As a devoted fan of indie rock outfit Twothirtyeight (and having worn out their other three excellent albums), I was beyond excited to find this album at a reasonable price on the Internet, as it has become increasingly hard to find nowadays. And having received it, I must say it was well worth the long hours of searching it took to find it.

I will say first that this album is most definitely Twothirtyeight, as the prescence of the wonderfully woven guitar melodies of Chris Staples and Kevin Woerner on tracks such as "Things Mistaken" and "Number Four" that became the band's distinctive signature can attest to. However, the main difference between Missing You Dearly and later Twothirtyeight albums is the overall tone of the album itself. While Regulate the Chemicals and You Should Be Living featured mainly moody and even cynical (what some might label as "emo") overtones, Missing You Dearly is relatively more upbeat and hopeful, as the lyrics and especially the music reflect in true indie rock fashion.

The album kicks off with "I'll Never Do That," easily one of the greatest indie rock songs that have ever graced my ears. Much in the fashion of their later "Ears and Fingers," the lyrics are concise yet pointed enough to make no elaboration necessary, easily showcasing Staples' talent as a songwriter even this early in his career. "Things Mistaken" follows, putting forth some brilliant guitar work and providing an early example of Twothirtyeight's knack for skillfully matching the tone of the lyrics with that of the music. Its length (7:11) hinders it a bit, but not enough to stop it from being a great listen.

Upon listening to "Colorblind," it becomes evident that Twothirtyeight was a lot more openly spiritual on this record, which works greatly in the album's favor. The spirituality is subtle enough to not be sappy, and it's refreshing to hear the voice of a songwriter as gifted as Staples at expressing human tendencies praising our God. As this and future songs such as "You Made A Way For Moses" attest to, Staples is capable of writing some of the most honest praise songs ever recorded, and it's too bad he isn't still up to this (though I do still recommend his work as Discover America).

"Number Four" offers more Twothirtyeight guitar goodness with a riff that just never can seem to get old, while "Kevin" is a wonderfully honest tribute to the band's former bass player, Kevin Glass, who tragically died in a 1997 car accident (and who the record is dedicated to). "Stripped of All" is a concisely written tune with a catchy verse riff that explodes into the heaviest chorus riff I've ever heard on a Twothirtyeight record before returning to the head-nodding verse, a trend that continues into what many believe to be one of the most memorable indie-emo songs ever, "Chase What Makes Your Heart Flutter." The lyrics hint at the spirit of later Twothirtyeight while, sonically, the song follows the same pattern of the previous tune, except that it slows down considerably before a wild mini-solo signals the song's eruption into a rockin' outro.

If this album has anything resembling a weak point, it would have to be "Well So Deep." Although a nice upbeat song that fits the tone of the album, it seems just a tad forced and filler to really be a solid cut. However, the stellar Twothirtyeight sound returns on "Subtle Sacrifice," once again showing how the band shined with a more hopeful outlook and a more true indie rock sound. From there, a bit of an abrupt transition is made into the acoustically-based (but still rock-heavy) "Trials," a song lyrically in the spirit of "Colorblind," but with that epic end-of-the-show anthem feel. As Staples softly sings, "Deliver me by your strength. Keep me patient in my wait. Place in me a fear of You. I've fallen closer, Lord, to You," the listener feels very much a part of an intimate, honest worship session. It's a perfect way to round out this impressive debut-if only it were the actual close to the album. Instead, the ironically Pedro the Lion-tinged "My Friend Pedro" rounds out the tracklist. It's a great song in itself (and catchy beyond belief), but it seems a bit out of place on the record, at least in its position on the tracklist. "Trials" would have been much better for a closer, but "Pedro" is a fine addition to the album at any rate.

Enclosed as a hidden track, as a tribute to Kevin Glass, is "Yellow Carpet," a song penned and sung by Glass himself that originally appeared along with an early version of "Colorblind" on their independent Tomorrow EP. It's a bit rough, as it was recorded on a 4-track, but it's a fine piece of work. The first strains of "Yellow Carpet" strongly resemble Regulate the Chemicals-era Twothirtyeight before the song, and its midpoint explodes into some seriously slammin' guitars for Twothirtyeight while the dreary lead guitar solos over the chaos, making for a unique and enjoyable experience which wouldn't quite be repeated by the band in future releases.

All in all, if you can manage to find it somewhere, this album is worth your time, and, in good condition, is more than likely a collector's item. Those who enjoyed the beautifully crafted guitar harmonies of later Twothirtyeight but found the tone of such albums to be a bit moody and bitter for their tastes will undoubtedly wish to pick up this acclaimed band's stellar but sorely overlooked debut.