The Dear & Departed

Posted by Steven Robertshaw on 10-Mar-08 @ 04:38 PM

HQ: Los Angeles, CA, by way of the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia
NOW PLAYING: Something Quite Peculiar (SCIENCE; sciencerecords.net)
WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: On Something Quite Peculiar, the Dear & Departed traffic in stylized neo-new wave by fusing pop melodies with goth subject matter. Think the Cure, but with a 2007 makeover.
YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE? AFI / I Am Ghost / Kill Hannah

STORY: Amy Sciarretto
PHOTO: Tim Harmon

If someone had told Dan Under six years ago that getting an AFI tattoo would've changed the course of his life forever, he would've laughed right in your face.

"I met Davey [Havok] at a Bauhaus show in Pomona, California, over two years ago," remembers the Dear & Departed vocalist Dan Under of the duo's chance meeting. "I was doing demos in L.A., and I needed a lift. He was recording Decemberunderground in L.A., we got to talking [and] he offered [me a ride.] We got lost and ended up driving and talking for hours. Since then, we've gotten super-close, which is odd, since I've been a fan of AFI for a long time. I got the tattoo way before I met any of them, and now we're best friends!"

Havok, in turn, introduced D&D to AFI guitarist Jade Puget, who co-produced the goth-tinged, neo-nu wave opus Something Quite Peculiar, alongside Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails fame, proving that serendipity would strike twice for the L.A. transplants. "We had hired a producer who canceled a week before we were supposed to start recording due to personal problems," remembers Under. "We didn't have plan B because so much preparation went into plan A. That was a kick in the nuts, and we were running against the wind. By chance, someone at our label knew Chris Vrenna, contacted him and he was into it."

It's obvious why powerhouses like Puget and Vrenna were attracted to the Dear & Departed's music: The band modernizes English new wave on Something Quite Peculiar by channeling synthy melodies ("Hometown Hero"), gothy guitars ("Tonight's The Night") and dark-hued lyrics about the "unfortunate things that life throws your way." Under thanks his dad for the shape his music has taken, saying, "We all have an English upbringing, and my dad introduced me to bands like Buzzcocks, the Jam, Duran Duran and New Order. We have a love of that sound in common."

The Dear & Departed have had a string of good luck since coming to America, but it's not because they carry around an unlimited supply of four-leaf clovers and rabbit feet; it's because they spent years struggling and sacrificing. After all, the members all migrated from different corners of the world, left behind their friends and family and settled dubiously in California to make the band work.

"We wanted more out of life than small towns in New Zealand and Australia could give us," admits Under, looking back with clarity. "Not to sound cliché, but we followed the dream we had out of the surroundings we were in. Yes, it's been a bumpy road, but we're all happy." ALT