Stream: Livingmore, ‘Keep Multiplying’ and ‘Kick It’

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Livingmore (Photo by Joseph Cultice)

Like many creatives whose work relies on collaboration, the pandemic forced Livingmore to rejigger their process. After the release of their sophomore album “Take Me” in 2021, the couple that founded the band, Alex Moore and Spencer Livingston, weren’t able to get in same room with mates Mike Schadel and Rodrigo Moreno.

Additionally, there was a problem with the room. “Last December, our band’s rehearsal and recording studio actually caught on fire and almost burned down,” Livingston says. “It was pretty horrific and was deemed unusable for quite some time, because it was in need of some repairs and had some serious smoke damage.”

So the duo built a studio at their house to record the new songs they’d been writing, with Livingston playing all of the drums, bass, keys and electric guitar. Studio ace Josiah Mazzaschi did the mixes and mastering, and voilà, Livingmore had their third album, “Look,” which arrives Feb. 25.

Understandably, then, “Look” is a different look for Livingmore. It’s as if Moore and Livingston invited you over to their place for a really high-quality listening session. Their songs (and harmonies) have never been better. While the production on the glossy-meets-gritty “Take Me” gave those songs a big-room explosiveness, dialing things back has yielded a glowing intimacy, even on “Look’s” up-tempo rock songs. Not that the new album sounds lo-fi.

“The original intention was to aim for a more stripped-down sound, but we obviously got a little carried away and decided to just service whatever the songs needed,” Livingston says. “Some of the songs actually did end up relatively close to their original form and some went totally off into experimentation land. … This whole project really just started as kind of an exercise in self-sufficiency and is definitely something that is very close to our hearts.”

The latest single (and the album’s closing track) “Keep Multiplying” sounds like something deliciously riffy from the distaff half of ’90s Britpop. “Turn Away” also has a sticky Livingston guitar and goes away too fast after a minute and a half. “Kick It” and “Mysterious Love” won’t be the only moments the album reminds you of a less-fuzzy Raveonettes. “Never a Rockstar” treads in ethereal territory, though not as boldly as the 6-minute title track, which seems to sink beautifully into its own sunset. “Look” is a long way from Livingmore’s infancy as a duo doing what we called at the time “pristine … she-and-him folk.” But it’s another win for melodies and harmonies and the DIY spirit.

“Look” arrives as prepares to start recording another album next month at East West Studios.

||| Stream: “Keep Multiplying,” “Kick It,” “Turn Away” and “Never a Rockstar”

||| Previously: Live at the Moroccan Lounge, “Take Me,” “Got Me Feelin’ Like,” “Sharp,” “Dead Fruit,” “Sleepy Boy,” “Gone Too Fast,” “Really Mean It,” “Little Bird,” “Nothing Else”/”Counting Sheep”