The Dears

The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The band is led by the husband-and-wife duo of singer-guitarist Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak.

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 established The Dears as part of the then-emerging Canadian indie renaissance.

The Dears performed in Toronto in October 2001 with Sloan. 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'', and a string of shows at SXSW '04 launched their international career.

The Dears toured extensively across Canada, U.S., 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 released in 2006, and was well received by the press.

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

On July 10, 2007, The Dears' album ''Gang of Losers'' was named to the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. The follow-up ''Missiles'' was released in the United Kingdom on October 20 and in North America on October 21, 2008.

On February 15, 2011, The Dears released their fifth studio album, ''Degeneration Street''. The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.

Band members

Current members

* Murray Lightburn (since 1995) - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, bass
*Natalia Yanchak (since 1998) - keyboards, vocals
*Jeff Luciani (since 2010) - drums
*Steve Raegele (since 2015) - guitar
*Rémi-Jean LeBlanc (since 2019) - bass

Past members

*Clinton Ryder (2018) - touring bass player
*Tessa Kautzman (2016-2017) - touring bass player
* Rob Benvie (2002–2003, 2009, 2016-2017) - guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, vocals
*Patrick Krief (2003–2008, 2010-2015) - guitar, vocals, piano
*Roberto Arquilla (1997–2000, 2010-2015) - bass
* Laura Wills (2008–2009) - touring keyboards, vocals
*Jason Kent (2008–2009, 2017) - touring guitar, vocals, keyboards
*Christopher McCarron (2008–2009) - touring guitar player
*Yann Geoffroy (2008–2009) - touring drummer, keyboards
* Lisa Smith (2008–2009) - touring bass player
*George Donoso III (2001–2008) - drums, vocals
*Martin Pelland (2001–2007) - bass, vocals
* Valérie Jodoin Keaton (2002–2007) – keyboards, flute, vocals, percussion
Jonathan Cohen
(1999–2002) - guitar
*Brigitte Mayes (1999–2002) - cello, flute
*Richard MacDonald (1995–1998) - guitar
*John Tod (1995–2000) - drums
*Andrew White (1995–1998) - bass

Timeline

ImageSize = width:850 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:115 bottom:60 top:0 right:15
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2020
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1996
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1997

Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Strings value:drabgreen legend:Strings
id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Albums

LineData =
at:06/13/2000 color:black layer:back
at:04/15/2003 color:black layer:back
at:08/29/2006 color:black layer:back
at:10/20/2008 color:black layer:back
at:02/15/2011 color:black layer:back
at:09/15/2015 color:black layer:back
at:07/14/2017 color:black layer:back

BarData =
bar:Murray text:"Murray Lightburn"
bar:Natalia text:"Natalia Yanchak"
bar:Richard text:"Richard MacDonald"
bar:Jonathan text:"Jonathan Cohen"
bar:Rob text:"Rob Benvie"
bar:Patrick text:"Patrick Krief"
bar:Jason text:"Jason Kent"
bar:Christopher text:"Christopher McCarron"
bar:Steve text:"Steve Raegele"
bar:Andrew text:"Andrew White"
bar:Roberto text:"Roberto Arquilla"
bar:Martin text:"Martin Pelland"
bar:Lisa text:"Lisa Smith"
bar:Tessa text:"Tessa Kautzman"
bar:Clinton text:"Clinton Ryder"
bar:Rémi-Jean text:"Rémi-Jean LeBlanc"
bar:John text:"John Tod"
bar:George text:"George Donoso III"
bar:Yann text:"Yann Geoffroy"
bar:Jeff text:"Jeff Luciani"
bar:Valerie text:"Valérie Jodoin Keaton"
bar:Laura text:"Laura Wills"
bar:Brigitte text:"Brigitte Mayes"

