Heave Media

Dear John: A Letter to the Lonely

The Sad-Eyed Swede Impresses Again

Loney, Dear

Dear John

Released on Jan 27, 2009

Editor's Note: Below, you'll find reviews from both Ben Wadington and myself, Mark Steffen.  Ben's is in red, as are his "High Point" and "Low Point" for the album.  Despite living on opposite ends of the country, we both gave the album an 8.

In the scope, style and stature of its recent musical releases, the country of Sweden is seemingly the new United Kingdom in terms of its musical import.  The happy-go-lucky half of the world spent the better part of 2006 whistling Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” while the glass-half-empty remnants rallied around The Knife’s Silent Shout.  In 2007, Sweden sent us the sunny sounds of The Tough Alliance, the folk-pop of Jens Lekman and disco revivalist Sally Shapiro.  Critically-acclaimed releases from Swedes in 2008 included tropical pop stars Air France, minimalist electronica artist Lindstrøm, pop devotee Lykke Li and the folksy Tallest Man on Earth. 

Loney Dear’s Dear John proves that 2009 will be no different from years past in terms of Sweden’s relevance.  Released Tuesday on Polyvinyl Records, Dear John is every bit as good as 2006’s Loney, Noir and it deserves a spot among the most celebrated albums from any of the above-mentioned Swedes.  On Dear John, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanängen crafts beautifully melodic and instantaneously catchy pop tunes that recall Bon Iver, Broken Social Scene and Sigur Rós.  Like Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Loney Dear’s Svanängen is known for writing and recording songs on amateurish audio equipment in homely settings.  However lame it may be that Svanängen recorded some or all of his albums in his parent’s home is totally forgiven and forgotten by the sheer musical excellence that is present on these recordings.  That one man could single-handedly manipulate a relatively limited number of instruments into such a massive mosaic of melody is an accomplishment indeed.  Fans of Sigur Rós will fall in love with Svanängen’s falsetto as well as his tendency to churn a cadre of instruments into an ever-growing wall of sound a la Broken Social Scene.  That Svanängen does it so well and seemingly so easily is both fascinating and frustrating at the same time.  Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think Polyvinyl will be releasing any of my four-track recordings anytime soon.

“Airport Surroundings,” the first track from Dear John, is actually a perfect example of that fascinating/frustrating dichotomy.  The song’s bumping bass-line establishes a fast rhythm, so when Svanängen’s vocals come in, it’s like he’s rapping.  Therein lies the problem: the way Svanängen sings “I wasn’t feeling at all, I wasn’t doing no good” is exactly how Nate Dogg sings “Just hit the Eastside of the LBC, on a mission trying to find Mr. Warren G” in the latter’s song “Regulate.” From the moment I first heard the song, I knew I’d heard the vocal delivery before, but with a relatively limited knowledge of hip-hop, I couldn’t figure out where.  Tony, my buddy and hip-hop aficionado from work, easily identified it as Warren G’s “Regulator” within the first few seconds of Svanängen’s vocals.  I don’t know what to think about the striking similarity.  Obviously the record label didn’t think enough of it to suggest a redo or prevent the song from being released.  Quite the opposite, the song was the first single released and the first music video filmed for the album.  I don’t think Svanängen set out to record an homage to “Regulator,” but I don’t see him as a serial plagiarist, either.  If the dude is consistently locked-up in his parent’s basement writing and recording emo-pop songs, then perhaps he has an excuse.  When all is said and done, I guess the ball’s in Warren G’s court. 

With its tubular bell chimes and multiple layers of vocals, “Airport Surroundings” sets the tone for an album chocked full of melodic instrumentation and splendid songwriting.  Even as Svanängen ditched the comma in between “Loney” and “Dear” for this album, he added a new element to his sound by tweaking just a few more knobs and dabbling in electronic experimentation.  The payoff is brilliant on “Under A Silent Sea,” with its high-pitched synths and deep drum rolls simulating the toil and tumult of an uncaring ocean.  On the contrary, the electronic experimentation mostly fails on “Harm/Slow,” an otherwise sleepy track randomly interrupted by quick fits of fuzz and the untimely utterances of an organ.  Svanängen ought to know that acts like Fennesz and Grouper saturate their songs in fuzz and still manage to sell records. 

When Svanängen isn’t exercising his inklings in electronica, his songs sound familiar to the ones on Loney, Noir.  “Everything Turns To You” features bass booms and a big-band build-up that will be sure to make you tap your feet and bob your head.  The layered vocals of “ahhs” in the chorus reminded me of Danish shoegazers Mew, but in a good way.  The whistling section in “I Was Only Going Out” is more Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs than Peter Bjorn and John, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less addictive.  All told, Svanängen fills this loosely developed concept album about a relationship ended through a letter with songs of regret, self-doubt and suicidal tendencies backed by what sounds like a symphony led by John Williams.  The better part of me wishes Svanängen would step out of his parent’s basement and celebrate his success, but his recordings are magnificent enough that the bigger part of me hopes he stays locked up, writing and recording to his heart’s desire.  

P.S. Catch Loney Dear at Schuba’s on March 1, 2009!

Dear John marks Loney Dear’s fifth album, but the first with an immediate U.S. presence and the backing of Polyvinyl.  His first four albums were self-recorded and distributed in Sweden at first and, only after an appropriate amount of internet buzz made its way to Sub-Pop, did the benchmark label purchase the albums and begin U.S. distribution a few years back.

It seems appropriate that this latest installment from Emil Svanängen (Loney’s real name) that the album rings out with an electronic plea that feels as organic as the strictly acoustic sound-looping that permeated his previous albums.  At once defiant and submissive, the album is a lot to wrap your head around, especially if it’s not literally wrapped around your head.  This is a headphones album.  A headphones album in the dark with the volume way up and your favorite pillow clutched close; single lit candle optional.

“Airport Surroundings” and “Everything Turns To You,” the first two tracks mark decidedly uptempo, lavishly synthed and stringed hymns of darkness.  In these, reflections of Emil’s former life as a bicycle enthusiast and his home’s adjacency to an airport can be felt just as much as the despair in his polite falsetto and pleading lyrics.

Then, just as you thought the Loney Dear you fell in love with had been replaced, “I Was Only Going Out” ropes us back into the simple sweetness and innocence that got him recognized in the first place.  Again, the album has much more electronic experimentation than his previous work, but it’s one of the achievements on the album in that there’s no incongruency in tone.  Loney is a perfectionist when recording and tracks like this prove it.  Check out “Harsh Words” for another flawless execution of this idea.

The majority of Dear John floats like a light storm cloud.  At times it rains heavily, thunder, and lightning forcing people indoors.  At other times, the drops peel back and are reduced to the light mist of early mornings and walking to work slowly just because you can. 

Tracks on the tail end of the album like “Harm” and “Violent” feel more like atmospheric pieces than true songs, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  They construct a cohesive feeling that operates more like a horror story than the rest of the album, which meanders in and out of triumph and despair.  In these final tracks, especially the over the top string-wails on “Harm” and the finale, “Dear John,” we can truly believe that all of this lonely want and hurt was actually for something solid.  On the final track, when Emil whispers, “I’m slumbering to music/my limbs cease to hurt” we can finally believe him.  “Dear John’s” steady build and exuberant horns and timpani rolls are not an introduction, but the final send-off from this era of the John series he’s been writing for five albums now.

Posted by Mark Steffen on Jan 27, 2009 @ 6:00 am