Without even seeing a performance by The Dears it was easy to recognize the group in Montreal's haunts in the late nineties. Dressed in black suits and white shirts, they would descend on bars like the minor legends they were. At that time, The Dears were like an unconfirmed rumour of ardour; they were full of possibility, and propelled by passion, alienation, and alcohol. Their precious name and the crooning vocals of charismatic front man Murray Lightburn, defined their clean, symphonic pop style. Yet the band’s onstage intensity and quiet defiance defied easy categorization. Already, at that early stage, their sophisticated content and attitude set them at odds with the music scene of the day.
End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, their 2000 debut album, immediately established The Dears as a unique and powerful presence. With a stylized and cinematic scope, the record fused narratives, orchestral arrangements and pop in a way that was praised for ambitious grandiosity. The Dears, now Lightburn with keyboardist Natalia Yanchak and joined by drummer George Donoso III and bassist Martin Pelland, exhausted themselves on a seemingly endless schedule of grueling tours. Kids from Sudbury to Vancouver bought tickets and T-shirts and came out from winter’s shadow to experience the band live. They toured more. Band members quit and replacements were found. They endured their initiation into the divided and limited realities of national critical success and kept to themselves.
By 2001 The Dears ceased to be a rumour; they were real and dark -- almost too real and too dark for a Canadian music scene that banked on fluffy love songs and slick indie hits. The 2001 EP, Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique, seamlessly melded Lightburn’s neoromantic songwriting to an imaginary film noir soundtrack. And in the EP’s ironically titled “Autotomy,” a bleak lover’s dirge that describes Montreal’s decrepit physical, economic and political landscape, The Dears fashioned the greatest love song to the city ever written.
The second EP, Summer of Protest, released in 2002, expanded the apocryphal vision seeded on Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique. Lightburn’s white shirt and black suit were long gone, replaced for a military helmet and loudspeaker. Music writer Stuart Berman’s synopsis of SOP as “a harrowing mini-concept album that rolled operatic hysteria, ominous post-punk rumbling and cosmic Christmas music into a soundtrack to the end of the world” could not be more accurate. Little can be added to Berman’s description, except that while the 2001 Quebec G8 summit protests and the events of 9/11 had barely registered thematically in indie-rock, The Dears, it appeared, were not content with catchy love songs.
The Dears’ performances evolved into part nihilistic Charlie Brown special and part Brechtian theatre. The drama of their live shows forced audiences to examine the dark forces at work in their nations and hearts. Bizarre, hopeless, entropic and devastating were the only words one could use to describe hearing and seeing The Dears onstage in 2002. You didn’t watch or listen so much as get assaulted by music. You had to be in the right headspace: you had to be either completely inebriated or sickeningly sober. It was uncomfortable and simultaneously beautiful in its plain and painful truth. In 2002, with Lightburn barking revolutionary orders into a megaphone, it was easy to believe that The Dears were the most artful, revolutionary pop band in Canada. It was becoming a challenge to see the future path of their commercial success.
With the 2003 release of No Cities Left, The Dears gained the success that End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story had promised. The album was rife with The Dears’ dystopic world view, but was also curiously luxuriant, poppy and brimming with hope: “Our love, don’t mess with our love,” the male and female warn, playfully, in the album’s single, “Lost in the Plot.” The doom and gloom that pervaded their earlier work was traded for optimism evident in songs like the ironically lighthearted “Don’t Lose the Faith” and “Never Destroy Us.” No Cities Left brought Lightburn’s finely crafted songwriting to the forefront and was exulted for both its commercial and artistic appeal.
The Dears were nominated for Best New Group at the 2004 Canadian Juno Awards, acclaim followed by New Musical Express’ naming The Dears as “Probably the Best New Band in the World.” Soon after, NME cited NCL as the 10th best album and the band found itself on several Best New Band features in music magazines from Rolling Stone to Stuff to Spin. After invitations to open for Morrissey in Toronto and Los Angeles, The Dears played Glastonbury (UK) in 2005, and British fans and critics welcomed the band’s mercurial implosion into their music scene with open arms.
When they came home, to Montreal, in the summer of 2005, Natalia Yanchak and Murray Lightburn were married, a gesture that formalized their decade-long partnership. Despite the stresses and upheavals of the music industry the tight-knit band -- whose lineup of Murray Lightburn, Natalia Yanchak, George Donoso III, Martin Pelland with flautist and keyboardist Valerie Jodoin-Keaton and guitarist Patrick Krief -- had always been close. Now it was official: The Dears were family.
Moving from grinding guitar solos to ethereal vocals, there is no other way to describe Gang of Losers than as a celebration of beautiful losers. The theme of ostracization, at all levels of society, dominates this eclectic yet thematically cohesive album. It’s impossible to miss Lightburn’s slick references to white-liberal guilt. Barely disguised in the song “Whites Only Party,” with its cabaret casualness, the thorny subject of race resurfaces, full-blown, in the jazzy, rootsy, epic finale, “Find Our Way to Freedom.”
Social class and indie rock cool are also a pre-occupation in Gang of Losers: “I hang out with all the pariahs,” Lightburn drawls in the jumpy “Ticket to Immortality.” Bluesy and ballad-laden, with rolling pianos and horns, the album features the seductive fusion of Lightburn’s onstage vocal range and studio precision. Recorded without punch-ins or edits, the band played every song from beginning to end in order to capture the technical unity of their live shows.
