THE DEAR HUNTER

Favorite songs: "Life and Death" (5:46) (8/10), "The Tank" (4:39) (8/10), "What It Means to Be Alone" (4:50) (8/10).

3.5 stars rounded up for great production sound, creativity, and ambition--and for the reminder that when we die, we die alone.

That said, on to the separate song reviews: The Death and the Berth-opens with a promising film-score like piece of music, but then quickly becomes a surreal and beautiful violin piece. This violin foreshadows what will happen later on in the album, and it stuns you with its beauty, quickly getting you ready for this musical journey.

The Procession-a neat song, one of their heavier ones. Sounds similar to the City Escape from the first album, not better or worse. It's definitely very well thought out, however, and there are surprisingly a lot of things to find here. The lyrics are also very well written and do their purpose in the story (which I will not explain here, but look it up. It's definitely interesting).

The Lake and the River-a real gem of a song. The transition from The Procession to this one is mind-blowing and fun. This song starts with a surreal wonderland like feel...or one way I imagine it is like being inside a toy box. Weird, it must be the percussion used on this track. At around 3 minutes you are treated to some awesome stuffs, then it slows down, and at 3:40 you get a menagerie of shifting time signatures, then this beautiful 5/4 beat with sick bass. The song then slows down for a bit and repeats some of the chorus (again, strong lyrics.) The last two minutes, it goes into a somewhat depressing piano theme that is quickly interrupted by...what sounds like country/folk music and some train noises in the background. This part is extremely interesting, there's not much music out there like it, and the way it speeds up and transitions into the next track is solid gold.

The Oracles on the Delphi Express-this song is pure ballroom evil. Kinda scary. Reminds one of Genesis, specifically Willow Farm or certain segments of The Lamb. Similar lyrics too, and delivered with sweet sarcastic vocals. This song is a fun ride with an interesting bass drum pattern at 1:37 and some evil King Crimson like guitar. Then at 2:07 it gets to a fun jam. Great stuff here, and so far a lot of variety on the album.

The Church and the Dime-again, the transition between this track and the previous are flawless and not even noticeable. Might as well just be one song, this whole album. It kinda is. Either way, we arrive at what I think is the weakest track, but it is not a bad one. It just seems less inspired than other ones, but includes many interesting moments nonetheless, and is lyrically essential to the story. At no point does it drag, it's actually quite fun to jam to, but as a separate song, it's not something that would turn your attention to the band. The vocals are really passionate and the brass section does add a lot though.

The Bitter Suite 1 and 2-a surreal, ethereal opening. Pay particular attention to the chord changes. The vocals and lyrics are beautiful. When the drums come in, they lay down a solid and original beat. The cool part about this song is the transition to part 2, where it gets kinda jazzy and there's this really cool rhythm. This comes in at about 3:45. Sounds like something from the streets of New Orleans and at the same time Genesis-like.

The Bitter Suite 3-again, some more surreal sounds and vocals. The vocals can be strange, sometimes they sound a little cheesy, yet sometimes they sound heavy on the heart. When you imagine the character in the story saying this, it becomes much more powerful. And who is that drummer, he's not some crazy virtuoso like Gavin Harrison or Aaron Spears or Jojo Mayer, but his drums are heavy on the heart, and he is no doubt ridiculously talented. That persistent cymbal will eat at your soul! The beautiful music in the background will cure it though. The last minute and a half of this song is the greatest part, and solid beautiful post-rock gold, with some heavy A Perfect Circle meets Radiohead type atmosphere. That bass line also becomes more prominent and perpetual even. The stop is abrupt and beautiful.

Smiling Swine-this starts off like a Beatles track and ends up like a Queen track. But this song is so much fun and that guitar tone is great. The cuttime feel is also excellent. The chorus and lyrics are great as well, very strongly written, at about the two minute mark (the Queen sounding part).

Evicted-the feel of this song is the best part. That 5/4 groove is catchy and addictive despite being in an odd time. The snare rolls are particularly great. The lyrics and chorus are amazing, and the soft guitar throughout plays these beautiful little enlightening parts. The "If you need a little cash" part, is again, really moving. The last thirty seconds are also great, these guys have a habit at making beautiful endings.

Blood of the Rose-a very unique track with a chamber music feel. It's catchy, dark, gothic, and it is so interesting that this band can mix things up so much. The track is repetitive, but it serves its purpose and never gets tiring. It's full of these confusing yet beautiful moments with the violins and cellos. And the trumpet is great.

Red Hands-This song brings the beginning of the album back into play. It is so heartfelt and moving throughout and is a track you never tire of. The way he screams out the great lyrics towards the end is beautiful. This is a simple but enjoyable track, and one of the best on the album.

Where the Road Parts-my personal favorite track, because of the part at 2:30 onward. Amazing drumming and amazing post-rock feel with brilliant lyrics/vocals and this amazing sound overall. Listen for yourself. The opening is also amazing.

Dear Ms. Leading-back to Mars Volta type music, like the second track, but with cool violin parts. There is a sweet guitar solo here. Not really virtuoso but still tricky and difficult, and always awesome. Somewhat King Crimsonish.

Black Sandy Beaches-a track that grows on you and grows as it happens. Beautiful ending.

