Rating: NNN
There was a time when the Dears were mentioned in the same breath as Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene as torchbearers for millennial Canadian indie rock. That notion sank along with a series of albums that failed to live up to the promise of 2003’s No Cities Left, but it hasn’t killed the band’s ambition.
Regrouping their “greatest hits” lineup, the Dears go for broke once again on Degeneration Street, applying their put-it-all-on-the-table approach to make their bulkiest, densest album yet. Clocking in at over an hour, it synthesizes all the band’s styles, from crunchy radio rockers (guitar hero Patrick Krief is a welcome return) to moody slow-burners.
They’re clearly aiming for epic but more often accomplish exhausting. It’s admirable to see a band unselfconscious enough to present such unapologetically maudlin balladry (in a good way), but there’s only so much of it you can take in one sitting.
Top track: Blood
