Loney Dear, Hall Music Album Review
'Name' opens Hall Music in a beautiful gentle delicacy that oozes with the lushness of Sigur Ros fused with the sensitive folk melodies of the likes of Bon Iver; goose bumps. In this opening track alone Loney Dear, otherwise known as Swedish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanangen, sums up his entire latest album in a nutshell; utterly stunning. What's even better still, the following ten tracks refuse to falter from the high standard Svanangen sets out from the off.
'My Heart' has more of a pulse rather than the freer oozing, brooding melodies of the opening track; flanked by tentative beats and a wealth of chiming intertwining synths, Emil Svanangen's distinctive vocals sound amidst an eclectic yet sensitive, emotional blend, perhaps akin to Guillemots. 'Loney Blues' has more of a clear vocal melody sounded above a blend of drums, bass and synths. Throughout the tracks' melancholy, as blues naturally implies, the established delicate beauty never fades leaving the listener absorbed in a melancholic ballad that's strangely peaceful and entrancing. As its title perhaps suggests, 'Calm Down' then maintains this entrancing, peaceful blend through gently rippling guitars, drums and Svanangen's honest and clear vocals. The track the builds forward into a beautiful bluesy glockenspiel solo flanked by smooth, cinematic, vibrato-laden strings.
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