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On Friday I checked out a re-juggled and rejuvenated The Dears on their second of a two night stint at the Music Gallery, a stunning church venue in downtown Toronto. Despite loving The Dears’ first two albums (No Cities Left and End Of A Hollywood Bedtime Story), I’ll admit to jumping ship with 2006’s Gang Of Losers, which was nominated for the Polaris Prize but somehow failed to catch my interest.

I’m thrilled to say that with upcoming album #4, Missiles, The Dears are back in fine form and have possibly crafted their top album to date. The reformed band that I witnessed on Friday (made up of original Dears members Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak plus an entirely new cast of musicians) was more hopeful and enthusiastic than any past Dears lineup I’ve seen. The band has gone through 12 band members in as many years, but it seems like with a solid collection of new songs to perform, the band is ready to show us some gusto. The new songs sounded absolutely stunning and Murray himself commented on how great it was to “be back” and feel the love and enthusiasm from the crowd.

Now, onto Missiles itself. Let me tell you, Disclaimer is one of the most beautiful album openers I’ve heard in a long, long time. And it’s followed up by another nine tracks of absolute beauty that range from orchestral lullabies to snappier rock jams. In addition to Disclaimer, Lights Off is my favourite. It’s an indulgent, eight minute track that’s severed into two parts - the second part starts at about three minutes in and unravels in a really pretty, lulling way. You can preview all of the new album (Missiles) a week before it comes out on October 21, cause we’re doing a First Spin. Listen here.

Posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm by Kat and is filed under Concerts & Events.

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