The Dears

Montreal's The Dears have always been a curiosity. While front man Murray Lightburn ignored pesky "Black Morrissey" comparisons, the rest of the band was reshuffled in a dramatic lineup change for the recording of newest album Missiles. Not quite Broken Social Scene (though Lightburn did contribute vocals), with too few members to start an Arcade Fire, the Dears' dramatic chamber pop blisters and smolders through Canada's indie soundscape, edging out melancholy with Lightburn's self-assured swagger. After four albums, five label changes and only one surefire hit (the Smithsian "Lost In The Plot"), it's now or never.