The upside is that Loney, Dear hasn’t lost that handcrafted feel even after signing with Sub Pop. Dear John’s production values may be higher, but there’s a lived-in quality to each track that speaks to Svanängen’s painstaking investment in his work. From the delicately layered vocals of “Violent” to the unexpected organ fills of “Harm/Slow,” Dear John contains a cornucopia of subtle touches that elevate an already impressive album.

In keeping with the best of the recent influx of Scandinavian indie rockers, Loney, Dear moves deftly across the emotional spectrum. The mood shifts from mournful to triumphant to reflective, sometimes within the same song. “I Was Only Going Out” opens quietly with Svanängen’s softly accented intonations over a mellow acoustic strum, then progressively picks up instrumentation with each passing verse, finally spilling over into a buoyant, whistling chorus around the 2:30 mark. “Under a Silent Sea” takes a different tack, building from a quiet dirge to an electronica-laced cacophony that brings to mind a gloomier incarnation of The Postal Service.

Dear John isn’t an easy album to nail down. Depending on the track, comparison points range from Will Oldham to Low to Sufjan Stevens, but none of those quite capture the overall effect. This is a dense, rewarding album stuffed with fascinating little nuances. Even so, this feels less like a valedictory work than a promise of things to come. This record firmly establishes Loney, Dear as not just an artist to watch, but one who could well produce a true classic in the near future.

Recommended Tracks: “Summers”, “Under a Silent Sea”, “Violent”