Loney dear – Dear John

If you have been watching closely, you may have got the idea that here at TLOBF we are rather keen on our Swedish pop. This being the case the prospect of a new album from multimember ‘one man band’ Loney dear (aka Emil Svanängen) has had several staffers in near hysterics for nigh on three months now. Throw in the fact that current tour partner and whistling maestro Andrew Bird makes an appearance on Dear John and you have all the ingredients for a record to swoon over for the rest of 2009. However, personally while I have always enjoyed his live show, Svanangen’s albums to date (there are four to date, but only two of which have seen general release) have proved unable to match the power of his performances. By now you have probably heard album opener 'Airport Surroundings' (if not you can download it from here), with it's half spoken intro and driving electronic beat bearing an uncanny resemblance to the opening verse of Warren G's "Regulate". This quirk aside, the song pretty much sums Dear John up over it's few short minutes. Richer and darker than much of Loney dear's previous output, it builds layers upon layers of electro burbles, handclaps and percussion and Svanängen’s unique falsetto into a glorious pop rush. ‘Everything Turns To You’ continues in the same vein, carried along by shuffling drums and bleeps, moving with a sense of desperation and urgency. Svanängen has said that the album is a literal ‘Dear John’ letter to this stage of his career. Over the past five records as Loney dear, he has honed his pop craft obsessively, working and reworking ideas before unleashing them on to the wider stage. The upbeat ‘Harsh Words’ is the perfect example of this, starting with just a guitar and voice before adding harmonies, driving snares and horns carrying the melody ever upwards, cycling on ascending bass lines until it explodes in a perfect climax. Long a live favourite, he has finally done the song justice on record. ‘Summers’ and ‘Violent’ both replicate this dizzying pop formula too, and seem to suggest that Svanängen is well on his way to mastering his craft.While his previous records have tended to be built around two or three key tracks, Dear John feels like a more accomplished, consistent piece. The introduction of more, harsher electronics has added a new dimension to the Loney dear sound and moves him further away from the dreaded singer-songwriter tag that he has often been labelled with. They also serve to give a darker, more sinister feeling than previously. When the rave like keyboard stabs kick in to ‘Under The Silent Sea’ it certainly comes as a shock, but it seems to work. The darker, electronic edge provides a perfect contrast for the elegiac ‘Harm’, before ‘Violent’ (replete with ‘Time Team’ flutes) begins the gentle build towards the celebratory closing statement of closer ‘Dear John’.Dear John’s story may be at an end, but if the new direction showcased here is anything to go by, there is plenty more to look forward to from Loney dear. Through obsessive honing his art and a seemingly never ending tour schedule, Svanängen has finally delivered an album that lives up to his breathtaking live show. 91%mp3:> Loney dear: 'Airport Surroundings'Loney dear on MySpace