The Dear and Departed

Like a mournful violin melody cutting through a chaotic symphony, the band's dark aesthetic and esoteric approach to their mix of punk and new wave has more in common with The Cure, The Church and Sisters Of Mercy than the increasingly pedestrian sub-par offerings cluttering up the pages of the monthly music magazines. They are a fresh breath in a room filled with stagnant air.

The Dear & Departed have started at a pace most bands would never finish. In their short existence they have built a devoted following and boast quite a story, sharing stages with AFI and Avenged Sevenfold in America and overseas and laying their hat down in their adopted Orange County hometown to craft their lush debut album.

Chris Vrenna, whose production resume includes U2, Smashing Pumpkins and Killing Joke in addition to his work as drummer/programmer for Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Gnarls Barkley, is producing the band's debut album, with additional production from AFI's Jade Puget.

It is a story most Hollywood scribes would kill to have written. Dan Under, Joel Bourne and Simon O'Gorman have survived a lot together since moving to America from Australia and New Zealand. They have slept on couches, in vans and in squats and watched "sure thing" record deals fall apart.

There have been triumphs as well, including patronage from platinum bands (like AFI, who invited Dan Under to sing on "Decemberunderground") and mutual respect from cult artists alike.

In a short amount of time, The Dear & Departed has won an international fanbase and developed even further into a potent outfit that mixes in disparate influences from New Order to Placebo.

Backed by boutique label Record Collection, and with new members Darren Parkinson and Welsh import David Williams firmly in place, The Dear & Departed's darkly romantic artistic vision will prove as unstoppable as its members determination to be heard.

afi, avenged sevenfold, new order, placebo