The Dears, led by husband & wife duo Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak, have released “I Know What You’re Thinking And It’s Awful,” the third single from their forthcoming release Lovers Rock. The full-length comes out on May 15, digitally via Dangerbird Records. The vinyl edition will be available at retail outlets worldwide on August 21.

Murray Lightburn on “I Know What You’re Thinking And It’s Awful:”

“I Know What You’re Thinking…” while a nationwide manhunt dominated headlines and captured his imagination. “This is a song that came in rather suddenly,” he says. “I woke up one morning and there it was, playing in my head. The news story of a manhunt for a couple of teenage kids who were charged with 2nd degree murder played in the background. I finished the song as news broke that two male bodies found were believed to be them. I am not at all saying the song is about this story, only that I was totally obsessed with the story as I wrote this song.”

Natalia Yanchak adds, “This is our ‘The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get’—a dark, unsettling, and unlikely pop ballad.”

“There’s a direct line between the sort of doominess of No Cities Left and this album,” Lightburn says. “You could go straight from Lovers Rock to No Cities Left and it’s like they’re interlocked. But it’s a different kind of doom. Around 2001, it felt like, ‘We have no control. We don’t know what’s going to happen next.’ Now it’s a doom that’s within our grasp. It’s in the air. It’s between us. But we do nothing about it.”

“The question we’re asking in the music is, ‘how do we navigate so much bullshit in this world?’” says Lightburn. “We’re still playing this dumb rock music. But there’s always gonna be a little twist of the knife, cutting into something deep to make you feel like you’re alive. To say, ‘I know what you’re going through. And I’m hearing you, and I’m with you.’ That’s what the music is supposed to do.”

The Dears
Live Dates

11/19 – Cambridge, UK @ Portland Arms
11/21 – Glasgow, UK @ Drygate Theatre
11/22 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
11/23 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange
11/24 – London, UK @ The Garage
11/25 – Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach

Pre-order Lovers Rock here