The Dears

With 'No Cities Left', Canada's The Dears have sculpted a piece of richly, dark symphonic pop. Comparisons with pre-'Parklife' Blur, The Smiths, and a number of heartfelt indie merchants immediately spring to mind upon first listen, and the albums' theme of hopeless romance in a bleak world has won over both fans and critics alike. The only doubts around the band were if they could translate such nighttime elegance to a live setting. Surely the mournful vocals of band-leader extraordinaire Murray A. Lightburn would melt the coldest of hearts, ensuring no shortage of shoulders to him to cry on at the set's finale? ("There there Muzz, plenty more fish in the sea"). Well, yes and no.

With multi-instrumentalist Lightburn leading the way from the front (beginning the set with a stylophone, closing the evening by a megaphone's ongoing siren), the band cast new light on lesser album tracks. Although lacking the album's Mariachi-style pomp and swagger, '22: The Death of All the Romance', a duet between Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak, easily retains its charm. Together the pair wryly take turns in describing where love 'went wrong' ("_I was 22, I had my share of views, I just can't steal that happiness from you_") while the rest of the band escalate the drama until the song spews forth in an overblown, yet charmingly sweet finale. There's also an added bonus of two new tracks unveiled in the set's centre, both jauntier affairs than the tower estate disposition of 'No Cities Left', proving that the band should easily escape the genre pigeonholes many critics have lazily tossed them in.

Worringly though, it's when The Dears try to use all their sonic weaponry that it falls apart. Whereas album highlights such as 'We Can Have It' benefit from livewire stage treatments, other tracks seem strangely buried in walls of feedback, not to mention Lightburn's aforementioned set closing siren abuse. Simpler settings would probably do the band's mini-epics greater justice, but that is a decision for Lightburn and colleagues to make if they're to achieve the wider success their music deserves.

No finer example of this comes in the form of first single '_Lost in the Plot_', which remains The Dears' not-so-secret weapon. With Lightburn's yearning, heart-on-sleeve cries, and backed by the band's close knit sound and structured harmonies, hearing it on a Sunday afternoon at Glastonbury's Pyramid stage doesn't seem out of place. Are you reading this Mr Eavis?