The Dears' Missiles Soar
"Creative Differences" lead to cathartic triumph
The Dears
Missiles
Released on Oct 21, 2008
The not-so-well-known American poet Dorothy Parker once said "oh, life is a glorious cycle of song." If we extrapolate that out a bit, the same sentiment can apply to the people who make songs—just take The Dears, for example. When the Montreal-based band first formed in 1995, the only permanent members were frontman Murray Lightburn and his keyboardist wife Natalia Yanchak. Over the course of several successful EPs and albums, the band featured a revolving line-up of members and ex-members, the list of which currently stands at twelve people. After the successful release of 2006's Gang of Losers, the band went back into the studio to record Missiles. To say that it was a laborious process is an understatement; by the time it was finished in April of this year two thirds of the band had split over creative differences, once again leaving only Lightburn and Yanchak.
The album bears out its birth pains. Where Gang of Losers was marked by a decidedly upbeat tone, Missiles features a darker, languid sound. The bouncing guitars and electronic beats have been traded in for ethereal songs that often stretch past the six-minute mark. "Disclaimer" opens the disc with slow-building guitar work and a jazz saxophone. It's not until halfway through the song that Lightburn's expressive voice announces that the band has "come back, [to] get through the tears." "Berlin Heart" finds Lightburn's falsetto croon played softly over delicate guitars and synths, and the title track is little more than an acoustic guitar until the very end, when it explodes into a mix of blues piano and stadium-rock fuzz.
Not every track is a slow-burner, though. "Money Babies" is a reverb-drenched romp that wouldn't sound out of place on Gang of Losers, and "Demons" is the kind of muscular, layered song that made 2003's No Cities Left a hit in the indie scene. But by and large, The Dears take their time with each track on Missiles. The length and pacing make it a difficult first listen, especially coming off of an album like Gang of Losers, but it's remarkable how well it all hangs together after repeated plays. Like the songs themselves, the album gains power over time. If you're paying attention, the songs start to differentiate themselves and a quiet progression begins to become evident. The blues melodies are cathartic, especially on the tracks that build up to an emotional conclusion, like "Meltdown in A Major."
My favorite song is the album's opus, "Saviour," which wails on for more than eleven minutes. It starts with a plodding electronic beat and a subtle organ line, but layers itself with guitars, strings, and a children's choir into a perfect piece of blues balladry. When Lightburn softly hums "I'll make it right, this time, whoa-oh-oh-oh," it retroactively frames the rest of disc. Every spaced out song and quiet moment seems to lead to this instance of resignation mixed with resiliency.
Songs like "Saviour" speak to a band weathering its storms, and finding room to cleanse itself amid the panic.
High Point
The cathartic, eleven-minute "Saviour."
Low Point
"Money Babies." Not a bad song, but seems out of context on the album.
Posted by Ryan Peters on Nov 18, 2008 @ 10:00 am