In 2016, musicians Emily Cross, Dan Duszynski, and Jonathan Meiburg came together to form Loma. The trio met on tour, when Cross Record–Cross and Duszynski’s musical project–opened for Shearwater, the acclaimed indie rock band that Meiburg has fronted since 2001. Loma’s intriguing debut arrived two years later in February 2018, recorded at Duszynski’s home in Dripping Springs, Texas.
Following an extended tour of North America and Europe (which saw the addition of new members Emily Lee and Matt Schuessler), the group soon set to work on a follow-up record–2020’s Don’t Shy Away–which featured contributions from the legendary Brian Eno. After an extended post-pandemic hiatus, Loma’s long-awaited third album arrived via Sub Pop Records in June 2024. Equal parts indie rock, ambient, new age, and singer/songwriter, How Will I Live Without A Body? is as haunting as it hopeful–maintaining an almost-hypnotic calm despite the ominous undercurrent in songs like “Arrhythmia” or “I Swallowed A Stone.”
Despite knowing little about the band prior to the release of How Will I Live Without A Body?, I was immediately intrigued to hear that Steven Wilson had been brought in to mix the album in Dolby Atmos. It would seem that Wilson and Meiburg are kindred spirits, having sung each other’s praises on a number of occasions over the years–most notably in 2022, when Wilson included Shearwater’s “Aqaba” on a top-100 favorite songs list featured in his autobiography A Limited Edition Of One.
The Dolby Atmos mix is simply astounding, offering a truly immersive listening experience befitting this otherworldly music. It may well be one of the most impressive spatial mixes Wilson has completed to date, which is no small feat in a catalog chock full of highlights. The creative integration of natural field recordings has become a trademark feature of Loma’s music, and it’s these passages–such as the crashing waves heard at the end of “Broken Doorbell”–that benefit most from the expanded soundstage.
The first track “Please, Come In” kicks off with the sound of birds chirping and synthesizers circling overhead, quickly giving way to the rhythm section from below. The drums fill up all seven speakers at ear level, while Emily Cross’ vocals protrude from the center channel out into the side surrounds. An electric guitar part emerges from the right side speaker, along with additional acoustic guitars from the rear.
A distorted guitar flares from the rear during the second verse at around 1:40, showing off the incredible dynamic range. Harmony vocals enter from above at around the two-minute mark, leading into the explosive instrumental break with percussion in the rear and acoustic guitars plucking from above. More swirling ambient sound in the heights take us into the fade.
The piano that opens “Arrhythmia” appears completely isolated in the side speakers, with percussion hovering between the front and top front speakers. Backing vocals extend from the rear surrounds up into the height array, while the lead vocals at around the three-minute mark (“mountains I wait…”) alternate between the center and front height speakers.
Piano moves to the front for “Unbraiding,” as Cross’ mournful vocals again extend out into the room. The height speakers are supplied with a steady diet of mysterious, reverb-laden guitar and ambient soundscapes. Moving into the steady drumbeat of “I Swallowed A Stone,” flourishes of strings and piano appear from behind to great effect.
The drum kit interestingly relocates to the side speakers for “How It Starts,” with piano staying upfront and pulsating synth lines bursting from the rear. The short instrumental piece “Dark Trio” features electric guitars in the side surrounds and acoustics in the rear, transitioning us into “A Steady Mind.” Percussion takes the left side, with guitar off to the right and backing vocals in the rear height speakers.
Sound effects drift back-to-front in the height array for “Pink Sky,” as the band gradually fades in from below. Backing vocals arc around the listener from the side and rear surround speakers, while the woodwind solo hovers overhead and the short vocal ad-libs move around each corner of the height array to very cool effect.
“Broken Doorbell” begins with a wordless vocal chorus from above, as the thudding kick drum fills up the entire room. Harmony vocals chanting “come on in” gently emerge from the height array, while strummed acoustic guitars appear from the sides at around the four-minute mark. As the track builds to a thrilling crescendo and then slowly fades away, leaving just a field recording of crashing waves up in the height speakers.
Keyboard takes the sides for “Affinity,” with woodwinds coming in from above just before the vocals enter. Chimes later appear from behind, along with acoustic guitars from the side surrounds. The album then concludes with the simple guitar-and-voice piece “Turnaround,” showing off Cross’ raw vocal ability. Interestingly, this is the only track not to feature her voice in the center speaker.
Given that a very small percentage of Loma fans are likely to possess a 7.1.4 home theater system, the band have held a number of Atmos listening sessions in properly-equipped spaces through the US and UK. I was fortunate enough to attend one such event in the “Blue Room” at New York City’s Engine Room Audio, hosted by Emily Lee and featuring a guest appearance by Jonathan Meiburg via video conference. It was heartening to see the band’s newfound enthusiasm for spatial audio, as well as the amazed reactions of listeners who’d never before experienced a Dolby Atmos mix in the proper listening environment.
As of right now, the Atmos mix is exclusively available to stream via platforms that support immersive audio such as Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music. Though the sound quality is generally very good, the lossy encoding does seem to have had a detrimental effect on certain elements panned to the rear surround and height speakers–such as the woodwinds, acoustic guitars, and vocal reverbs.
I have no doubt that a lossless TrueHD release–either on Blu-Ray disc or as a hi-res digital download–would resolve these sonic shortcomings, as well as offer listeners the chance to definitively own the spatial mix rather than continually rent it from the streaming services. Overall, this is one of my favorite Dolby Atmos releases of 2024 thus far and I'd heartily recommend it to any immersive music fan.
