The Dears Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!
The Dears's Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! arrives as a renewed statement of orchestral indie-pop that balances earned urgency with bittersweet, resilient optimism. Across seven professional reviews the record earned an 82.5/100 consensus score, a response that frames the album as both a sonic evolution and a continuation of the band's signature chamber-rock sweep. Critics consistently praise the interplay of male/female vocals, the cinematic strings and brass, and the way reflection and hope sit side by side in the songwriting.
Reviewers agree that the best songs on Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! give the album its momentum: Gotta Get My Head Right is celebrated as a commanding opener, while Tears Of A Nation emerges repeatedly as the standout - an '80s-tinged, urgent anthem critics liken to post-punk grandeur. Other consistently noted highlights include Doom Pays and the title-song moments (Life Is Beautiful / Life Is Beautiful!), with appreciative mentions of quieter cuts such as Don't Go and the tender centrepieces that emphasize intimacy over spectacle. Professional reviews emphasize themes of resilience, socio-political commentary and personal reflection, praising how the band reframes darkness into celebratory, communal music.
While most critics offer admiring, measured takes that call this among The Dears' more assured records, some note risk in the band's brighter turn - a tradeoff between past gloom and newfound euphoric pop. That ambivalence registers in the reviews but does not undercut the consensus: the collection is worth attention for its standout tracks and mature, well-crafted arrangements. Below, detailed reviews unpack why critics say Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! is both a refreshing evolution and a reaffirmation of the band's strengths.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Tears Of A Nation
6 mentions
"Tears of a Nation sounds like Pet Shop Boys covering The Smiths"— The Skinny
Life Is Beautiful
1 mention
"The eponymous Life Is Beautiful is a duet with keyboardist Natalia Yanchak, slow-burning, tender and measured."— Montreal Rocks
Gotta Get My Head Right
7 mentions
"Opener "Gotta Get My Head Right" even showcases multiple parts"— PopMatters
Tears of a Nation sounds like Pet Shop Boys covering The Smiths
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Gotta Get My Head Right
Babe, We'll Find A Way
Doom Pays
Deep In My Heart
This Is How We Make Our Dreams Come True
Dead Contacts
Our Life
Tears Of A Nation
Tomorrow And Tomorrow
Life Is Beautiful!
Don't Go
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 7 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
The Dears return with Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! and it is characteristically bittersweet, a record that trades in orchestral pop and melancholic grandeur. The review singles out songs like Doom Pays and Tears of a Nation as standout moments, the former channelling glam-rock stomp with wailing sax and the latter evoking Pet Shop Boys covering The Smiths. There is praise for the duo's vocal trading and a sense that, twenty years on, they retain a vital, driving passion - those qualities make tracks such as Tomorrow And Tomorrow among the best songs on the album. The tone is admiring and measured, arguing that these best tracks deserve a wider UK audience.
Key Points
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Doom Pays is the best track for its glam-rock stomp, wailing sax and energetic production.
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The album's core strengths are its orchestral pop arrangements, melancholic vocal interplay, and enduring melodic passion.
Themes
Critic's Take
Patrick Gill writes in an observant, conversational register that highlights the album's best tracks while noting its risks. He points to Deep in My Heart as infectious, praises the urgent, darker energy of Tears of a Nation, and singles out Our Life as the tender, familiar centrepiece - all while insisting the band is willing to expand its universe. The prose remains measured and specific, situating these best songs on Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! as evidence of both continuity and boldness.
Key Points
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The best song, Deep in My Heart, stands out for its infectious groove and unexpected rhythmic nods to Fleetwood Mac and Dave Matthews Band.
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The album's core strengths are its willingness to take musical risks and its thematic blend of intimate partnership and political urgency.
