Lonely Dear has come a long way since leader Emil Svanängen was self-releasing CD-Rs via his own website, and 2009 is looking to be quite busy for these indie-folk making Swedes. The band, who recently signed to Polyvinyl, will release the bittersweet, meticulously crafted Dear John on January 27.

Just a couple weeks before the album’s release, the guys will head Stateside, where a long list of tour dates, many of which are alongside Andrew Bird, await. With shows scheduled through March, it looks as though they’ll be anything but lonely in the new year.

Dear John
01 Airport Surroundings
02 Everything Turns to You
03 I Was Only Going Out
04 Harsh Words
05 Under a Silent Sea
06 I Got Lost
07 Summers
08 Distant
09 Harm
10 Violent
11 Dear John

Dates
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