The worst kept secret in Montreal is back with the most hotly anticipated Canadian indie rock album of the year. With their political standpoint becoming less vague with every release, The Dears' career trajectory likens that of Elbow more and more (no wonder the UK loves them). If you really enjoyed the lazy, progressive, and orchestral aspects of The Dears' back catalogue, you're in for a slight disappointment. Where once they seemed like a pop-rock band that grew tired of mainstream love manifestations and decided to grow up and expand, Gang Of Losers makes it seem like they grew tired of that and decided to just attack the headlines with simple, morose rock. There is still a heavy piano/keyboard presence in their sound, but that sound has obviously taken a back seat. Murray Lightburn's lyrics graze the subjects of fear-mongering, public apathy, and other forms of 21st century alienation more vividly that ever before. However, the more rawk that gets added to the mix, the more Murray's voice is stretched, arguably beyond believability. The screaming on "Bandwagoneers" is probably supposed to be emotional, except singing that far out of his aptly dulcet range makes it come off as amateurish. Falsetto aside, "Death Or Life We Want You" and "Fear Made The World Go 'Round" stay comfortably in his zone while exhibiting some interesting, new-to-them guitar sounds, but still most tracks seem like a small step in the wrong direction. So, no, this isn't the sound of The Dears taking it to the next level, but the level they're on is still pretty solid.
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