Themes
Critic's Take
In this review John Graham hears a striking shift: The Dears' Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! trades the doom of Lovers Rock for an almost celebratory, orchestral indie-pop sound. He singles out Gotta Get My Head Right as the abrupt opener that sets the tone and Babe, We’ll Find A Way as the first single where Lightburn’s vocals and falsetto are fully on display. Other standout moments he flags are the saxophone-laced funk of Doom Pays, the Stone Roses-tinged Dead Contacts, and the ’80s-tinged Tears Of A Nation, all of which underpin his claim that this ranks among the band’s top five records. The tone is appreciative and measured, arguing the arrangements are crafted with thoughtful care and love, which explains why listeners asking "best songs on Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!" should start with those tracks.
Key Points
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Gotta Get My Head Right is the best entry because it abruptly sets the album’s tone with sweeping instrumentation and a clear sonic shift.
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The album’s core strengths are its orchestral arrangements, thoughtful craftsmanship, and an optimistic lyrical turn that refreshes The Dears’ sound.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his measured, admiring tone Darryl Sterdan presents The Dears' Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! as a stirring, confident set whose best songs - notably the title track Life Is Beautiful! and the uplifting opener Gotta Get My Head Right - capture the band's blend of passion and urgency. Sterdan frames these tracks as part of a record that locks into the group's signature orchestral, dark-pop sound while sounding forward-looking, songs that question and then celebrate this fleeting time on Earth. The review repeatedly returns to the idea that the music is supportive and uplifting, making those standout songs feel like anthems for resilience and affirmation.
Key Points
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The title track is the album's emotional centerpiece, embodying its mantra-like affirmation.
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The album's strengths are its confident orchestral arrangements and uplifting, supportive songwriting.
Themes
Critic's Take
There is an unmistakable bloom at the heart of Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!, where The Dears trade some of their old gloom for radiant, euphoric pop. The reviewer singles out Tears Of A Nation as the album's standout, a pulsing, ’80s-inflected post-punk anthem that breaks the mood and proves the band can evolve without losing themselves. Songs like Gotta Get My Head Right and Babe, We’ll Find A Way are celebrated for their joyous incantations and fully realized optimism, lending the best tracks on the album an immediacy and emotional fulfillment. Overall, the record reframes struggle into beauty, turning pain into transcendence and delivering some of the best songs on Life Is Beautiful! with trademark intensity and newfound brightness.
Key Points
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“Tears Of A Nation” is the standout because it breaks the album’s mood with a bold, pulsing post-punk anthem.
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The album’s core strengths are its shift from darkness to radiant optimism, strong melodic immediacy, and emotional catharsis.
Themes
Critic's Take
The Dears sound like seasoned players on Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!, where the best songs - Gotta Get My Head Right and Tears Of A Nation - reveal a leaner, more purposeful band voice. Steve Gerrard writes with warm authority, noting how opener Gotta Get My Head Right reintroduces the group with steady, lived-in vocals and organ thrums, and how Tears Of A Nation trades forced solemnity for earned urgency. He praises quieter closing moments such as the duet Life Is Beautiful and the subdued plea of Don't Go, arguing the intimate beats often outshine grand gestures. The review frames the record as invitational rather than spectacular, a confident, emotionally resonant set of best tracks on the album.
Key Points
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The best song feels like the opener, which reintroduces The Dears as seasoned, steady players with lived-in vocals.
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The album’s core strengths are its mature intimacy, clear purpose, and a balance of orchestral sweep with quieter emotional moments.
Themes
Critic's Take
I was completely enchanted by The Dears' songwriting on Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!, and the reviewer's affection lands squarely on songs like This Is How We Make Our Dreams Come True and Life Is Beautiful!. The record's mid‑album heart — exemplified by the aching Dead Contacts and rousing Tears Of A Nation - supplies the biggest emotional punch, where strings, brass and Murray A. Lightburn's earnest vocals raise goosebumps. For anyone asking "best tracks on Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful!", these are the moments that stick, each one succinct, perfectly arranged and life-affirmingly human.
Key Points
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The best song is This Is How We Make Our Dreams Come True because its arrangement and lyrics hit the reviewer most directly and emotionally.
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The album's core strengths are consistent, perfectly arranged songwriting, orchestral arrangements, and Murray A. Lightburn's earnest, life-affirming vocals.