The Dears

The Dears
The Dears at The Electric Ballrooms, Camden, London, UK. February 2005.
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Grenadine, MapleMusic, Bella Union, Arts & Crafts, Dangerbird, Albert Records Arts & Crafts México
Associated acts	Thrush Hermit, Black Diamond Bay, Pony Up
Website	www.thedears.org
Members
Murray Lightburn Natalia Yanchak Patrick Krief Rob Benvie Roberto Arquilla Jeff Luciani
Past members
Richard MacDonald John Tod Andrew White Brigitte Mayes Jonathan Cohen Valérie Jodoin-Keaton Martin Pelland George Donoso

The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec.

History

The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, in 2000. Their orchestral, dark pop sound and dramatic live shows cemented The Dears at the foundation of the then-emerging Canadian indie renaissance. In 2001 and 2002, they released the EPs Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique and Protest, respectively, as well as a collection of unreleased songs, Nor the Dahlias. In 2003 they released their second full-length album No Cities Left, and a string of highly anticipated shows at SXSW '04 launched their international career.

The Dears performing at Botanique in Brussels, 2006

The Dears toured extensively across Canada, USA, UK, Europe, Japan and Australia supporting the international release of No Cities Left and returned to the studio to record in 2005. Gang of Losers was released in 2006, and was well-received by the press.

The lineup of the band is fluid and has changed frequently, though the band's core members have remained founder and lead singer Murray Lightburn, and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak.

The Dears have had high-profile gigs as opening act for Sloan, The Tragically Hip, Keane, The Secret Machines and Morrissey, to whom Lightburn is often compared. Their music has been described as a cross between The Smiths and Serge Gainsbourg with Lightburn's singing voice being likened to Morrissey as well as Blur's Damon Albarn. The complexity of the music and arrangements has also been compared to Radiohead, Jethro Tull and early Genesis. The Dears' powerful live shows have been described as: "...the sonic equivalent of seeing the face of God."

On July 10, 2007, The Dears' album Gang of Losers was named to the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. The follow-up Missiles was released in the United Kingdom on October 20 and in North America on October 21, 2008.

On February 15, 2011, The Dears released their fifth studio album, Degeneration Street. The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.

Band members

Natalia Yanchak performing at South by Southwest.

Current members

• Murray Lightburn (since 1995)
• Natalia Yanchak (since 1998)
• Patrick Krief (2003–2008, since 2010)
• Rob Benvie (2002–2003, since 2009)
• Roberto Arquilla (1997–2000, since 2010)
• Jeff Luciani (since 2010)

Past members

• Richard MacDonald (1995–1998)
• John Tod (1995–2000)
• Andrew White (1995–1998)
• Brigitte Mayes (1999–2002)
• Jonathan Cohen (1999–2002)
• Valérie Jodoin Keaton (2002–2007) – keyboards
• Martin Pelland (2001–2007)
• George Donoso (2001–2008)
• Lisa Smith (2008–2009, touring bass player)
• Yann Geoffroy (2008–2009, touring drummer, keyboards)
• Jason Kent (2008–2009, touring guitar, vocals, keyboards)
• Christopher McCarron (2008–2009, touring guitar player)
• Laura Wills (2008–2009, touring keyboards, vocals)

Discography

Murray Lightburn performing at South by Southwest.

Studio albums

• 2000: End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story
• 2003: No Cities Left (#127 UK)
• 2006: Gang of Losers (#52 CAN) (#77 UK)
• 2008: Missiles
• 2011: Degeneration Street (#37 CAN)

EPs

• 2001: Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique
• 2002: Protest
• 2009: iTunes Live from Montreal

Compilations

• 2001: Nor the Dahlias: The Dears 1995-1998

Live albums

• 2004: Thank You Good Night Sold Out
• 2007: Instant Live: El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA, 05/24/05
• 2007: Instant Live: Magic Stick – Detroit, MI, 06/05/05
• 2007: Instant Live: Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA, 06/12/05

Singles

• 2004: "We Can Have It"
• 2004: "Lost in the Plot"
• 2005: "22: The Death Of All The Romance"
• 2006: "Ticket to Immortality"
• 2006: "Whites Only Party"
• 2007: "You and I Are a Gang of Losers"
• 2008: "Money Babies"
• 2010: "Omega Dog"
• 2011: "Thrones"

Other contributions

• Syrup & Gasoline Vol. 2 (2001, Grenadine Records) – "Le pauvre chanteur (From The South Shore)"
• Acoustic 07 (2007, V2 Records) – "You and I Are a Gang of Losers"

Awards and nominations

The Dears performing a free concert at Harbourfront in Toronto, Ontario.

• 2007: Gang of Losers – Shortlisted: 2007 Polaris Music Prize.
• 2007: Gang of Losers – Nominated: GAMIQ Awards – International Career, Best Indie Rock Album, Best Concert categories.
• 2006: Gang of Losers – Nominated: CMW Canadian Independent Music Awards – Favourite Group category.
• 2006: Whites Only Party – Winner: CBC Radio 3's Bucky Awards – Catchiest Beat category.
• 2004: No Cities Left – Nominated in First Round: New Pantheon Music Award.
• 2004: No Cities Left – Nominated: Juno Award – Best New Group category.
• 2004: No Cities Left – Nominated: CMW Canadian Independent Music Awards – Favourite Group category.
• 2003: No Cities Left – Nominated: CASBY Award – Favourite Indie Release.
• 2002: Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique – Winner: MIMI (Montreal Independent Music Initiative) Awards – Best Production category.
• 2001: End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story – Nominated: CMW Canadian Independent Music Awards – Best Alternative Album category.
• 2001: End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story – Nominated: MIMI (Montreal Independent Music Initiative) Awards – Best Album, Best Concert (June 2, 2000), Best Pop Artist categories.

See also

• Music of Canada
• Music of Quebec
• Canadian rock
• List of Canadian musicians
• List of Quebec musicians
• List of bands from Canada
• Category:Canadian musical groups
• Culture of Quebec

External links

• Official website
• The Dears at the Internet Movie Database
• The Dears on Myspace
• The Dears on Twitter
• The Dears on Facebook