The Dears Gang of Losers [Limited]

4 stars out of 5 -- "Sonically raw but melodically rich, the Dears confront the surface contradictions in their musical identity with a defiance that's no longer just skin deep."
Ranked #30 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "[T]hey spin irascible outsiderdom into ultimately triumphant songs..."
3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]ere are precisely assembled, melodic songs that shiver with emotion."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hese songs achieve a universal warmth thanks to Murray's impassioned delivery, especially on the record's moving title track."
"[Lightburn is] a first rate lyricist who delivers his self-deprecating tales in both a plaintive drawl and a genuinely desperate scream."
"[T]he Dears have always oozed an epic romanticism, wrapping their Smithsian sense of alienation in grand pop harmonies and starry-eyed orchestrations."
"'Ballad of Humankindness' counters Lightburn's downcast lament about loneliness and terrorism with frolicking guitars and a cheery, hopeful horn line."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he inventive, shape-shifting arrangements always go the extra mile."