Don't Shy Away [LP], Loma, Vinyl

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. 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.