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Ah, the Dears. My love for them came relatively late, in 2004, after hearing of them because of the tidal wave of hype they generated with a now-legendary set at the 2004 SXSW Festival. That set buoyed them to a licensing deal with the Scottish record label Bella Union, run by former Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde. I rushed out to buy the “Lost in the Plot” single, and was stunned by the incredible power of it. The Smiths never reached the level of raw emotion on display here, but some of the touchstones are the same. As a vocalist, lead singer and songwriter Murray Lightburn has been compared to Britpop legends Damon and Jarvis, but on the “No Cities Left” album, he leaves those comparisons in the dust.

The Dears followed the hype with incessant world touring, where I happened upon them at Festival Les Inrocks in Paris in November 2004. They played with the Go! Team, and I fell in love, twice in the same night. The Go! Team were at their sublime peak, and the two bands – the Dears emotionally overwhelming, the Team mindblowingly exuberant – acted as the perfect disease-and-cure combination on the night. After an extraordinary night of drinking at an after-hours Britpop pub, I had far too much to process, but the conclusion remains that the Dears changed my life. I would see them every chance I had, and have never, ever been even slightly disappointed. Seeing them at the 930 Club in 2005 turned into a rather transparent way of spending more quality time with them at DC9 afterward [flyer img], and their next album, “Gang of Losers,” was in my BYT top ten albums of 2006. http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/music/dc-djs-wrap-up-the-06-for-you-for-you/

The chance to interview Murray, though, worried me greatly. He and the keyboardist (Natalia) had married and squeezed out a pup, but then, rather than becoming serene and blissful, the band imploded. The ensemble that seemed just as the last album’s title suggests – a gang – collapsed in acrimony and confusion. Stories swirled about Murray’s lust for power and the troubled recording sessions for the follow-up album. When the album leaked, Murray posted an overwrought letter lambasting the leak, and followed with an incredibly bold documentary and introspective series of video shorts, posted on the band website.

click click for that here

Clearly, here was someone who was unafraid to examine himself, but would he brusquely brush aside incisive questions and demonstrate a controlling, manipulative manner? The new album, Missiles, sounds like an exorcism, with song titles like “Demons” and lyrics that suggest pain, rather than catharsis. What could I expect? All those fears were allayed within seconds, as the warm and welcoming voice of a long-lost friend came over the phone, and small sounds of domestic bliss leaked in (discussions between he and Natalia about what to have for dinner, sounds of the baby, doing dishes) throughout the conversation. But let’s go for the hard question first:

BYT: So, what exactly happened with the band breakup?

Murray Lightburn: I actually really have no idea. I think whatever they were trying to achieve – whatever the goal was – it was all for naught. It was pretty brutal. It is a brutal, brutal situation. But I really don’t know what happened. I’m still trying to figure it out. Ironically, those guys don’t want to talk to the camera about anything [in the aforementioned documentary], which isn’t surprising, because it puts them on the spot and … I don’t know. All I can say is I definitely my whole thing is I’m a reactionary type of dude. I react to how others treat me, and I’m really just trying to get by without getting hurt. Trying to get through the season without an injury, if you will. But when people come after you, you can defend yourself, you have to – and that’s when bad things can happen.

BYT: I watched the documentary online – was that a difficult thing to film?

Murray: At times, it’s difficult when you start for both you and the interviewer get into it. But you can see the point in the raw footage when they shut off that I’m there and just start talking about recording with the Dears. The uncomfortable stuff got left out.

BYT: What about you – did you find yourself while filming growing uncomfortable over where some of those conversations were going?

Murray: No, actually – I got uncomfortable on the editing side. Because when I’d see where the individual “web-isode” was going – I couldn’t candy-coat it, they’re telling a story, and that’s the goal – to let them tell the story. It could be a story about any band, but it just happens to be about the Dears.

But we’ve only just begun. I think it’s an interesting story. Once we have enough web-isodes, we want to make it into an actual movie instead of a series of really long-winded web-isodes. Right now, though, we’re just posting them as we go along. Even at only for web-isodes, we’re up to 60 minutes of edited footage, and we haven’t even begun to tell the story. So, once we get the whole story, then I want to go back into the editing process and retell it, shape it into a coherent whole, and see where it goes.

BYT: So, when you started off on Missiles, I read that you were embarking on a solo project. Have you thought further about a Murray solo album, or has your songwriting with Natalia settled into a good phase?

Murray: Ummmmmmmmmmm. I don’t really have much interest in making a solo album at this juncture. I realized that my job and role is the lighthouse keeper for the Dears, so I’m going to do that until I DIE.

BYT: Is your writing partnership with Natalia, well, more of a partnership? How much input does Natalia have compared to you, first, and then compared to previous band members?

Murray: Well, um. It’s interesting because the kind of input Natalia has is more of a visionary kind, like we’ll be sitting in the studio and she’ll say – she won’t play – in a way she’ll dictate something and someone else will do it. She’s kind of like the executive producer, with me on the piano, and her on the guitar, and she says, “Okay, someone harmonize here!” Hm, but that makes it sound so incredibly intentional…

Actually, when I write songs, it’s more like I’ll do the jamming and pick the best bits and then put those best bits together to make a blueprint of a song, and then we come together and rip it apart. “Demons” is a perfect example. That was the very last song we worked on in the “Missiles” sessions. When we were wrapping up, it was like, “What do you want to work on today?” I said, “Well, we’re almost done, but I have this one last thing…” I was really nervous, very self-conscious about playing the bits that I’d put together. It seemed like a ridiculously ambitious thing to try to pull off, but I played it off the laptop and everyone got really excited. Then, we piled stuff on top of the demo, replacing the bits of the demo methodically and removing the replaced bits. Pile stuff on top of the demo, replacing the bits, editing, making decisions, and then re-recording the whole song from the edits. It’s a really odd process, but I enjoyed it – really gutting the original demo and then renovating it!

