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On this week’s NewMusic show we’ve got some great interviews with T.I., Shawn Hewitt, Stereophonics, Spirtitualized and King Khan. But the one that stood out for me was the interview with Murray Lightburn, lead singer of The Dears. The Dears were one of the Montreal bands (along with Arcade Fire, The Stills, Stars) that Time, Spin and The New York Times were raving about back in 2005 which definitely boosted their profile. The Dears are extremely popular but they’re also somewhat of an acquired taste. They’re not always easy to get into, their songs demand something from the listener, and it often takes a couple of passes until you start to really appreciate their music.

The big story this time, is that there was a kind of musical putsch within the band, with the only remaining original members left being Murray and his wife Natalia. Murray says it was time for a change because “things got really lame, really dark with personalities not getting along.” So it’s a whole new Dears this time around (and a new album, Missiles) but their focus remains the same, to produce long-lasting art in our disposable, throwaway society. As Murray says, the band “is really just delivering this cosmic grandness through something as bullshit as rock n’ roll.”

Robert Klint

Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm by Casey and is filed under The NewMusic.

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