_____________________________________________________________________________
::k4:
a r t i s t :: Loney Dear
t i t l e :: Hall Music
d a t e :: 2011-10-04
l a b e l :: Polyvinyl
g e n r e :: Indie
s o u r c e :: WEB
b i t r a t e :: 320 kbps avg
e n c o d e r :: LAME
t r a c k s :: 11
p l a y t i m e :: 34:25
s i z e :: 85.04MB
tracklist
1 Name 2:25
2 My Heart 3:33
3 Loney Blues 2:56
4 Calm Down 3:58
5 Maria, Is That You 2:24
6 D Major 2:53
7 Largo 3:14
8 Young Hearts 3:05
9 Durmoll 2:53
10 I Dreamed About You 3:33
11 What Have I Become? 3:31
releasenotes
Like the similarly underrated East River Pipe, Emil SvanΣngen aka Loney, Dear
has been a predominantly æbedroomÆ artist up until now, turning out
immaculate, intimate but nonetheless expansive albums that address themes of
sadness, insecurity and rejection with an understated articulacy. Perhaps itÆs
the unapologetically sentimental nature of his music that has prevented him
from reaching a wider audience so far û there have surely been few more
poignant lyrics this year than "In a land with a thousand seasides, I never
really learned to swim at all". Or maybe itÆs the awkward comma in his name û
weÆre a fussy nation, after all. But Hall Music is yet more proof that the
melancholic Swede deserves to be heard.
SvanΣngenÆs sixth album sees him develop his aesthetic with an extra emphasis
on intricate details û the grand string and brass arrangement on Durmoll, for
instance, or the distant bells on My Heart - but the key quality remains the
same: a melancholy that is somehow oddly comforting, even at times joyful. The
opening hymn-like I Want Your Name encapsulates this as well as anything, with
a simple plea û "I want your name next to mine" û sung sweetly above a far-off
organ, before keyboards shimmer forth and SvanΣngen breaks into a trademark
falsetto. His starkly emotional statements are maybe too heart-on-sleeve for
some, but the more honest will recognise in themselves such rare confessions
as that of My Heartà, where he admits to "crying in his sleep", or Loney
Blues, when he laments how "hair is falling off strange places on your head".
The overall atmosphere is undeniably downbeat, most obviously on Largo, which
sounds like a funeral march produced by Phil Spector and finds SvanΣngen
admitting he "used to talk quite a lot but now I'm quiet æcause I donÆt know
how to reply", or the sparse Young Hearts, which offers little more than
vocals, an organ and a piano. But thereÆs a reassuring consolation in the
aching Calm Down Emil û "Slow down, thereÆs nothing after you" û and D Majorà
describes a snowy but heart-warming night-time scene in which "behind turned
up collars, everyone was smiling".
Best still are the albumÆs final two tracks, the atmospheric DreaminÆ, which
swells gently towards an almost ecstatic climax, and the frankly magnificent
What Have I Become?, a resigned shrug of the shoulder in its conclusion: "I
really donÆt care no more / Things never go they way they should / It's not
sad but it's not OK". The latter is matched by a melody that ABBA themselves
could have written, and, while what sounds like Kate Bush wails in the
background, its final cheeky nod to Massive AttackÆs Unfinished Sympathy
proves that itÆs not all misery and self-pity here.
Shop-Url: http://tinyurl.com/62enmkw
Band-Url: http://loneydear.com
_____________________________________________________________________________
Loney_Dear-Hall_Music-WEB-2011-k4