The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec.

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 cemented The Dears at the foundation of the then-emerging Canadian indie renaissance.

The lineup of the band is fluid and changes frequently. The band's core member is founder and lead singer Murray Lightburn. The group has recently seen some departures, with a new lineup to be announced. Two new touring members, Lisa Smith and Laura Wills of the band Pony Up, were announced in September 2008.

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, Serge Gainsbourg and Joy Division 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. On August 6, 2008, The Dears announced that their new album is called Missiles and would be released in the United Kingdom on October 20 and in North America on October 21.

Jets Overhead are a Canadian rock band who formed in 2003 and are based out of Victoria, British Columbia. They were nominated for New Group of the Year at the 2007 Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Grammy Awards) after the release of their first full-length album, "Bridges".

 

The Dears
"Writing about The Dears is difficult only because there are too many things to say, and figuring out what to write and what to leave out isn't easy. In terms of band members, The Dears recently went through what keyboardist Natalia Yanchak has described as a "total mutiny", leaving only her and band leader Murray Lightburn as the constant. Despite this set back, they released their fourth full-length studio album, Missiles, in October 2008 to generally positive reviews. It is the album responsible for making me want to be a part of the show at The MOD Club on the last day of April."

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