The Dears To Release New EP

Montreal's The Dears are planning on releasing a new EP "within the next month," according to frontman Murray Lightburn.

Titled Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique, the EP contains four songs, coming out on the new Shipbuilding label and will be a limited edition release. Though no song titles have been set, one of the tunes being referred to as "Sequel (1991)" is a tribute of sorts to indie darlings, Ride.

"It's kind of a shoegazer song," says Lightburn.

Though dehydrated and delirious from a studio all-nighter, Lightburn is warning that the EP is going to represent the closing chapter in a period of The Dears' career.

"It's a bit of an epitaph, really. It's the end of an era. The way we write music will change. And the way we make music will change," says Lightburn. "I think we just want to move on. We don't want to alienate people."

The Dears have been doing anything but alienating folks lately. After releasing their debut End Of A Hollywood Bedtime Story last year, the moody drama of the album has been making all good anglophiles swoon. Throw in a melancholy video or two and a jaw-droppingly intense live show and it's all made for the biggest buzz for a Can-indie act since the discovery of Danko's fedora.

Things are going to be heating up even further in The Dears camp once the EP hits, too. The band are hosting a big blow-out in Toronto on June 23 with pals Stars and guest mod DJ Davy Love.

After that it's an EdgeFest side stage appearance and then a guest spot playing at Alan McGee's Poptones event in New York on July 6 ("I think Claire Daines is a guest DJ," he says).

On June 23 CBC Radio will be broadcasting the band's triumphant Canadian Music Week show which took place in March.

Near the end of the summer the band will be releasing Bedtime Story in the U.K. that they're accompanying with a tour across the pond. They'll likely do a full Canadian tour some time after the U.K. jaunt.

Although they've been doing spot shows out East, in Ontario and in the States, the forthcoming Canadian tour will likely represent their most concerted effort to hit the whole country. Part of this, says Lightburn, is because there's not many bands who they could tour with who have a complimentary vibe.

"We still don't really fit in anywhere," he says. "We're still the weird kid in class. We're just hoping to come across more like-minded bands to play with."