Dismissed as lame Bripop imitators on the occasion of their 2004 debut No Cities Left, The Dears have proved to be a band for the long haul. On their second record (we exclude several half-realised odds ‘n’ ends from the group’s infancy), the Montreal quintet have chosen to go widescreen, abandoning their previous tendency towards bed-sit mopery. The broader canvas suits, though don’t expect to find any of The Dears celebrating the fact.
What strikes you immediately about Gang Of Losers (written in Montreal, recorded in Brooklyn) is how loud and anxious it is. High-pitched guitars and darkly rumbling bass notes are to the fore, providing a fractious backdrop for frontman Murray Lightburn’s ruminations on the plight of mankind (we are, Murray is convinced, all doomed, even Smiths fans).
Lightburn, it is apparent, is a worry-wart of Olympic pedigree. On No Cities Left he lamented humanity’s slow slide down the bowl toilet of civilisation. Here, quietly desperate, he seems to turn inwards. Whatever else success has done, it certainly hasn’t salved Murray’s woes – throughout, he croons as if he’s the loneliest bloke on the planet.
At least he’s no longer channeling Damon Albarn. In the past Lightburn’s vocals betrayed his voyeuristic fascination with Britpop. This, you will recall, was the young hopeful who pounced upon Graham Coxon in Camden in 1996, sweatily clutching a demo tape. Finally, he appears to have found something approaching his own voice, a stormy bassoon that buffets the music like an oncoming storm.
Pop songs, this record also makes clear, are not The Dears' forte. Rather, Murray and the rest investigate slow, brooding dirges: ‘Ticket To Immortality’ exudes an orchestral sweep, ‘Bandwagoneers’ pitches and yaws between surging riffs and whispered vocals, illuminated by keyboardist – and Lightburn’s wife – Natalia Yanchak’s icy stabs.
Elsewhere, ‘Whites Only Party’ sees Lightburn venting agit-prop spleen while ‘Ballad Of Humankindness’ flirts with maudlin, before triumphing late in the day, thanks to a killer fade-out chorus. Seismic and full of fascinating kinks, Gang Of Losers is the point at which an honest, hard-working band make a bid for greatness. Wish them luck on their way.