Customer Reviews

No Cities Left

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

or do you just sit down with a notepad and no. 2 pencil and just look for other artists to compare to every time you get new music? Damn, I think this cd is pretty !@#$'in good to me!
Yes, I grew up listening to the Smiths and Blur and I love alot of Brit-pop. I think you can hear a 'lil bit 'o Morrissey in Murray's voice but I don't hear Damon Albarn. I can definately hear the differences and the music is not like either to me! The music is beautiful! There are all the normal instruments; guitar, bass, & drum as well as strings, synths, and the occasional horn. And there is a female and she spreads the love in her vocals. And I love how they play off each other vocally in a couple songs. As someone else mentioned, it DOES NOT have the wit of Morrissey or Mr. Albarn. But you know what, this is the Dears NOT Morrissey. He has a new album that is great as well, and if I want to listen to him then I'll pop that in. I hope these guys finally get some recognition and stop being compared to everyone else. I think if you are influenced by other great artists it will come through in your work somewhere. And I am SOOOOOOO glad that there is good music coming out of North America right now...Please support good bands like these and pull your heads out yo' *&$es trying to be cool...Beautiful and romantic music.

Montreal's pop group The Dears are endlessly compared to Morrissey and Blur to the point it has become tiresome. Yes, at times, a hint of the Moz comes through lead singer Murray Lightburn's vocals. But that's it. This band sounds nothing like Blur or The Smiths. This is a great album filled with catchy melodies, great hooks, and a shimmering melancholy. It's a great listen from start to finish.

I remember thinking when I first heard "No Cities Left" by The Dears, how much the singer of the band sounded like Morrissey, why not admit it. But then I found moments in the album that reminded me of a thousand other things: David Bowie, Joy Division and even King Crimson... all of it, wrapped in a mantle that carries an unmistakeable flavor of French cabaret music with a raw feel, in the best style of the late Serge Gainsbourg.

Largely the result of the financial support of the Canada Music Fund, The Dears is the Montreal-based musical brainchild of multi-talented Murray Lightburn. Formed in 1995, "No Cities Left" constituted the band's second full length album. The album has an overall dark feel that carries a certain level of anguish in Lightburn's storytelling, typically aided by atmospheres driven by his guitar, along with changes in tempo in most songs and the overpowering presence of mellotron-like sounding strings that accompany the band's work through most of the album.

The Dears meld in so many influences that you can get almost tired of identifying them... plus it really doesn't do much to do so, since they have already carved their own special niche that will probably serve as a deep influence for generations of musicians to come. For now, enjoy "No Cities Left" and the band's scheduled August 2006 release, a song of which you can enjoy through their MySpace page. It is impossible to argue: with The Dears you are in for a very special musical treat.

First let me say the album is extremely refreshing to listen to. It has a nice mixture of textured sounds; best listened to relaxing, driving or in the middle of your thoughts. I honestly think the Morrisey influence isn't really warrented (although they toured together). I find it more strikingly similiar to a mixture of David Bowie and Air. Anyway, I really enjoyed the album. Go in with an open mind and some time to let it grow on you.

I first saw them at the Fillmore in San Francisco when they headlined for Keane. Never heard of the Dears at that point and quite frankly wasn't so excited about seeing them play. When they hit the stage, it was a sonic experience unlike any I've experienced before. The lead guitar was excellent! The vocals of both Lightburn and Yanchak were mesmerizing and worked especially well together (re: song "The Death of All the Romance"). The band really set the table for the main attraction, but it was fairly evident that the Dears would be a big name in their own right. The album didn't disappoint. At times, there are some sprinkles of Moz-esque moments, but the band by no means are the Smiths...they are only coincidentally derivative, but I guess it makes it easier for everyone if we group them with another band or dismiss them as copycats--

If you're expecting an album with songs in the same vein as "we can have it" you'll be getting more than that from this album.

It's not the smiths or like anything else I've heard. I've got smiths albums, and I like them, but this music is darker. Sure the singer sounds a little like Morrisey but he also sounds a bit like bowie. It doesn't really matter, he's just got a good voice.

This album might be "Weird" to some or whatever but this is the album where "they got it right" if you ask me. I hadn't heard them before this album and I'm really happy with this buy.

Expect a traditional rock album but with different emotions. Some songs are orchestral rock clashings, that tragic sound, like in "22: the death of all romance". Others are more brooding and sad, like "we can have it" and "lost in the plot". Some are just good old fashioned rock, like "who are you defenders" and "no cities left" (which has awesome guitar through it!).

No, this is not a standard album, you might have to appreciate some originality from these guys. You'll not only get guitar and male singing, you'll get some female singing, and orchestral sounds too, plus more. If you can handle good music check em out.

The Dears "No Cities Left" is a haunting yet beautifully orchestrated album. It makes for a great listen when lying in bed in the dead of night, listening to the trees rustling outside. Its melodies chill, yet sooth with a beauty helplessly reminiscent to bands such as The Cure and The Smiths. It's almost impossible to not be drawn in with Murray Lightburn's clever lyrics and eccentric musical sound. Overall, the dynamic effect of this cd is nothing short of astounding.

I love this album. He does sound a bit like Morrissey and Damon Albarn at times, but that's just a singing style. Damon Albarn and Morrissey sound like each other sometimes too.

Anyway, I love the variety of songs that show up here and especially enjoy all the short bursts of electric piano and saxophone. I wouldn't have expected that they way the album started out.

Anyway, phooey to the naysayers...just as the record desciption says, if you like Morrissey, the Smiths, Blur, or B&S, definitely pick this up.

The Dears' "No Cities Left" is a melodic force to be reckoned with. It's cascading tunes flow very well, yet I was left with the feeling that neither I, nor even the band itself ever knew where exactly the album is leading. I kept expecting a breakthrough triumph of a song, an apex to the album, if you will, but that simply never arrived.

Among the influx of hipster rock bands flooding the marketplace, The Dears breakout NCL rose above a typical brooding angularity to offer this modestly diverse set of elegant indie.