Loney, dear: Loney, Noir (Sub Pop)
Indie pop-folk from Sweden, land of Volvos. Soft, but bright and mostly cheery (but not really twee…). Nice, subtle compositions. All start quiet + simple, but build to more layered, complex, fuller, etc. places. Higher register male vox drives the pieces. Lush instrumentation tastefully low in mix (trumpet, sax, xylophone, organ, clarinet, guitar, etc.) Quality balance that’s neither too saccharine nor makes false pretensions to be ‘rock’ (as so many weak indie pop bands do these days). Vox sounds both vulnerable and strong, as it manages to stand out over the instrumentation that practically serves as a light soundbed in some places (although there is some nice interplay btw clariney and vox). A little homogenous (midtempo vaguely happy folk-pop), but if it’s a good place to stay, why wander? No Fccs. Play #2, 4, 6, 10, 5
1) 3:06 – starts w/ high male vox. Bright instrumentation low in mix. Pretty pop. subtle, but great melody.
2) 3:30 – folksy, happy pop. More rapid vox. Sparkly xylophones + clarinet. Picks up ½ way. Hyperbolically catchy. Fades out. Awesome…
3) 3:39 – more folksy happy pop. rapid acoustic guitar strums. Cool sax growls.
4) 3:23 –more stipped-down start. Clarinet trills. handclaps. catchy scat singing.
5) 3:11 – more somber; slower pace. organ stuff…then gorgeous harmonies w/ xylophones. Simple + dreamy + warm.
6) 3:26 – cool clarinet counterpoint to dramatic vox. Sounds like a three minute microcosm of what could have been an epic song.
7) 2:47 – primitive drum machine/synth. Pretty ballad. Light + airy. Kinda sputters out at end.
8) 3:47 –syncopated percussion stuff starts piece off-kilter. Instrumentation low in mix. Driving, faster pace percussion. Gets a little more intense.
9) 3:14 – pretty waltz w/dreamy horns. Emotional, bare vox.
10) 3:35 -electronic pop. sweet vox melody. Simple, never gets intense.