This is the sound of Canadian sextet the Dears beginning to work themselves out – released shortly after their End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story debut, the Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique EP delivers four songs that combine the band’s pop elements with symphonic intent.

Perhaps it’s the brief span of Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique that makes it so much stronger than the band’s debut. Or, perhaps, the songs are simply stronger and more complete. Opener “Heathrow or Deathrow” manages to combine a dark presence with a genuinely catchy tune, something that the band simply couldn’t get quite right on their debut effort, but would later use brilliantly on No Cities Left.

Rolling drum patterns and mysterious keys dominate the opener, as the guitars fall apart then come together again. “Autonomy” is one of the most beguiling moments the band have come up with, all grace and beauty, delivered with an Elbow-like beauty. “No Return” is probably a touch too enigmatic and not tight enough, while the unsurprisingly acoustic “Acoustic Guitar Phase” offers up threadbare beauty.

It’s true that Murray Lightburn is an enigmatic frontman capable of a stunning vocal display, and he’s really beginning to push his vocals on Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique. As a sign of what was to come on No Cities Left, “Autonomy” and “Heathrow or Deathrow” are indicators of the combination of pop nous and romantic orchestration.