Stream: Livingmore, ‘Places’

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Livingmore (Photo by Dillon Moore)

Spencer Livingston and Alex Moore — collaborating for more than eight years (and three full-lengths) under the portmanteau Livingmore — have a knack for finding beacons of earnestness no matter whether their music leans toward rock, folk, new wave or the spaces in between.

Just over a year since flexing with their DIY release “Look,” made in the couple’s living room, Livingmore return today with a new single, “Places,” the first from their fourth full-length, “The Garden” (release date TBA).

“Places” finds the duo engaging in some meditative, celestial dream-pop — a pandemic post-mortem, if you will. Says Livingston: “‘Places’ is kind of like a poem about trying to stay in the present and treating every moment like it might be the last. Appreciating the ones you love and not getting distracted by negative energy in the universe. Staying true to yourself and giving kindness to and respect to everyone you meet and all the places you go.”

If Livingmore is turning toward neo-shoegaze, they could hardly be in better hands. “The Garden” was produced by Jeff Schroeder (Smashing Pumpkins), who also contributes guitar on a couple of tracks, including “Places,” which was recorded largely at EastWest Studios’ Studio Three (where “Pet Sounds” was made).

“Sonically, we are stretching our palette on this album more than we have in the past and we definitely credit Jeff for encouraging us to experiment and play with sounds, textures and arrangements,” Livingston says. “He really brought some amazing ideas and energy to the table, while still allowing us to be and sound like ourselves. That kind of felt like the mantra for this entire project even though we never really spoke about it. We all tried to be as open-minded as possible and let it happen naturally. We had such a magical experience working with Jeff.”

Much of the album was made at producer Josiah Mazzachi’s The Cave studio, and he engineered the record. Emily Retsas (Phoebe Bridgers, Kim Gordon, Better Oblivion Community Center) stepped in to replace Livingmore’s longtime bassist Rodrigo Moreno, and the duo’s regular keeper of the beat, Mike Schadel, drums.

||| Stream: “Places”

||| Previously: “Look,” “Keep Multiplying” / “Kick It,” 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”