Anthony Snape


THE DEARS  
Official Site
www.thedears.org
Myspace Site
www.myspace.com/thedears  
Described by NME as "Marvin Gaye fronting The Smiths while the London Philharmonic Orchestra has a stab at the Burt Bacharach songbook", The Dears recently played their first gig of 2006 at America’s Coachella Festival. The new LP is 48 minutes of enigmatic, literate pop characterised by Murray’s soulful voice. "As clichéd as this may sound, it's by far the best work we've ever done," Murray says.
 

Recorded in Montreal over the winter and mixed in Brooklyn earlier this year, the album’s sound is defiantly addictive with its electric pulse and effortless harmonies. Standout tracks include the throbbing ‘Ticket To Immortality’, the haunting title track ‘You and I Are A Gang Of Losers’, ‘Fear Made The World Go ‘Round’ – which currently appears on their My Space page -and the emotional pull of ‘Ballad Of Humankindness’.


"It doesn't sound like anything else and it's pretty relentless," says Murray. "As (I think) we've mentioned before, it is somewhat of a stripped down, raw affair. There’s a French horn in 2 songs and saxophone in another. Though there is some mellotron-ny stuff, there are no real violins, violas or cellos. I guess that means that we're no longer orchestral."

The album title ‘Gang Of Losers’ originates from a running joke that a friend of the band started a couple of years ago. "After thinking about the phrase a lot more, it got all serious and became a metaphor for this whole…thing," adds Murray.

The band’s 2nd album ‘No Cities Left’ was released in 2004 received widespread praise in the form of four-star reviews from MOJO and The Independent, plus was named Number 10 in NME’s best albums of that year.

 
The Dears are: Murray Lightburn (lead vocalist, guitars), George Donoso (Drums), Valerie Jodoin-Keaton (keyboards, flute, vocals), Patrick Krief (guitar), Martin Pelland (Bass) and Natalia Yanchak (keyboards, vocals).