Gang of Losers is a classic Dears album in terms of its complex musical and thematic range, veering from instant pop hits to oppressive ballads to lullaby show tunes. But what’s most remarkable about Gang of Losers is that within the complicated lyrical and musical scheme, Lightburn’s humour and humanity shine through the heavy-handed themes. In the end, forgiveness, of the self and the other, wins. “I need this song,” Lightburn wails in “Find Our Way to Freedom,” relenting, as he exchanges hate for love and mercy. And we need these songs, this album, too: if only to counter the world’s indifference, and soothe the inner loser that thrives on all our worst fears.
Easy Suffering
The Dears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And found you
Pools of light
Become you
This all went down
Because of you
Ease the suffering
Oh, I can't grow up
I'm just a kid looking for love
Couldn't find it here on
This dry land
Another night
Without you
Nothing left but a halo underground
It's not you
The sun goes down
With you
Ease the suffering
Oh, I won't grow up
I'm just a boy searching for love
I couldn't find it here on
This dry land
Opened my eyes
And lost you
Another day goes by
Without you
I'm going down
I'm going down
Ease the suffering
Ease the suffering
Oh, I'm gonna grow up
To be a man on the hunt for love
I'm gonna find it here on
This dry land
Gonna find it here on
This dry land
Gonna find it here on
This dry land
Gonna find it here on
This dry land
Gonna find it here on
This dry land
The Dears' song "Easy Suffering" speaks of the pain of searching for love and the desperation that can come with it. The singer of the song closes their eyes and imagines their loved one, picturing them as a source of light in the darkness. The singer is desperate to ease their suffering, the product of the frustration of growing up and constantly searching for something that may be out of reach. They feel like a child instead of a grown man, unable to find the love they are searching for on this "dry land."
The song takes a dark turn as the singer realizes they are lost without their loved one, and that life seems empty and meaningless without them. This realization sends the singer into a tailspin of despair, as they acknowledge that they are going down and need someone to ease their suffering. The repetition of this phrase highlights the intensity of this feeling and serves as a reminder that this is the overarching theme of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Closed my eyes
I closed my eyes as I tried to find you, possibly indicating that the singer has been searching for love or companionship.
And found you
The singer was able to find the person they were looking for, or a new romantic interest, despite the challenges they face.
Pools of light
The singer may be referring to a visual sensation, where bright or colorful lights seem to form a pool or oceanic shape, similar to how people describe mountains of clouds or seas of stars.
Become you
The visual sensation of lights forming a pool or sea may be linked to the image of the person the artist found, perhaps indicating that they are dazzling or captivating.
This all went down
The artist could be referring to a significant event or turning point in their life, and suggest that it happened due to the influence or presence of the person they found.
Because of you
The singer directly attributes the aforementioned event or change to the person they found, implying that they have a significant impact on the singer's life.
Ease the suffering
This repeated phrase could be interpreted as a plea or a hope for relief from emotional pain or hardship, effectively summarizing the main message of the song.
Oh, I can't grow up
This line may convey a sense of immaturity or insecurity on the part of the artist, who feels unready for certain adult experiences like love or intimacy.
I'm just a kid looking for love
The artist openly admits to being inexperienced or naive in pursuing romantic relationships, suggesting that they may have been hurt or rejected before.
Couldn't find it here on
The artist refers to a specific location or situation where they tried and failed to find love or happiness.
This dry land
This phrase could represent a metaphorical desert or wasteland, where emotions and happiness are scarce and difficult to cultivate.
Another night
The artist references another period of time ('night') where they were absent from the person they found earlier.
Without you
The singer describes their state of being or emotions when separated from the person they have found, suggesting that they may feel incomplete or unfulfilled without them.
Nothing left but a halo underground
This line may evoke a sense of loss or tragedy, where the 'halo' represents an intangible aspect of the person they found (such as their aura or essence) that persists even after they are gone.
It's not you
The singer may be attempting to reassure themselves or someone else that a problem or issue they are dealing with is not the fault of the person they have found (either by blaming themselves or other external factors).
The sun goes down
This may represent the passage of time or the fading of light, creating a sense of melancholy or nostalgia.
With you
The artist feels more complete or fulfilled when they are with the person they have found, suggesting that they may have a deep emotional connection.
Opened my eyes
The singer's state of mind has changed, transitioning from a search or dreamlike state to a more awake or conscious state.
And lost you
The person they found has left or is no longer a part of the singer's life, indicating that the happiness or fulfillment they felt earlier may have been temporary or fleeting.
Another day goes by
Time continues to pass, and the artist is affected by the absence of the person they have lost.
I'm going down
The artist is experiencing a negative or distressed state, possibly sinking into depression or hopelessness.
Oh, I'm gonna grow up
The artist expresses their intention to mature emotionally and become more capable of handling romantic relationships or other challenges in life.
To be a man on the hunt for love
The singer imagines a new version of themselves, one that is confident and self-aware, and actively seeks out love or happiness.
Gonna find it here on
The artist has shifted their perspective from defeat or despair to hope and determination, actively seeking out emotional fulfillment or happiness again.
This dry land
The singer still faces obstacles or challenges in finding love or happiness, but is determined to overcome them and find fulfillment.
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