After stripping down to a duo for 2008’s Missiles, the Dears are once again at full force and more playful than ever. “5 Chords” trends towards Arcade Fire arena-pop, while “Blood” emanates from a mix of post-punk influences, giving them a sound that’s closer to the proto-‘80s vibe of Editors and Interpol than the Britpop mannerisms of their 2003 release No Cities Left, where the group measured somewhere between Pulp and Blur. Those influences can still be heard sporadically on the Radiohead-like crawl of “Galactic Tides,” the Tim Buckley-on-sedatives wail of “Lamentation” and the lurching groan of the title track. A few other moments scale down the arena ambitions. “Tiny Man” has a nicely static retro-organ stabilizing the frothy bounce. “Easy Suffering” adds a bit of jangle to its wall of sound. But the overall tone is of a band looking to break past their humble Montreal beginnings and find the keys to the coliseum as “Torches,” “Stick w/ Me Kid” and “Omega Dog” suggest. The Dears have apparently re-grouped to reinvent themselves once more.
More By The Dears
- 2003
- 2020
- 2006
Featured On
- Broken Bells
- La Sera
- Young Galaxy
- Broken Records
- Fleet Foxes
- Divine Fits
- Band of Horses