access the complete album info (12 songs)
Sub Pop Records
16-02-2018
Loma
01
Who Is Speaking?
Loma
Loma
02:14
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
02
Dark Oscillations
Loma
Loma
05:37
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
03
Joy
Loma
Loma
03:22
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
04
I Don't Want Children
Loma
Loma
05:49
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
05
Relay Runner
Loma
Loma
05:00
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
06
White Glass
Loma
Loma
04:12
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
07
Sundogs
Loma
Loma
05:31
Writer: Jonathan Meiburg / Composers: Dan Duszynski - Emily Cross - Jonathan Meiburg
Access the complete album info (10 songs)
(P) 2014 Studio Alphonse
23-04-2014
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
01
Taioro Tamure
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
03:01
Composers: Macy Weber
02
Douce Nuit Sainte Nuit
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
03:01
Composers: Macy Weber
03
Matahiti Ruperupe
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
03:10
Composers: Macy Weber
04
Sing Me a Song of the Island
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
03:11
Composers: Macy Weber
05
Era Ua Reka
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
02:46
Composers: Macy Weber
06
Rien Que Pur Lui
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
03:14
Composers: Macy Weber
07
Rora
Loma
Taioro Tamure, Vol. 2
03:40
Composers: Macy Weber
Access the complete album info (18 songs)
(P) 2014 Studio Alphonse
22-04-2014
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
01
Je T'en Prie Maman
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
04:28
Composers: Macy Weber
02
I Roto I Te Faa
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
02:26
Composers: Macy Weber
03
Samoan Farewell Song
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
03:09
Composers: Macy Weber
04
Tamarii Fei-Pi
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
02:15
Composers: Macy Weber
05
Padre Don Jose
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
04:34
Composers: Macy Weber
06
Tuiau / Te Uaua
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
02:55
Composers: Macy Weber
07
Je M'envole
Loma
Je T'en Prie Maman, Vol. 1
03:50
Composers: Macy Weber
Access the complete album info (18 songs)
2010 Manuiti Records
15-03-2010
Tahiti Matamua Loma
01
Aore E Piko
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
03:21
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
02
Haere Haere Mai
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
03:14
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
03
Te Otue Roaroa
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
02:51
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
04
Je Me Souviens De Toi
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
02:54
Writer: Pierre-Célestin Nouveau / Composers: Eddie Lund
05
Na Roto I Ta'u Moemoea
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
02:15
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
06
Lei Aloha Lani
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
02:35
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
07
Farii Noa Ra Te Vahine
Loma
Tahiti Matamua Loma
03:12
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
Access the complete album info (17 songs)
2010 Manuiti Records
09-03-2010
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
01
To Reo Iti Maru
Mila
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
02:51
Writer: Eddie Lund - Fred Jordan / Composers: Eddie Lund
02
Farara Matai
Mila
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
02:22
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
03
Moana Nui
Loma
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
02:47
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
04
Tapiri Mai
Loma
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
02:45
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
05
Tau Tiare Iti
Mila
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
03:00
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
06
Te Moe Nei
Mila
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
02:20
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
07
Hiri Nake
Loma
Tahiti Belle Epoque 2: Mila Et Loma
02:39
Writer: Eddie Lund / Composers: Eddie Lund
Access the complete album info (18 songs)
2006 Bossa Nova Music
01-01-2006
Ziguezagueando
01
O Meu Lugar
Loma
Ziguezagueando
03:27
Composers: Loma Berenice
02
Ziguezagueando
Loma
Ziguezagueando
02:55
Composers: Loma Berenice
03
Mama Kudile
Loma
Ziguezagueando
03:41
Composers: Loma Berenice
04
Na Contramao
Loma
Ziguezagueando
02:52
Composers: Loma Berenice
05
Mulheres D'areia
Loma
Ziguezagueando
03:52
Composers: Loma Berenice
06
Mar de Saudade
Loma
Ziguezagueando
03:51
Composers: Loma Berenice
07
Outro Mar
Loma
Ziguezagueando
03:24
Composers: Loma Berenice
Access the complete album info (15 songs)
(P) 1983 TAVT PRODUCTIONS
01-05-1983
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
01
Mélodie d amour
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
02:51
Composers: Traditional
02
Come prima
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
03:03
Composers: Di Paola
03
Pô ava'e
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
02:54
Composers: Eddie Lund
04
Ua haavarevare
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
02:37
Composers: Eddie Lund
05
Aie mon cœur
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
02:31
Composers: Traditional
06
To u vai api raa
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
02:58
Composers: Yves Roche
07
Mon petit fichu
Loma
En Souvenir Du Quinn's
03:10
Composers: Traditional
Access the complete album info (23 songs)
EPs
℗ 2024 Ghost Snares
08-11-2024
Keeping It Brizzy E.P
01
Keeping It Brizzy
Loma
Keeping It Brizzy E.P
04:53
Composers: Ben Pryke
02
Early Riser
Loma
Keeping It Brizzy E.P
04:52
Composers: Ben Pryke
03
Amen Hustle
Loma
Keeping It Brizzy E.P
04:33
Composers: Ben Pryke
04
Foundation
Loma
Keeping It Brizzy E.P
05:36
Composers: Ben Pryke
Copyright Control
29-09-2021
Ento EP
01
Ento
Loma
Ento EP
04:52
Composers: Ben Pryke
02
Fatal Blue
Loma
Ento EP
04:31
Composers: Ben Pryke
03
March Of the Machines
Loma
Ento EP
04:27
Composers: Ben Pryke
04
Phury
Loma
Ento EP
04:31
Composers: Ben Pryke
Heinz Gysin, Alain Büchler
01-07-2021
Mad World
01
Generation Z
Loma
Mad World
02:43
Writer: Heinz Gysin / Composers: Alain Büchler - Heinz Gysin
02
Last Dance
Loma
Mad World
03:57
Writer: Heinz Gysin / Composers: Alain Büchler - Heinz Gysin - Fabian Arnold
03
No Way Out
Loma
Mad World
02:59
Writer: Alain Büchler - Heinz Gysin / Composers: Alain Büchler - Heinz Gysin
04
Evan
Loma
Mad World
03:36
Writer: Heinz Gysin / Composers: Heinz Gysin - Alain Büchler - Fabian Arnold
05
For You
Loma
Mad World
03:12
Writer: Heinz Gysin - Alain Büchler / Composers: Heinz Gysin - Alain Büchler - Fabian Arnold