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The Dears

Whites Only Party

Label: Bella Union Release Date: 16/10/2006

17564
lsteinberg by Lianne Steinberg October 23rd, 2006

If this Canadian six-piece want to distance themselves from the numerous Smiths comparisons that have been thrown at them, then this isn’t really going to help. But what the hell – this is The Smiths and then some. Twisting its way through various sounds whilst finding a sense of cohesion under Murray Lightburm’s muted Morrissey intonations, this socially-charged track is one of The Dears' finest creations.

'Whites Only Party' is musically stunning, simply for the fact that in the space of three minutes these indie veterans walk through numerous walls of melody, dragging each instrument along with them, while all the time keeping their eyes on the prize. Beginning with the kind of tom somersaults that Adam Ant would kill for, the bass line jumps in with a sonorous hook befitting the subject matter. But as Lightburn begins singing about paranoia and destruction, jazzy guitars cut in and Natalia Yanchak’s keyboard gently levitates the melody. A rockabilly guitar solo leads Lightburn to reach the kind of cheery falsetto that twists the knife before those drums smash victoriously to the finish line.

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