Staff Reviews

The Dears - Degeneration Street

Review by Chris Trout

It’s hard not to finish the album through gritted ears.»

User reviews

• 7/10 by Guigss

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born in the late 90s, the dears is the lifework of murray a lightburn. son of a jazzman-turned-preacher, lightburn's attunement to songwriting was shaped equally by nineties rock and a broad tableau of gospel, soul, and pop music. the band's uk breakthrough came with 'no cities left' in late 2004 which swept the group from montreal notoriety to international rapture. this was followed over the next four years by the messy masterpiece 'gang of losers' and the bittersweet 'missiles', though the dynamics of a busy workload and periods of internal instability led to some personnel changes within the band. the fruits of a decades-long history: ambitious recordings, innumerable sweaty shows, a million miles survived, and a thousand hearts shattered. anchored by drummer jeff luciani, the dears began working in a newfound spirit of collaboration. between the group, mp3 demos began circulating via email. spontaneous, late-night meetings would yield the best work of their lives: music inspired by death, fearlessness, rage and promise. after months of rehearsals, thirteen standout songs emerged. rather than rush into the studio, the band headed to their beloved mexico city for a three-night residency to
debut new material to some of their most impassioned supporters. the next day, the dears began making what some are already calling 'rock history.' sixteen days later, a hard drive filled with 150 gbs of recorded material was swaddled in bubble wrap and shipped across the continent to producer tony hoffer in los angeles. as the band continued to record and upload additional tracks, tony began mixing down what would be christened 'degeneration
street'. the final mixes were mastered by 'big bass' brian gardner. the result: 589 mbs of glory, the fifth album from the dears, delivers the passion and soul that has earned the band the adoration of fans and critics worldwide.
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