#10 Loney, Dear – Loney, Noir

Hailing from the same Scandinavian stomping grounds as Jens Lekman, it seems there wasn’t enough room on hardly anyone’s ‘07 favorites lists for more than one tender-hearted Swede, with Night Falls Over Kortedala nabbing top accolades while the modest Loney, Dear wilted into blog oblivion. Actually, the only other person I know who dared to mention Loney, Noir was Rachel Briggs, art director at American Songwriter magazine, whom I must salute for her fine taste. What’s more surprising is that it seems no one even took notice of the bushy-tailed blaze of infatuating sunshine that is “I Am John,” which I consider to be the best song of the year in a year of some truly great contenders. Off to a brisk start with Emil Svanängen’s falsetto whine, accentuated with a crisp, finger-swept acoustic guitar before being lifted by Malin Ståhlberg’s feminine back-up and drumbrush swipes, the song only builds off its punchy beginning with lyrics that work their way into every corner – often carrying over from bar to bar as if struggling to keep up – and pushes far beyond its dainty exterior into an ever-escalating, clamorous finish of pinched vocals revolving around one another, until, finally, just fading into silence as if nothing ever happened. Perhaps that’s why Loney, Noir’s gentle hooks, soft synths and placid passion – if I was forced to pick, other highlights worth looking into are “Hard Days 1,2,3,4″ and “Carrying A Stone,” but two in a string of worthy titles – failed to catch the attention of critics who sort through hundreds of free promo CDs a year: Loney, Dear is just too sweet for rock ‘n’ roll, and all the better for it.