BYT: Well, these are a lot of changes for one person to process, but you went through so much – marriage, a baby, another album, the band “mutiny” – all in a very short space of time. Do you feel like you’ve processed all these changes, or do you find yourself moving on without exploring what all of these changes mean for you?

Murray: I think at one point around the time we were making “Gang of Losers,” all the changes in my life became overwhelming, but I didn’t notice the effect it was having on me. I kept going. If we had the time to take a break right then, I think it would have been great for all of us. Ultimately we didn’t have the chance, so, it didn’t turn out very well for our line-up.

BYT: Has your marriage and baby changed you as a person?

Murray: Well, yes and no. I think if I wasn’t married and didn’t have a kid, I would probably be a hell of a lot more irresponsible. And, while I’m still irresponsible in some ways, my family anchors me. It anchors a lot of people, family [laughs].

BYT: Are those the things that help you evade your demons?

Murray: [Chuckles] No. Like I was saying, “Demons” was one of those songs that kind of showed up during the recording process – and I just had to…adhere to it. I think it…what happens a lot of times with songwriting is that you just have to go with the flow – this particular song is coming in: these are the lyrics, get them down, this is what you’re supposed to do.

BYT: At your most recent show in New York – I think it was the first U.S. date after releasing Missiles – was well received. Do you feel some vindication for your efforts after a show like that?

Murray: Well, I was really trying to get through the shows without puking. If I think about it now, there’s a certain level of vindication getting through that tough period, of, you know, that full-blown mutiny of the project and saying, you know fuck it. Unbreakable.

BYT: You seemed to be angry when Missiles leaked on the internet, even sending a letter to fans. Now that there’s some distance between now and then, are you still angry? On reflection, what was that about?

Murray: I had just finished slaving over the artwork for the release, and the concept for the booklet was pretty hardcore. I personally spent a lot of time on the finished product and I still believe in that – because I am old-school, because I believe in packaging and presentation. Even when I do food at home, I do a drizzle on the plate before I bring it out. I think you eat with your eyes before you eat with anything else. So, I was so disappointed – it was the equivalent of walking into the kitchen and eating out of the pot – like a FUCKING animal.

My letter was an attempt to urge the people that cared to wait for the full presentation of the product, at least. We wanted to present it in a certain way, we hope – maybe that’s being too precious; maybe I’m being a fucking fossil – but I still believe in presentation and I was disappointed. Then again, I think to myself, what do I want, this is where we’re going now. This is the state of technology. So, now we have to think about presenting albums without artwork and everything that surrounds it. I still remember, when our albums first started to leak, “Gang of Losers” leaked three or four months early. I had no idea how to feel. I remember asking, “What does that mean, it leaked? It’s not in the stores, how can people be listening to it now?” And people were like, “No, Murray, wake up, it’s out!”

BYT: Do you find musical connections with your co-touring bands? I’m thinking in particular about Soundtrack of Our Lives [2005] and how immensely odd their lead singer can be?

Murray: It really depends. We have toured with bands that have been really, really cool, and others that we’re like – “never again, I really hate those people.” It’s unfortunate, but it happens. The SOOL tour had a rocky start. We were pumped to be on tour with them, because we were big fans of the band. Then, when we hooked up, the tour manager was such a jerk to us. It really started out badly, but because the tour manager was being a jerk, I ended up looking like a jerk to the Soundtrack guys. Fortunately, the bands ended up bonding together. Secret Machines [2008] are another good example of a really great time.

I prefer touring with bands that don’t have the same elements that the Dears, because it makes for more variety for the audience and each band can bring something different. You don’t want it to be like a hardcore show with 15 bands doing 15 minute sets that all sound essentially the same. But, yes, there are so many great tours I remember – The Shout out Louds [2005] – what a great bunch of guys – and Marjorie Faire – another bunch of great guys. I have such great memories of these tours. I always go into the experience hoping to make friends but it doesn’t always work out.

BYT: Did you have any feelings about being on Bella Union in particular – any emotional connection with the Cocteau Twins or that 4ad tradition?

Murray: Sort of. We just happened to get on this showcase at SXSW run by Tiger Style Records [in March 2004]. We were associated with at the time, that is, we almost signed with them, but they didn’t end up putting out records – they stopped being a label. I was confused at the time, thinking, what’s the hold up, why aren’t we signing? They were very honest about it though, and Ari Sass [co-founder of Tiger Style, InSound.com] told me, “hey, I don’t think we’re equipped to release your album.” Ari is a really cool guy, and I really enjoyed hanging out with him. He put on the showcase anyway, but I was disappointed we didn’t get to work with them as a label.

The showcase was really cool – it was at Buffalo Billiards and it was really packed and we slayed it. Simon Raymonde was there and emailed us that night. You know, it’s just one of those classic discovery stories.

BYT: The website says there are even more songs a-comin’. Do you feel this is a particularly fruitful period for your creativity? Any more singles?

Murray: I kind of have a dream of releasing “Demons” as a single, and that could still happen. So there’s your answer! I also think that after this North American tour, we will be putting our efforts into the new Dears.

WANT MORE:
Myspace them here
and seriously go to the show @ The Cat tonight.

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