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Montreal, Quebec's orchestral pop/rock sextet The Dears have
returned with their third full length album Gang Of Losers
after an unprecedented two year run on their second release No
Cities Left, keynoting a tour that took them all around the globe
and lasting from 2003 to mid-2005. When lead singer Murray Lightburn
and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak were married in the summer
of 2005, the promise of a new album was put on the horizon, keeping
fans of Montreal's 6-piece music troupe waiting and wondering if The
Dears would keep their melodic symphonic-rock sound when they returned.
The time apart from touring proved to enrich the band's harmony and
bring out an album with universal appeal that places orchestral pop/rock
on the global music map, similar to Radiohead and Arcade
Fire.
Still holding onto their indie rock roots, Gang Of Losers
was released on Toronto, Canada's indie label Arts & Crafts. The
shimmering melodic layers in their instrument parts on tracks like
"Bandwagoneers" and "Death Or Life We Want You"
give major rock artists something to learn about creating harmony
and amassing flourishing textures without being overly excessive.
The soft rock emissions on "Hate Then Love" have a Morrissey-loll
in the nocturnal toned gages. "Whites Only Party" course
wavelets of funk beats from bassist Martin Pellard and drummer
George Donoso III through the chugging movements of guitarist
Patrick Krief and the duel keyboards of Yanchak and Valerie
Jodoin-Keaton. The deep toned vocals of Lightburn bring out a
melodic level in his voice, which on previous albums purveyed a coarse
texture in its timbers. Marriage and becoming a new father to his
and Yanchak's daughter have effected him in a way that allows him
to laminate his notes delivering them with a symphonic refinement.
The vocals and music are no longer contrasting texturally but breathe
at the same level.
The smokey vapors and piano tones on "Fear Made The World Go
'Round" are complemented by Lightburn's vocals which convey a
Bowie-esque candor. The melodic transitions on "Ticket
To Immortality" have a high level of concordance as the layers
of instruments are finessed to make lavish passages and pockets of
space that give the instrument segments breathing space. There is
a level of sophistication in The Dears' songs which they have always
strived for on their previous albums and have reached with these songs.
The low toned keys of "I Feel Deep" maintain The Dears'
penchant for exploring the dark side of human nature familiar to Leonard
Cohen, but inflating a bit of optimism in the chord's aura. The
curvatures of the vocals and music score display textures and motions
that know when to breathe, when to join in the foliage, when to increase
their volume, and when to deflate their flourishing.
The Dears' album Gang Of Losers is more than just an orchestral
pop/rock album, it's an album for all occasions. Similar to Joy
Division, The Dears' music is respected by artists of all genres.
There is something for everyone in these tracks, forming harmony and
allotting room to breathe. The Dears are presently on a worldwide
tour. Will this one be another two year run like No Cities Left?
Like the Doris Day song says, "Que sera, sera/ Whatever
will be, will be."
-Susan Frances
Track Listing:
1. Sinthtro
2. Ticket To Immortality
3. Death Or Life We Want You
4. Hate Then Love
5. There Goes My Outfit
6. Bandwagoneers
7. Fear Made The World Go 'Round
8. You And I Are A Gang Of Lovers
9. Whites Only Party
10. Ballad Of Human Kindness
11. I Feel Deep
12. Find Our Way To Freedom
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