Artist: The Dears, Album: Degeneration Street, Song: Yesteryear

The Dears are a six piece band from Montreal.  They were formed in 1995 by members Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak.  Their most recent line up also includes former Thrush Hermit (see blog 9/5/10) Rob Benvie along with Patrick Krief, Roberto Arquilla and Jeff Luciani.  They released their debut album in 1998 and to date, have 5 albums.  Their latest is Degeneration Street which was released in 2011 on indie label, Pheromone Recordings.  The band has received a lot of critical acclaim since their debut back in 1998.  They've since toured the globe and played with everyone from Morrissey to the Tragically Hip.  Coincidentally, a lot of their earlier music is very similar to Morrissey.  The band apparently almost broke up following their third release in 2006.  As a result, many of the members have been involved in other musical projects during the band's tenure.  However, they are back and stronger than ever with an absolutely fabulous new album highlighted by this soulful track, Yesteryear.  You can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRbKWE6-uyE).  Invisible Publishing has just released a book about the band which you can read about at http://invisiblepublishing.heroku.com/.  The band is playing the Hillside Festival in Guelph this weekend.  You can purchase the album, Degeneration Street, on Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!