The Dears

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Dears

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Img_capt = The Dears performing at KOKO in London, 2007
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Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
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Origin = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genre = Indie rock
Years_active = 1995–present
Label = Grenadine, MapleMusic, Bella Union, Arts & Crafts, Dangerbird
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.thedears.org/ www.thedears.org]
Current_members = Murray Lightburn
Natalia Yanchak

Past_members = Richard MacDonald
John Tod
Andrew White
Brigitte Mayes
Jonathan Cohen
Roberto Arquilla
Rob Benvie
Joseph Donovan
Valérie Jodoin-Keaton
Martin Pelland
George Donoso
Patrick Krief

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 [Grant, Kieran: Dear little band, . Retrieved June 22, 2000] . 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 [Farley, Andrew: The Dears: No Cities Left, . Retrieved October 11, 2004] .

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 [Metacritic: Gang of Losers, .] .

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 [According to Winter 2008 print edition of Under the Radar (magazine)] . Two new touring members, Lisa Smith and Laura Wills of the band Pony Up, were announced in September 2008.

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 [Missio, Eric: The Dears: Polaris Pessimism and their Last Two Concerts this Year, , Retrieved July 24, 2007] ."

On July 10, 2007, The Dears' album, "Gang of Losers" was named to the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. On August 6, 2008, The Dears announced that their new album is called "Missiles" and would be released in the United Kingdom on October 20 and in North America on October 21.

Band members

Current members

*Murray Lightburn – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards
*Natalia Yanchak – keyboards, backing vocals

Past members

*Richard MacDonald (1995–1998)
*John Tod (1995–2000)
*Andrew White (1995–1998)
*Roberto Arquilla (1998–2000)
*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)
*George Donoso (2001–2008)
*Patrick Krief (2001–2008)

Discography

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"

EPs

* 2001: "Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique"
* 2002: "Protest"

Compilations

* 2001: ""

Live albums

* 2004: "Thank You Good Night Sold Out"

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)

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.

See also

* List of Quebec musicians
* Music of Quebec
* Culture of Quebec

References

External links

* [http://www.thedears.org/ The Dears] official website
* [http://www.arts-crafts.ca/thedears/ The Dears] at Arts&Crafts
* [http://www.last.fm/music/The+Dears The Dears] at Last.fm
*" [http://www.cbcradio3.com/issues/2005_01_28/index.cfm?page=21 The Dears In Session] " at CBC Radio 3
* [http://www.audiojunkies.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=63 Audiojunkies Interview with The Dears]
* [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/12/08/dears/ The Dears perform Ticket To Immortality, Whites-Only Party, and There Goes My Outfit at The Current]