The Dears

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The Dears
The Dears performing at KOKO in London, 2007.
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec Canada
Genre(s)	Indie rock
Years active	1995–present
Label(s)	Grenadine MapleMusic Bella Union Arts & Crafts (record label)
Website	thedears.org
Members
Murray Lightburn George Donoso Natalia Yanchak Patrick Krief
Former members
Richard MacDonald John Tod Andrew White Brigitte Mayes Jonathan Cohen Roberto Arquilla Rob Benvie Joseph Donovan Valérie Jodoin-Keaton Martin Pelland

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

Contents 1 Overview of band 2 Band members 2.1 Past members 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 EPs 3.3 Compilations 3.4 Live albums 3.5 UK singles 4 Awards and nominations 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Overview of band

The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story in 2000 to critical acclaim. Their orchestral, dark pop sound and dramatic live shows cemented The Dears at the foundation of the then-pre-pubescent Canadian Indie Renaissance ^[1]. 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 in Canada, and a string of highly anticipated shows at SXSW '04 launched their international career ^[2].

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 release in 2006, and was well-received by the press ^[3].

As of November 20, 2007, The Dears are currently working on their fourth album, as stated by Lightburn in a MySpace blog entry. The album is scheduled to be completed April, 2008.

The lineup of the band is fluid and changes frequently. The band's core member is founder and lead singer Murray Lightburn. The group has recently seen some departures, with a new lineup to be announced ^[4].

The Dears have had high-profile gigs as opening act for Sloan, The Tragically Hip, Keane and Morrissey, to whom Lightburn is often compared. Their music has been described as a cross between The Smiths, Serge Gainsbourg and Joy Division 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 ^[5]."

On July 10, 2007, The Dears' newest album, Gang of Losers was named to the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize.

[edit] Band members

• Murray Lightburn – Lead vocals, guitars & keyboards
• George Donoso – Drums
• Natalia Yanchak – Keyboards & backing vocals
• Patrick Krief – Guitars
• Roberto Arquilla - Bass

[edit] Past members

• Richard MacDonald (1995–1998)
• John Tod (1995–2000)
• Andrew White (1995–1998)
• Brigitte Mayes (1999–2002)
• Jonathan Cohen (1999–2002)
• Rob Benvie (2002–2003)
• Joseph Donovan (2003 – touring guitar player)
• Valérie Jodoin-Keaton (2003-2007)
• Martin Pelland (2001-2007)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

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

[edit] EPs

• 2001: Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique
• 2002: Protest

[edit] Compilations

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

[edit] Live albums

• 2004: Thank You Good Night Sold Out

[edit] UK singles

• "We Can Have It" (2004) #195
• "Lost in the Plot" (8/11/2004) #49
• "22: The Death of All the Romance" (2/5/2005) #53
• "Ticket to Immortality" (14/8/2006)
• "You and I Are a Gang of Losers" (16/4/2007)

[edit] Awards and nominations

• 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.

[edit] See also

• List of Quebec musicians
• Music of Quebec
• Culture of Quebec

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Dears Official Site
• The Dears at Arts&Crafts
• The Dears at Last.fm
• "The Dears In Session" at CBC Radio 3
• Audiojunkies Interview with The Dears
• The Dears perform Ticket To Immortality, Whites-Only Party, and There Goes My Outfit at The Current

v • d • e The Dears George Donoso · Patrick Krief · Murray Lightburn · Natalia Yanchak Studio albums End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story · No Cities Left · Gang of Losers EPs Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique · Protest Compliation albums Nor the Dahlias: The Dears 1995-1998 Live albums Thank You Good Night Sold Out Singles "We Can Have It" · "Lost in the Plot" · "22: The Death of All the Romance" · "Ticket to Immortality" · "You and I Are a Gang of Losers"