Loney, Dear - Loney, Noir (Regal)
3/5
By: Dan Monsell
And so another summer, another multitude of releases from those eager to soundtrack those sunny days when all we do is hang around in parks with all our happy friends smiling and talking about how good everything is.
Except, it's raining outside today, and life just isn't that good and simple. So on this miserable afternoon especially, this exceptionally pretty in places Swedish orchestral-indie-pop can intrude upon the ears in a slightly irritating fashion. And, as the album rolls on, the combination of Loney's high-pitched voice and the classic and quite traditionally chirpy nature of this record meet head-on in a way that has us beginning to reach for the stop button.
However, in sunnier climes this is a magnificently cohesive album full of splendour and sumptuous melody that can't help but captivate the listener. The fact that it was put together by a bedroom artist with wide multi-instrumental skills has paid off such that the whole thing feels like a very carefully worked artistic project. The end product is just very listenable, with its effortlessly pleasing orchestral arrangements and vocal hooks that stir up a warmness inside of you in a way that's hard to resist.
There is a magical quality to each and every song on the album, but the fact that all the tracks are really quite similar means that it can often blend into one, albeit joyous, melodic mass at times. That said, this compact concretion is mostly quite a beautiful and an aurally pleasing affair. When it comes down to it, it must be admitted that as the summer days have dawned more upon us, this CD has kept the record player quite warm in the mornings. Damn him for being so melodic, unchallenging and effortlessly listenable.
Listen to 11 tracks from 'Loney, Noir' HERE.
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