The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
Best2011Vote-1000x50

The Dears | Degeneration Street

Dangerbird Records (2011)
By MIRIAM LAMEY  |  February 16, 2011
2.5 2.5 Stars

The Dears, Degeneration Street
This fifth and latest album from the Dears suggests that these Montreal natives need to clear out some Britpop cobwebs. Despite thinly veiled sonic references to Blur and Pulp, in particular, the album is charming, with a few catchy aural treasures. Throbbing rock anthem "Blood" carries singer Murray Lightbaum's Damon Albarn–like vocals on a raging wave of guttural guitar riffs and pounding drums. A dazed, distorted intro to "Thrones" recalls the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Just like Honey" but pulls out a more original-sounding blast of jangly guitars and hissing cymbals as the song peaks. Standouts include the moody, hip-hop-like opener, "Omega Dog," which gives Lightbaum the opportunity for some falsetto acrobatics over video-game synths and staccato percussion. And then there's the introspective ballad "Tiny Man," with dusky, low-key acoustic-guitar strumming that highlights the inventive melody. Lightbaum certainly has some pretty pipes — he hits velvety, super-low notes before shooting up to a silvery falsetto. But Degeneration Street is a bit of a tease, a solid alternative-rock album with some exciting sounds that afford only a peek into the Dears' potential.
Related: Suuns | Zeroes QC, Old 97's | The Grand Theatre, Bryan Ferry | Olympia, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Montreal, Damon Albarn, CD review,  More more >
| More
Add Comment
HTML Prohibited

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 02/22 ]   Amy Chua  @ Harvard Book Store
[ 02/22 ]   BU Cinematheque  @ Boston University College of Communication
[ 02/22 ]   "John La Farge's Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890–1891"  @ Addison Gallery of American Art
ARTICLES BY MIRIAM LAMEY
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   THE DEARS | DEGENERATION STREET  |  February 16, 2011
    This fifth and latest album from the Dears suggests that these Montreal natives need to clear out some Britpop cobwebs.  
  •   REVIEW: ESBEN AND THE WITCH | VIOLET CRIES  |  January 27, 2011
    This debut is akin to an amateur theater production. Throughout its unnecessary drama, the Brighton (UK) trio try to reinvent shoegaze but get lost in their own excessive and confusing use of effects pedals.
  •   THE DECEMBERISTS | THE KING IS DEAD  |  January 11, 2011
    It may be called The King Is Dead , but the latest Decemberists album screams "rodeo" rather than "royalty."
  •   BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB | FLAWS  |  December 07, 2010
    London's Bombay Bicycle Club here take a Brit-folk cue from Mumford & Sons, sharing both the genre and some of the achy-breaky harmonies of the more popular band.
  •   INTERPOL  |  September 05, 2007
    On their third album, NYC mood merchants Interpol don’t quite rest on the laurels of their 2004 major-label debut, Antics .

 See all articles by: MIRIAM LAMEY

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group