The Dears made their return to the UK with an enthralling show at London’s Village Underground.

The band, led by husband-and-wife duo Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak, took to the stage to the sound of “The Imperial Death March”, its epic operatic sound setting the tone for the rest of the evening.

It took no time for the band to settle in, opening with “We Lost Everything” from their most recent studio album and clearly having fun with this form of psychedelic rock; complimented by an impressive light show creating an atmosphere befitting of the soundtrack.

Dipping into the archive, the Montreal natives played tracks spanning their 22-year career as a studio band. Lightburn called it a “reward, punishment, reward, punishment set – old song, new song, old song, new song”.

“5 Chords”, “Disclaimer” and “Here’s to the Death of Romance” follow before the hopelessly romantic “You and I are a Gang of Losers” saw Lightburn turn from the crowd directing his passion, performance and words to his wife, Yanchuk.