When we were looped in by Polyvinyl Record Co. that they had, in fact, signed one of our favorite indie-pop acts, Sweden’s Loney Dear [Myspace], we did a fun little dance. Why? Because we actually like Polyvinyl and think that they are a great match for Loney Dear’s Emil Svanängen. The guy wrote his first albums in his parent’s basement; that’s DIY, and while his label efforts have been much more polished, they never lost their frantic yearning and melancholy, something I hope this release continues to show.

Loney Dear’s work is amazing and we can’t wait until the record, Dear John, drops on January 27th. This is the first music video from Dear Johnand it was directed by Marcus Söderlund ( Jens Lekman,The Tough Alliance).

Check out the video for this infectious tune “after the jump”

“Airport Surroundings” [mp3]

First single from the new Loney Dear album Dear John. Directed by Marcus Söderlund.

Hailing from the small city of Jonkoping, Sweden, Loney Dear‘s primary member Emil Svanängen first began making homemade recordings of delicate, folkish indie pop in the early 2000s. As Loney, Dear (the band has since deleted the comma from its name), Svanängen self-released three homemade CD-Rs through his website: River Fontana Redux, Citadel Band, and Sologne. As buzz developed through MP3 blogs and other new media manifestations, Sub Pop offered Svanängen a contract in 2006. The first proper Loney Dear album, Loney, Noir, was released in early 2007.

Svanängen describes Dear John as a “marvelous album in dark shades with a lava-like glow from underneath.”

The band will be touring the U.S. starting on Jan. 29 – most shows are with the noble Andrew Bird, while a few will be sans Bird (headlining Loney Dear shows) and they’ll also be hitting SXSW.

Tour Dates

01/29 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
01/30 Boston, MA The Orpheum*
02/02 Richmond, VA The National*
02/03 Washington, DC The 930 Club*
02/04 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse*
02/06 Orlando, FL The Plaza*
02/07 New Orleans, LA House of Blues*
02/09 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
02/10 Houston, TX Rudyard’s British Pub
02/11 Denton, TX Hailey’s
02/12 Austin, TX The Paramount Theater*
02/13 Albuquerque, NM The El Rey*
02/14 Tucson, AZ The Rialto*
02/15 San Diego, CA Soma San Diego*
02/17 Visalia, CA Howie and Son’s Pizza
02/18 Los Angeles, CA The Orpheum*
02/19 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
02/20 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore*
02/21 Portland, OR Roseland*
02/23 Seattle, WA The Moore*
02/24 Boise, ID The Knitting Factory*
02/25 Murray, UT The Murray*
02/26 Denver, CO The Ogden*
02/27 Omaha, NE Slowdown*
03/01 Chicago, IL Schubas
03/18 – 03/21 Austin, TX SXSW

* = w/ Andrew Bird

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Last 5 posts by Shawn M. Smith

• The Parting of The Ways by Shawn M. Smith - June 24th, 2011
• Pulse Original Matthew Michaels Says "Bon Voyage" - June 24th, 2011
• A Final Goodbye from K. Sawyer Paul - June 24th, 2011
• Salty Makes His Final Appearance - June 24th, 2011
• Hope You've Had the Time... - June 21st, 2011