Michelle Shiers on December 11th, 2015

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Montreal orchestral indie-rockers The Dears have lost none of the cinematic, cerebral intensity that has characterized their music for going on two decades.

The band visited the Bootleg Theater on Wednesday night in support of their sixth album, “Times Infinity Volume One,” released in September on Dangerbird Records. They took the stage to the strains of Doris Day’s “Whatever Will Be, Will Be” and opened their set with “We Lost Everything” and “I Used to Pray” from the new album.

Singer Murray Lightburn’s powerful Albarn-ish baritone voice gave a dramatic edge to songs that already have plenty of drama to begin with. The Dears’ knack for indulgent baroque-pop filled with melodies that both soar high and tunnel deep remains intact with their new tracks, but it was older ones, especially from their 2003’s “No Cities Left” that got the greatest fan response.

“Who Are You, Defenders Of The Universe” and “Lost In The Plot” retained every bit of cinematic sensibility. Keyboardist Natalia Yanchak (also wife to Lightburn) occasionally lent her voice, which added the notion of a woman flirting with despair to their vocal backdrop. Drummer Jeff Luciani brought so much fluid feel to the band’s unique time signatures, driving The Dears into one swelling anthem after another.

Eschewing anything in the way of stage banter, the Dears closed their main set with “Onward and Downward,” their new album’s closer, and after a few minutes of fans clapping and stomping, Lightburn returned to do an unplugged and in-crowd version of “There Goes My Outfit” from “Gang Of Losers.” He then hopped back on stage to begin “The Second Part,” during which the remainder of the band returned. They closed the night with “The Death Of All The Romance” and even with the show surprisingly underattended, the Dears retained their endearing grandiosity.

Rising L.A. quartet Dear Boy opened.

Photos by Michelle Shiers