After the orchestral extravaganza of 2004's fantastic No Cities Left, the Dears didn't leave themselves much room on their next album to go even bigger, lusher, more orchestral. It would be too much, and they knew it, so instead they chose to strip down their arrangements, make them simpler and less ornate. This isn't to say that Gang of Losers is just Murray Lightburn playing an acoustic guitar and crooning forlornly, but it does mean that the Dears seem to have traded in their strings and horns for more straightforward electric guitar and keyboard riffs. "Ticket to Immortality," the first single, still features Lightburn majestically singing, "I hang out with all the pariahs" (he is almost obsessed with the idea of not fitting in -- it's a theme that continues throughout the record), but it also follows a fairly standard verse-chorus type formula; there are none of the eight-minute expositions found on No Cities Left. In fact, most of the songs are a lot more "standardly constructed," but done so in a way that keeps the band's dramatic Queen-meets-the Smiths aesthetic intact without overwhelming listeners with myriad undulations and structural dissections. There's still the propensity for classical resolutions and progressions, but it's much more of a ock record than their last. "Bandwagoneers" is a lovely piece with solid guitars and a smooth intensity that comes not only from the lush instrumentation but also from the fluctuations in Lightburn's voice. He offers a wider range of emotion than he has before, moving from contemplation to anger in a single phrase ("Why can't everyone live out happily ever after?" he wonders as the song begins circling around itself, finally fading out into an electric guitar rant); equally good is the poppy "Hate Then Love," which keeps the ascending scales while still incorporating catchy melodies and simple chords. "I Fell Deep" begins with something like an interpretation of the piano riff from Radiohead's "Pyramid Song" and turns bluesy with an organ and background chorus, almost fit for musical theater, while "Whites Only Party" is lyrically complicated but sticks to basic, quick-moving acoustic guitar and piano with a Western feel, complete with a frontier-town-inspired guitar solo. Still, everything on the album is very much the Dears, very much how they've always presented themselves, very much what they've always done. They're a little less baroque, they're a little less depressing (maybe Lightburn's marriage to bandmate Natalia Yanchak helped things here), but they're just as emotional and affecting, which makes Gang of Losers very good indeed.
I bought this cd off itunes last week just on a hunch cause I had heard off them before but didn't really give them any thought. So after listening to the album I am very happy that I did cause this is a great album and i've been listening to non stop since, i can't get enough of it! To anybody that hasn't heard it, get it. some favorite tracks so far are Ballad of Human Kindness, Ticket to I...
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There's an article in the New York Times on the show The Dears gave at Webster Hall (Jan. 19). Go tohttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/arts/music/23annu.html?ref=music
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It's been way too long since I've last mogged, but preparing applications for post-graduate study is a lot of work and unfortunately mog is not the priority I'd like it to be. But I've been having a lazy day, so I should do a recap of the last few concerts I've seen!The Dears - Nov. 25Starlite Room, EdmontonI haven't seen the Dears since they came through Edmonton in 2003, so this was quite a trea
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Please take some time to listen to "Gang of Losers" by The Dears. This is one album you can't get tired of because each song is a gem with doses of lyricism and changes in the musical patterns, making each song a voyage with unpredictable routes.
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I've been spending far too much time this week engaging in a few absurdly reductive debates on race on my high school's interweb bulletin board, with this lurvely tune by The Dears acting as the soundtrack.
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Something I haven't heard yet again. How exciting!I love new music, well new to myself ofcourse. Some of you I suspect are in the know, and now. Duty calls will finish post later..... Back in action, The Dears.... they were good, I was surprised that I liked them. Maybe it's a live thing? So when I buy the cd, I'll get back to you. Not too much to write on them, I was laying down with my hat ov...
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If all of MOG jumped off a cliff.....well I certainly wouldn't follow as I have an extreme fear of falling. I would be willing to share a bit more about me though.First, my name really is Mimi. It's not a nickname and it's not short for something else. I am named after my great-grandmother, Mimi Gay. It took a while, but I grew to love my name and I usually go by my full name. This goes ba...
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There's an article in the New York Times on the show The Dears gave at Webster Hall (Jan. 19). Go tohttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/arts/music/23annu.html?ref=music
More >
Please take some time to listen to "Gang of Losers" by The Dears. This is one album you can't get tired of because each song is a gem with doses of lyricism and changes in the musical patterns, making each song a voyage with unpredictable routes.
More >
I've been spending far too much time this week engaging in a few absurdly reductive debates on race on my high school's interweb bulletin board, with this lurvely tune by The Dears acting as the soundtrack.
More >
It's been way too long since I've last mogged, but preparing applications for post-graduate study is a lot of work and unfortunately mog is not the priority I'd like it to be. But I've been having a lazy day, so I should do a recap of the last few concerts I've seen!The Dears - Nov. 25Starlite Room, EdmontonI haven't seen the Dears since they came through Edmonton in 2003, so this was quite a trea
More >
Something I haven't heard yet again. How exciting!I love new music, well new to myself ofcourse. Some of you I suspect are in the know, and now. Duty calls will finish post later..... Back in action, The Dears.... they were good, I was surprised that I liked them. Maybe it's a live thing? So when I buy the cd, I'll get back to you. Not too much to write on them, I was laying down with my hat ov...
More >
I bought this cd off itunes last week just on a hunch cause I had heard off them before but didn't really give them any thought. So after listening to the album I am very happy that I did cause this is a great album and i've been listening to non stop since, i can't get enough of it! To anybody that hasn't heard it, get it. some favorite tracks so far are Ballad of Human Kindness, Ticket to I...
More >
--- - |- Who : The Dears from Montreal. What : Here's some new music from Montreal art-rocker The Dears . After a two year break and a bunch of roster changes, lead singer Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak have recently signed a deal for their new record Missles to come out on LA's Dangerbird Records . In [...] ~~- The Dears
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 "Gang of Losers")
