I Am John
It's songs like this (and furniture brands like Ikea) that make us think
everything from Sweden is adorable and fragile. Loney, Dear, like close
companions Peter Bjorn and John, have a symmetrical attention
to detail that makes each song crisp, but just a little hard to touch.
So tiny and delicate you could carry it in cupped hands, "I Am John" is a sweet introduction to Loney, Dear and their upcoming Sub Pop debut, Loney, Noir. Everything is on the quiet: brushed drumbeats, glockenspiel tings, just a touch of farty, under-the-table bass. "Johnny and I we got lost tonight/ We got carried away," sings Loney, Dear's Emil Svanängen, a man who sounds as if he's never gotten carried away a night in his life (or has a friend named Johnny). But "I Am John" develops stronger legs three-quarters of the way through, when Svanängen piles on layers and layers of voices, until a mini-chorus backs the opening line into believability.
So tiny and delicate you could carry it in cupped hands, "I Am John" is a sweet introduction to Loney, Dear and their upcoming Sub Pop debut, Loney, Noir. Everything is on the quiet: brushed drumbeats, glockenspiel tings, just a touch of farty, under-the-table bass. "Johnny and I we got lost tonight/ We got carried away," sings Loney, Dear's Emil Svanängen, a man who sounds as if he's never gotten carried away a night in his life (or has a friend named Johnny). But "I Am John" develops stronger legs three-quarters of the way through, when Svanängen piles on layers and layers of voices, until a mini-chorus backs the opening line into believability.