- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
The Dears have never sounded so comfortable in their own skin.
-
For the first time, the cantankerous Lightburn matches his lyrics--from rapture to self-exploration to joy both lived and missed--perfectly with the music, which nods to Britpop but never succumbs to any genre trappings.
-
UncutThis... is still very much a Dears record: confused and unfocused, a messy kind of masterpiece. [Sep 2006, p.90]
-
A haunting disc that lingers long after the laser dies.
-
The Dears stamp enough of their own personality to make this one of the best and most vital alternative US albums of 2006.
-
The Dears sound like a band who have finessed their vision and are ready, finally, to take on the world.
-
In the end, what makes the Dears a cut above, a band that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as its Canadian indie compatriots the New Pornographers or Broken Social Scene, is the voice of Lightburn.
-
Under The RadarLightburn’s tendency toward over-the-top melodrama has evolved into straightforward and heartfelt lyrics of love and loss. [Summer 2006]
-
VibeExcellent. [Oct 2006, p.142]
-
MojoInventive, shape-shifting arrangements always go the extra mile. [Oct 2006, p.112]
-
SpinGang of Losers leaves behind the preciousness of 2003's delicate No Cities Left. [Oct 2006, p.105]
-
They're a little less baroque, they're a little less depressing... but they're just as emotional and affecting, which makes Gang of Losers very good indeed.
-
UrbExpect to see this album on 2006 Top 10 lists. [Oct 2006, p.118]
-
One of the year's more understated and beautifully paranoid gems.
-
The real difference between this album and past Dears efforts, though, is not so much musical directness as Lightburn's lyrical attempts to become the spokesman for the dispossessed.
-
Alternative PressHere's the thing about originality... You don't really need it when you play this proficiently. [Dec 2006, p.188]
-
FilterWhen the band shines, it reaches stunning heights. [#22, p.102]
-
The overall tone of the album isn't entirely dark and hopeless, although Lightburn fails to leave us with any specific resolve, instead content for some questions to remain unanswered.
-
Strangely, what the sloppier approach really does is highlight bandleader Murray Lightburn's wondrous voice.
-
The band is, if anything, more confident than ever, but the sound's grandiosity too easily verges on melodrama, a too-bold-to-be-believable misery.
-
The Dears are now less idiosyncratic but have successfully made the kind of straightforwardly satisfying album that you'd expect from a band on their second decade.
-
The Dears' biggest coup with Gang Of Losers, though, is Lightburn's newfound ability to express his own sturm und drang through varied delivery rather than just a bloodcurdling caterwaul.
-
Q MagazinePrecisely assembled, melodic songs that shiver with emotion. [Sep 2006, p.107]
-
BlenderThough less indebted to the Smiths... these tidally anthemic doom-ditties still manage to sound more dire. [Oct 2006, p.135]
-
So, no, this isn't the sound of The Dears taking it to the next level, but the level they're on is still pretty solid.
-
The Dears really do sound a lot like late-'90s Blur.
-
Paste MagazineIt's the band's fussiest, most elaborately conceived work to date. [Nov 2006, p.83]
-
A much more mediocre, boring, phoned-in, lyrically tripe-y batch of tip-toeing Brit-pop snooze-o-rama-fests.
-
Shorn of the orchestral lushness that distinguished their previous effort, The Dears now have little to recommend them.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 20 out of 23
-
Mixed: 3 out of 23
-
Negative: 0 out of 23
-
CatAug 11, 2007Truly emotional and powerful stuff from this talented band. This was the best album of 06.
-
BlakeLAug 11, 2007Great, great album.
-
YannickWJun 21, 2007