PlotData =
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(19,-4)
bar:Murray from:start till:end color:Vocals
bar:Murray from:start till:end color:Guitar width:3
bar:Natalia from:01/01/1998 till:end color:Keyboards
bar:Natalia from:01/01/1998 till:end color:Vocals width:3
bar:Richard from:start till:01/01/1998 color:Guitar
bar:Jonathan from:01/01/1999 till:03/01/2002 color:Guitar
bar:Rob from:08/01/2002 till:06/29/2003 color:Guitar
bar:Rob from:05/06/2010 till:08/11/2012 color:Keyboards
bar:Rob from:05/06/2010 till:08/11/2012 color:Guitar width:3
bar:Patrick from:03/02/2004 till:10/20/2008 color:Guitar
bar:Jason from:09/30/2008 till:07/26/2009 color:Guitar
bar:Jason from:09/30/2008 till:07/26/2009 color:Vocals width:3
bar:Jason from:09/01/2017 till:11/30/2017 color:Guitar
bar:Jason from:09/01/2017 till:11/30/2017 color:Vocals width:3
bar:Christopher from:09/30/2008 till:07/26/2009 color:Guitar
bar:Patrick from:05/06/2010 till:12/17/2015 color:Guitar
bar:Steve from:12/18/2015 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Andrew from:01/01/1995 till:12/31/1997 color:Bass
bar:Roberto from:01/01/1998 till:09/30/1999 color:Bass
bar:Martin from:10/01/1999 till:07/29/2007 color:Bass
bar:Roberto from:10/01/2008 till:10/20/2008 color:Bass
bar:Lisa from:09/30/2008 till:02/14/2009 color:Bass
bar:Lisa from:09/30/2008 till:02/14/2009 color:Keyboards width:3
bar:Rob from:04/30/2009 till:07/26/2009 color:Bass
bar:Roberto from:05/06/2010 till:12/17/2015 color:Bass
bar:Tessa from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2017 color:Bass
bar:Clinton from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2018 color:Bass
bar:Rémi-Jean from:01/01/2019 till:end color:Bass
bar:John from:start till:09/30/1999 color:Drums
bar:George from:10/01/1999 till:10/20/2008 color:Drums
bar:Yann from:09/30/2008 till:07/26/2009 color:Drums
bar:Jeff from:05/06/2010 till:end color:Drums
bar:Valerie from:01/01/2003 till:07/29/2007 color:Keyboards
bar:Laura from:09/30/2008 till:07/26/2009 color:Keyboards
bar:Laura from:09/30/2008 till:07/26/2009 color:Vocals width:3
bar:Brigitte from:01/01/1999 till:07/31/2002 color:Strings

Discography

Studio albums

* 2000: '' End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story''
* 2003: ''No Cities Left'' (No. 127 UK)"A Completely Biased Ranking of the 60 Best Canadian Indie Rock Songs of the 00s Part II"
''Vice'', Cam Lindsay Apr 10 2017,
* 2006: ''Gang of Losers'' (No. 52 CAN, No. 77 UK)
* 2008: ''Missiles''
* 2011: ''Degeneration Street'' (No. 37 CAN)
* 2015: ''Times Infinity Volume One''
* 2017: ''Times Infinity Volume Two''
* 2020: '' Lovers Rock''

EPs

* 2001: '' Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique''
* 2002: ''Protest''
* 2009: ''iTunes Live from Montreal''

Compilation albums

* 2001: '' Nor the Dahlias: The Dears 1995-1998''

Live albums

* 2004: '' Thank You Good Night Sold Out''
* 2012: The Dears Live at Pasagüero - Mexico City, Mexico, 2010 (digital only, released by Arts & Crafts Mexico)

Singles

* 2004: "We Can Have It"
* 2004: "Lost in the Plot"
* 2005: "22: The Death of All The Romance"
* 2006: "Ticket to Immortality"
* 2006: "Whites Only Party"
* 2007: "You and I Are a Gang of Losers"
* 2008: "Money Babies"
* 2010: "Omega Dog"
* 2011: "Thrones"
* 2015: "I Used To Pray For The Heavens To Fall"
* 2015: "Here's to the Death of All the Romance"
* 2017: "To Hold and Have"
* 2017: "Of Fisticuffs"
* 2017: "1998"
* 2017: "I'm Sorry That I Wished You Dead"
* 2020: "The Worst In Us"
* 2020: "Heart Of An Animal"

Other contributions

* Syrup & Gasoline Vol. 2 (2001, Grenadine Records) – "Le pauvre chanteur (From The South Shore)"
*''Acoustic 07'' (2007, V2 Records) – "You and I Are a Gang of Losers"

Awards and nominations

*2016: ''No Cities Left'' - Shortlisted: 2016 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize (1996-2005).
*2011: ''Degeneration Street'' – Longlisted: 2011 Polaris Music Prize.
*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

*Music of Canada
*Music of Quebec
*Canadian rock
*List of Canadian musicians
*List of Quebec musicians
* List of bands from Canada
*Culture of Quebec

References

External links

*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dears, The
Musical groups established in 1995
Canadian indie rock groups
Musical groups from Montreal
English-language musical groups from Quebec
Arts & Crafts Productions artists
MapleMusic Recordings artists
Bella Union artists
Albert Productions artists
Dangerbird Records artists