Loney, Dear - I Am John (Regal)
4/5
By: Michael Cragg
Emil Svanangen, aka Loney, Dear, may have just inked a deal with the same label as Lily Allen and Babyshambles, but his charming lo-fi folk remains relatively unknown. Such anonymity suits him, his songs seemingly destined to be loved passionately by a select few, as opposed to being simply liked by many.
'I Am John', taken from the forthcoming 'Loney, Noir' album, is unlikely to change this, but it's a beautifully constructed three and a half minutes that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside in a way that only bands from Scandinavia can do.
Starting slowly with understated acoustic guitar it builds slowly into what can only be described as a lo-fi cacophony, if such a thing can actually exist. By the songs end Svanangen's multi-tracked vocal wrestles alongside a xylophone, some brass parps and metronome-precise drums. It conjures up images of sitting on a rug in the park, drinking wine and dancing barefoot in the grass. It's a shame when it ends and you realise you have had the misfortune not to have been born in Sweden!
B-side 'Warm, Dark, Comforting Night' (from previous album 'The Year Of River Fontana') is more unsettling, any sense of comfort as promised in the title is skewed by the sinister sounding mandolin that is perhaps too close to something you'd hear in a dodgy Italian restaurant. This slip-up aside, Loney, Dear have made one of the prettiest songs of the year so far, but shhh - keep it a secret!
Watch the video to 'I Am John' HERE.
Artists in this article: Loney, Dear
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