New (Old) Dears Record Coming Soon

Grenadine Records has just announced a finalized date for the much-anticipated new CD of old Dears' tunes Nor The Dahlias: The Dears 1995-1998 will be hitting only the finest of record shop shelves on December 11.

The 10-track disc is comprised of material recorded prior to the band's debut album, End Of A Hollywood Bedtime Story, and includes liner notes written by frontman Murray Lightburn. The songs on Nor The Dahlias aren't just early prototypes of Bedtime Story songs or tracks off of Orchestral Noir Pop Romantique, though. These are apparently very different from anything in The Dears' musical canon — which, depending on your point of view, is either enticing or a red flag that this stuff isn't necessarily integral to the Dears' sound.

According to the Grenadine press release: "If their debut was a musical odyssey through Serge Gainsborough pop stylings and Smiths-like keening vocals and epic guitar-work, then Nor The Dahlia's a romp with the Brit boys Pulp and Blue in the early '90s heyday of up beats, tongue in cheek sarcasm and divine musical comedies."

Other words and phrases that Grenadine uses to describe the songs contained therein? "Lighthearted," "irreverent," "rough," "raw," "sing-a-long," "bluesy" and "disco dance."

They're not necessarily the first words that most people would associate with the music of The Dears (in either their Bedtime Story or ONPR-incarnations), so it should be interesting to hear where they're coming from. And, for the record, Lightburn himself has promised that the band won't be playing any of these songs live. Ever.

Take that for whatever it's worth. And, like we've already told you, the band's currently on tour. Go see them... but don't expect to disco dance.