Wow, my heart really sank when I realized that I will be unable to catch the Andrew Bird / Loney Dear show in San Francisco. Andrew Bird issued one of thebest performances I caught at SXSW 2007, and Loney Dear’s “I Am John” never gets rest with me, appearing on pretty much every mix tape I’ve made in the last two years.

I guess I missed the memo that Loney Dear split from Sub Pop, but they (or he, as the band is basically centered around Emil Svanängen) will have a new album out on Polyvinyl entitled “Dear John” early 2009. In the meantime I’ll just have to watch this video over and over and over….
“I Am John”

And in keepign with the theme, here’s an animated Andrew Bird video:
“Lull (Daytrotter Version)”

LONEY DEAR

12/10 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
12/12 Brooklyn, NY Union Hall
01/29 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
01/30 Boston, MA The Orpheum*
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*
02/17 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

* = w/ Andrew Bird

Loney Dear press release following the jump.
(more…)

Loney, Dear, which is essentially one young Swedish dude named Emil Svanängen and whoever he can rope into playing with him, is basically a fey-music badass. No, he’s not ever going to make anyone contemplate starting a circle-pit, but sometimes I just want to sit around in a sweater-vest, cut out collages and sip blueberry Stoli, and for those moments, nothing beats Loney, Dear’s album Loney, Noir. It rocks in a most emasculated manner.

Every time I hear his track “I Am John” I get super excited all over again, and thank the heavens that Sub Pop exists to find and put that shit out in the US (How much longer they’ll exist? That’s another story and good fodder for the rumor mill…).

The video for “I AM John” was directed by Andreas Nilsson, who blew up a minute ago for his work on The Knife’s “Like a Pen” video. But this shit is way better:

Happiest music to be set to a cartoon about assassinations, ever.
Plus, there’s a death orchestra, and a dude dancing with a reindeer. What a wicked display of raditude.

If anyone wants to fly me out to Reykjavík during October 19-21 I will totally check out Loney, Dear, plus Deerhoof, mum, Of Montreal, !!! and about 100 other bands at the Iceland Airwaves festival. I would totally do that for you. But if I meet Emil there I’m going to try and convince him to get rid of that errant comma. Gotta ditch that shit holmes. Loney, Dear, you’ve been warned.