10/23/08 The Dears @ Hiro Ballroom, New York, N.Y.

The Canadian Invasion has field generals in The Dears.

The Canadian Invasion has field generals in The Dears. Couple and core of this collective, Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak, know what it is and they know how to put it in you: not with long range blunt force as Missiles, the title of their latest release would suggest, but via sonic osmosis.

Lightburn’s stage presence and delivery is a befitting yet mysterious mélange of Leonard Bernstein, Morrissey and Marvin Gaye, with a dram of Bowie for good measure.

Yanchak’s haunting eyes underscored the sweet ache imparted while singing backup or when she departed her keyboard array to sing lead.

Soon after the completion of Missiles the couple’s collaborators/band mates, for as of yet under-reported reasons, jumped ship.

Those who replaced them, all Montreal indie ringers, including guitarist Christopher McCarron, bassist for another phalanx of the Canadian Invasion, Land of Talk, stitched a nearly seamless transition during tonight’s 11 song set.

In essence, what sets The Dears apart and earns them those stars is how they make layered, intricate and occasionally controlled cacophonous 21st century indie rock actual soul music right before your eyes.

This evening’s set:
Disclaimer
Money Babies
Berlin Heart
Crisis 1 & 2
Lost In The Plot
Lights Off
Demons’
Whites Only Party
Bandwagoneers
22: The Death Of The Romance
Meltdown In A Major