There is something about the Dears’ Gang of Losers that hints that this Canadian sextet is about to break through to a whole new level. Evening out their sound from their previous two albums, Gang of Losers is full of songs that resonate loud and true, overflowing with hooks, intelligent lyrics, and a more direct approach than anything they’ve done previously.

If No Cities Left, the group’s 2004 breakthrough, was an artistic statement overflowing with ideas, Gang of Losers is about stripping it back to the central core of the Dears’ sound. As such, frontman Murray Lightburn’s warm and engaging voice is given a greater focus, while positive pop melodies abound on the likes of “Ticket to Immortality”, “Hate Then Love” and “Bandwagoneers”, with the aforementioned number featuring the repeated refrain “The world is really going to love you”.

But none of these cuts compare to the genius of “Whites Only Party” – the bounciest, happiest the Dears have ever sounded. If anything, it bears some resemblance to the Cure’s “Love Cats”, with striking melody and a playful rhythm. “You and I” is lovely, with piano acting as the grounding, while the closing “Find Our Way to Freedom” features a wonderful mariachi beat. Where No Cities Left was full of meandering sonic experiments, Gang of Losers shines through with its immediacy – not a single cut lasts over five minutes in length, and the structures of the songs are tighter, more instantaneous, and less deliberate.

There’s something very intuitive about this album. “There Goes My Outfit”, “Bandwagoneers”, “You and I are a Gang of Losers”, and “Whites Only Party” all examine themes of singularity, but the band sound incredibly together throughout Gang of Losers. Lightburn is the guiding light, his incredible baritone leading the way, as he hollers “Heaven knows that I’m a fake/Heaven knows that we’re all faking it out” towards the end of “Bandwagoneers”. But that’s the thing: the Dears are offering up no sense of pretence. They mean everything they say and do on Gang of Losers. That’s why it’s such a strong album; there’s an honesty in their approach, and the songs are outstanding as a result.