Murray Lightburn
Murray A. Lightburn | |
|---|---|
| Lightburn performing with The Dears in London, July 13, 2007. Lightburn performing with The Dears in London, July 13, 2007. | |
| Background information | |
| Born | |
| Genres | indie rock |
| Occupation | singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Murray A. Lightburn is a Canadian musician and composer, best known as the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for The Dears.[1]
Lightburn has been called "the black Morrissey" due to his vocal similarity (and shared penchant for somewhat dark lyrics) to the former The Smiths lead singer.[2] Incidentally, The Dears toured as Morrissey's opening act during Morrissey's solo tour in 2006.[3]
In 2013, he released the solo album Mass: Light.[4] His second solo album, Hear Me Out, was released in 2019.[5]
His album Once Upon a Time in Montreal was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.[6]
As a composer, Murray has produced original music for films including Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story,[7] I Like Movies, and Too Much Sleep. Other credits include scores for TV series Near or Far (to be released in 2024 on CBC Gem), Black Life: Untold Stories, and original soundtrack for We Happy Few including the theme for the Lightbearer DLC.
At the 13th Canadian Screen Awards in 2025, he won the award for Best Original Music in a Documentary for his work on Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story.
Discography
[edit | edit source]Studio albums
[edit | edit source]- 2013 - Murray A. Lightburn's MASS:LIGHT
- 2019 - Hear Me Out
- 2023 - Once Upon a Time in Montreal
Singles
[edit | edit source]- 2018 Belleville Blues
Personal life
[edit | edit source]In 2005, Lightburn married fellow band member, keyboardist/singer Natalia Yanchak.[8] They have two children named Neptune and Apollo Lightburn. Murray is also a film photography enthusiast.[9]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ "Murray Lightburn embraces the loneliness". Montreal Gazette, August 16, 2013.
- ^ "Beyond Black Morrissey: The Dears hark back to warm and sunny days". National Post, October 2, 2015.
- ^ "The Dears Diva-nize Morrissey". Stereogum, October 25, 2006.
- ^ "Murray A. Lightburn – MASS: LIGHT". Exclaim!, August 19, 2013.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "2023 Polaris Music Prize long list: Feist, Jessie Reyez and more". CBC Music, June 13, 2023.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "Never Destroy Us: An Interview with Natalia Yanchak of the Dears". PopMatters, March 22, 2011.
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