![]() ![]() Murray Lightburn (who happens to be black, relevant only with regard to some of his lyrics, such as the song “Missiles”, from 2008’s album Missiles, and, well, the fact that critics refer to him as “the Black Morrissey”) has enthusiastically cited The Smiths as an influence, to whom he was introduced in the early 90’s, only after being told he sounded like Morrissey. A listener may conclude, in line with the band’s steady followers, whose numbers exceed that of mere “cult” fan status (arguably: a “cult” has no numeric definition, of course, but the band appears to have effortlessly jumped from indie label to indie label), that the band has its own unique signature sound, transcending the various musician line-ups and labels, remaining very much “The Dears”, with or without lush orchestral instrumentation. ![]() The variety of acts cited by critics in the context of their curious assessments of The Dears seems dubiously derivative in and of themselves, the product of a critical bandwagon effect. ![]() The Dears' musical affinities have been also aligned with an intriguing variety of non-British acts, such as Burt Bacharach (particularly on what is arguably The Dears' most distinguished album, 2003’s No Cities Left), Ben Folds, Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and Marvin Gaye. Some British acts to whom The Dears have been described as sounding like are The Smiths, The Smiths' frontman as solo artist, Morrissey, Blur (fronted by the prolific Damon Alborn), Pulp, London Suede, OK-Computer-era Radiohead, The Auteurs, The Divine Comedy, Echo & the Bunnymen, etc., etc. ![]() The Dears have been heralded and/or vilified as derivative of a rather distinguished line-up of British bands, often exaggerating the resemblance of Murray Lightburn’s voice to that of Morrissey’s and Damon Alborn’s. Murray Lightburn is the Dears' founder, frontman, primary songwriter (and maudlin lyricist), multi-instrumentalist, and primary producer. Alternative indie rock (retro) Britpop (semi-) orchestral cabaret pop (depressive) pop noir chamber pop baroque pop:Ĭritics have applied these, and many more genre/sub-genre descriptives, to The Dears, a “band” from Montreal, or rather a core duo with an often changing line-up of musicians, from their inception in 1995 spawning their first album released in 2000 (in Canada only), to their seventh album released in 2017 (in addition to a couple of early EP’s and a Canadian compilation of outtakes). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |