Yes, Dears

The Hearts on Fire interview: Murray Lightburn & Natalia Yanchak

The Dears, circa 2020

The Dears are key to my book Hearts on Fire, for a variety of reasons. Their career was launched in 2000, the same year my book’s narrative begins, with End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, an album that didn’t sound like anything else in Canada at the time, an album that got them international attention. They pre-dated Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire, both of whom drew from the Dears’ template. Their live heights could reach similarly transcendent levels as their neighbours in Godspeed. Their Canadian record deal gave them room to explore their own opportunities outside the country on international indies, something that’s quite common now. They were part of the bill on a legendarily raucous 2005 trip to Japan, with BSS, Stars, Metric and Death from Above 1979. I’d watch a doc just about that trip alone.

Last fall, the Dears toured behind a 20th anniversary reissue of 2003’s landmark No Cities Left. Their Toronto stop was a triumph: in fact, it was the best I’d ever seen the band play. Mostly because they were augmented by strings and horns—that were actually audible! Back in their heyday, when they had the lineup with the monstrous rhythm section that propelled them to fame, I had trouble hearing any of the textures that made No Cities Left so compelling. Now they’re older, wiser (maybe) and in 2020 put out one of their best records, Lovers Rock. I also highly recommend Murray Lightburn’s solo records, which are lovely, underrated gems; seeing him perform with just an acoustic guitar is also spellbinding.

This Friday, June 6, the Dears play the Ontario Place Ampitheatre, first on a bill opening for their old friends Metric and the Sam Roberts Band; the latter in particular goes way back Murray Lightburn, something Roberts talks about at length here.

Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak talk about both those of those bands in the interview below, conducted for Hearts on Fire in January 2020 in their backyard studio. (It was one of my last in-person interviews for the project, for obvious reasons, which makes me extra grateful it happened.)

They also talk about Montreal in the ’90s, the one Toronto gig in front of two dozen people that changed their career, career suicide during a MuchMusic interview, touring with Matthew Good, how Mexico gave the band a second lease on life, and more. They’re generous, funny and at times brutally honest interview subjects. As they always were.

Natalia Yanchak also has the most astute words of wisdom uttered in the pages of Hearts on Fire: “Whenever anyone asks me, ‘Do you have any advice?’ Yeah: you don’t need a manager or a photo shoot, you need a lawyer.”

This is a long one, so buckle up. Best enjoyed in one sitting anyway. For paid subscribers only (or anyone who emails me via the tip jar):