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The Dears have never sounded so comfortable in their own skin.
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For the first time, the cantankerous Lightburn matches his lyrics--from rapture to self-exploration to joy both lived and missed--perfectly with the music, which nods to Britpop but never succumbs to any genre trappings.
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UncutThis... is still very much a Dears record: confused and unfocused, a messy kind of masterpiece. [Sep 2006, p.90]
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A haunting disc that lingers long after the laser dies.
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The Dears stamp enough of their own personality to make this one of the best and most vital alternative US albums of 2006.
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The Dears sound like a band who have finessed their vision and are ready, finally, to take on the world.
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In the end, what makes the Dears a cut above, a band that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as its Canadian indie compatriots the New Pornographers or Broken Social Scene, is the voice of Lightburn.
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Under The RadarLightburn’s tendency toward over-the-top melodrama has evolved into straightforward and heartfelt lyrics of love and loss. [Summer 2006]
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VibeExcellent. [Oct 2006, p.142]
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MojoInventive, shape-shifting arrangements always go the extra mile. [Oct 2006, p.112]
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SpinGang of Losers leaves behind the preciousness of 2003's delicate No Cities Left. [Oct 2006, p.105]
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They're a little less baroque, they're a little less depressing... but they're just as emotional and affecting, which makes Gang of Losers very good indeed.
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UrbExpect to see this album on 2006 Top 10 lists. [Oct 2006, p.118]
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One of the year's more understated and beautifully paranoid gems.
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The real difference between this album and past Dears efforts, though, is not so much musical directness as Lightburn's lyrical attempts to become the spokesman for the dispossessed.
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Alternative PressHere's the thing about originality... You don't really need it when you play this proficiently. [Dec 2006, p.188]
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FilterWhen the band shines, it reaches stunning heights. [#22, p.102]
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The overall tone of the album isn't entirely dark and hopeless, although Lightburn fails to leave us with any specific resolve, instead content for some questions to remain unanswered.
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Strangely, what the sloppier approach really does is highlight bandleader Murray Lightburn's wondrous voice.
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The band is, if anything, more confident than ever, but the sound's grandiosity too easily verges on melodrama, a too-bold-to-be-believable misery.
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The Dears are now less idiosyncratic but have successfully made the kind of straightforwardly satisfying album that you'd expect from a band on their second decade.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 20 out of 23
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Mixed: 3 out of 23
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Negative: 0 out of 23
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CatAug 11, 2007Truly emotional and powerful stuff from this talented band. This was the best album of 06.
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BlakeLAug 11, 2007Great, great album.
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YannickWJun 21, 2007