Loma's second outing is an acquired taste that serves up dark, glossy rock

Loma are a trio made up of Meiburg and Cross Record’s Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski, and Don’t Shy Away is their second (and best) album. Other than the fact that Sub Pop are putting it out, the most remarkable thing to note before you hear the album is that it features Brian Eno on the final track “Homing”. Eno is at least partially responsible for this album happening, owing to his complimentary words about the band’s “Black Willow” on the first album leading to a reconciliation (in artistic terms) between the newly-divorced Cross and Duszynski.

Whether it’s intentional or accidental, “Homing” is emblematic of the album – and Loma – as a whole. It’s at once both beautiful and strangely gloomy, with the whole album building up an atmosphere of magical, almost surreal beauty. Cross’ voice manages to be sweet but distant, haunting but emotionally evocative – very much in the mould of a Beth Gibbons or a Trish Keenan.

The best songs, particularly “Ocotillo” and “Given a Sign”, are infused with a smoky, pitch-black flavour that emphasises the inherent darkness in Loma’s sound. Where their first album was largely a simplistic, much more measured take on a classic indie rock sound, Don’t Shy Away is a much more unwieldy beast, not least because of the tension between the songs. Where “Half Silences” is psychedelic and strange, “Jenny” and “I Fix My Gaze” are wide-open and curiously claustrophobic, like still life paintings viewed from behind a glass screen.

For listeners who have a penchant for darker, glossier rock in the vein of Portishead, Jane Weaver or even Radiohead, this is an essential listen. For everyone else, it might prove to be an acquired taste, but one that lingers long after the dessert has been served.