As I have mentioned multiple times this year, The Dears' new album, Degeneration Street, is fantastic, and they have done some interesting promoting up to and through the release of the album.
The band recently passed through Portland, and, prior to playing a free show at Music Millennium, managed to squeeze in a quick performance and interview at OPB. Well, it turned out great, and the entirety of the evidence is up at www.opbmusic.org. For now, here's one song from the set, Yesteryear:
P.S. I have been playing a lot of Dears tunes during my sets at opbmusic, and you can catch me on the internet waves Tuesdays and Saturdays.
www.thedears.org
Showing posts with label Degeneration Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Degeneration Street. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Dears - Degeneration Street
The Dears have done it again. Degeneration Street, the latest effort from the Montreal quintet - their 5th studio album - is both a return to the days of No Cities Left and an amazing leap forward. Perfectly orchestrated with a healthy mix of epic, atmosphere and pop, Murray A. Lightburn leads his group musically through the solemn ("Omega Dog," "Galactic Tides") and the sunny ("Yesteryear," "5 Chords") while lyrically remaining constantly somber and honest.
There are hints of influences throughout the album: "Thrones" has a lovely Pulp-esque chorus, "Unsung" has tighter production a lá In Rainbows, and the bass line in "1854" even reminds me a bit of - yes, you're reading this right - MuteMath. But through all of this comes a sound uniquely attributable to The Dears. Comparisons are an easy way out; the simple fact is that this is the best Dears album yet.
Aside from the solid album, which, by the way, translates beautifully into 4 independently-brilliant-on-their-own sides of vinyl, The Dears have been promoting the album through weekly webcasts, sporadic music videos and regular blog postings of hand-written lyric sheets. If you follow the group on Twitter (@thedears), you have seen a lot of activity, which, to me, translates into a lot of excitement. Keep up the good work, Dears. It's working.
Prior to all of this, the band played a handful of shows in which they performed Degeneration Street from front to back. Those shows, along with a Late Show performance, has led to a West Coast tour that is about to start, and if they are coming to your town, go get tickets. They have promised a healthy mix of new and old favorites, and, judging from their excitement in cyberspace, the shows will be eventful and awesome.
Everything about Degeneration Street - from the production to the packaging - exudes the group's attention to detail, and that detail translates into an album worth keeping on repeat for a long time to come.
www.thedears.org
Catch The Dears - for FREE - at Music Millennium in Portland on March 8th at 6pm.
There are hints of influences throughout the album: "Thrones" has a lovely Pulp-esque chorus, "Unsung" has tighter production a lá In Rainbows, and the bass line in "1854" even reminds me a bit of - yes, you're reading this right - MuteMath. But through all of this comes a sound uniquely attributable to The Dears. Comparisons are an easy way out; the simple fact is that this is the best Dears album yet.
Aside from the solid album, which, by the way, translates beautifully into 4 independently-brilliant-on-their-own sides of vinyl, The Dears have been promoting the album through weekly webcasts, sporadic music videos and regular blog postings of hand-written lyric sheets. If you follow the group on Twitter (@thedears), you have seen a lot of activity, which, to me, translates into a lot of excitement. Keep up the good work, Dears. It's working.
Prior to all of this, the band played a handful of shows in which they performed Degeneration Street from front to back. Those shows, along with a Late Show performance, has led to a West Coast tour that is about to start, and if they are coming to your town, go get tickets. They have promised a healthy mix of new and old favorites, and, judging from their excitement in cyberspace, the shows will be eventful and awesome.
Everything about Degeneration Street - from the production to the packaging - exudes the group's attention to detail, and that detail translates into an album worth keeping on repeat for a long time to come.
www.thedears.org
Catch The Dears - for FREE - at Music Millennium in Portland on March 8th at 6pm.
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Dears' New Album
For those who aren't familiar, The Dears are a rock band out of Montreal. Back in 2003 I was not familiar until my friend Gabi told me: "You will like this band. Go buy No Cities Left." I trust her taste, so I obeyed and, lo and behold, I LOVED No Cities Left. I was hooked.
The music is soaring, rocking, cinematic and atmospheric. The melodies are easily singable without being overly familiar. And the songs all combine to create incredible albums.
Well, The Dears have a new album coming in February 2011: Degeneration Street. To promote the album, they are doing a few things you should check out:
1) Free download of the song Blood. Click here, sign up and grab it.
2) The Dears are hosting weekly webcasts called Radio Degeneration. They are happening every Monday at 4pm PST on this website, and it is basically an hour or so of complete chaos with the band...in a good way. They play their favorite Dears tunes and preview new Dears tunes. Pretty cool.
Oh, and here's that single, Blood, performed live. NOW are you convinced?
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