The Dears — Missiles

Missiles

Maple/Universal

Erik Missio (CHARTattack)

10/20/2008 4:43pm

One listen of Missiles and it sounds like The Dears have put together another fine album… albeit one lacking in the ambition of No Cities Left or the accessibility of Gang Of Losers. But give it a few more runs — real listens, not background rotation — and it grabs unexpectedly, sinking teeth into flesh, pulling you below the surface like a saltwater crocodile. Yes, the band's undergone a fairly substantial lineup change, but much of what makes the Montrealers so compelling remains here in full force. In other words, if you weren't taken by the band's preview of "Meltdown In A Major," rest assured that the track is the slightest on an album of heavy hitters. The music is dense, the production is meticulous and Murray Lightburn's vocals have never been stronger. The mantra chorus on "Money Babies," the delicate, broken falsetto on the title track and Lightburn's soaring, almost Seal-like (!) approach to "Demons" should continue to render the haters' Morrissean comparisons invalid. If nothing else, buy Missiles for "Lights Off" and "Crisis I And II," a mid-album one/two-punch benefiting respectively from Patrick Krief's guitarwork and Natalia Yanchak's surprisingly confident singing. Those are possibly the best damned things this band has ever recorded (and think about that for a moment), these songs feel right at home on an album that's dark and dramatic, but also defiant and demanding.

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