Vital Vessels Vindicate-surreal genesis like piano. Not a really powerful ending, but it is full of allusions to this album and the previous album, and definitely opens up the way for the next.

This is the second album of an on going (three albums as of this writing) coming-of-age tale. This particular chapter explores the narrator's first sexual experience, and the subsequent romance that blossoms (as well as his recovery from his mother's passing at the end of the previous album). This blossoming only comes from his perspective, as the woman he crushes on, Ms. Leading, is a prostitute. It took me many listens to come onto the story, but it was when I did that I started to truly appreciate and love this album.

One of the greatest strengths of this album is the song writing. I believe this to be one of the few albums that gets the idea of the concept album correct; each song tells a little story, contributing to the bigger concept, with no song being shoe-horned in to progress the tale. Each track has it's own sound depending on the subject matter, and the styles change quite a bit throughout, with some recurring themes to boot. "The Bitter Suite 3: Embrace" is when our narrator finally lays with Ms. Leading, and the track starts very timid and shy, but slowly climaxes as the two remove the clothes and go under the sheets, and phases into a spacey guitar section to close. Not much longer after comes "Blood Of the Rose", which is about his discovery of Ms. Leading's profession. This track is a very sombre Spanish styled song that is filled with jealous-spiteful anger.

My favorite track on the album is "Red Hands", which definitely seems to be the hit of the album as it has more plays than any other track on Spotify. This song is the narrators true confrontation, and sending off of Ms. Leading after his discovery of her profession. This track speaks to the naivety and adolescence of the narrator, however the sentiment is no less genuine. "Because you can't be caught red handed if you're not red handed" is the repeated main lyric of the track, and with each delivery it sounds even more serrated and spiteful than the last. It sounds a bit silly because of how forward it is, but at the same time it's so genuine that all I can feel is empathy.

Most prog-heads are going to dismiss this track since it pretty much is a straight-up rocker with hardly any subtlety. The incredibly catchy chorus of this song will have anyone who doesn't run-away laughing at it's sincerity singing in repeat for days. And much of this album lends itself to this semi-poprock leaning as there are no blazing solos, disorienting rhythm changes, or stair case falling drum solos. However, this album is no less progressive for it. As I've mentioned previously, there is quite an amalgamation of styles here, and the fact that they're bundled up into such a nice rocker makes this album an excellent prog-gateway album. There is a tasty lick here and there, and a few sprinkled in atmospheric moments that could leave any budding musical taste thirsty for more.

As for me, I like to bring this with me on car rides and belt along with it. I get wrapped up into the folds of confusion, passion, euphoria, and betrayal that is weaved through each track, and always look forward to my next listen once its over.

Although each of the 'Colors' in this nine-part capably stand on their own, 'Orange EP' feels much like a continuation of what was started on 'Red'. These two EPs offer the most straightforward rock experience of this entire concept. As a result, 'Orange' is one of the less memorable chapters, but as I have come to expect from The Dear Hunter, the music is consistent and enjoyable. For any newcomers to The Dear Hunter, their latest grand project as to write a nine part concept series about each color of the rainbow (and the two shades), and then write a few songs based on the feelings that the colors inspire. 'Orange' is a colour that shares the warmth of yellow and red, but lacks the passion or cheer of either, respectively. The music on 'Orange' captures this idea brilliantly. It takes the rock vibe of 'Red', and makes it upbeat. Bluesy riffs are commonplace here, and contrary to much of this band's work, the production is kept relatively straightforward. 'Echo' is a fine example of what 'Orange' is about; upbeat blues riffs playing underneath Casey Crescenzo's distinctive, theatrical vocal style. As one may have ascertained from the straightforward rock approach, this is the least involving album in the project, and I would say that it is my least favourite of the nine, although there's still good quality to these tunes. The songwriting is not particularly vibrant, but the production and execution is impressive enough to be worth an enjoyed listen or two.

The second in The Dear Hunter's most ambitious project yet, the 'Red EP' is a collection of four songs meant to represent that colour. When it was announced that this band was going to make a nine-album project about every colour on the spectrum, some people- including myself- were doubtful that they would manage to pull it off. Here they are however, with all of them released for people to enjoy and listen. Although the project as a whole is a major achievement, it's virtually assumed that not every 'colour' would be excellently represented. Although the 'Black EP' had a consistent record of strong songwriting and experimental edge, 'Red EP' comes off feeling less memorable, and even tame by comparison. The colour red is generally seen as a colour of anger, but the tone of the music here comes across more as frustration rather than rage.

As is typical for The Dear Hunter, the music fuses modern alternative rock/pop with progressive tendencies, and it comes off sounding adventurous and fresh. Usually, The Dear Hunter are focused on creating epic album,s but these EPs work best as collections of songs. For an EP that is supposed to be about anger, the music is remarkably catchy. The highlight 'Deny It All' has a great hook that stayed in my mind long after the EP was first over. Musically speaking, 'Red' is not particularly heavy or aggressive, but it has a more straightforward rock feel to it. It's not an approach that works particularly well for The Dear Hunter, although Casey Crescenzo's acrobatic vocals and warm arrangements are still here. This more rock-based energy would continue into the third EP, 'Orange'. 'Red' is one of the weaker albums in this vast project, but it offers some great hooks along the way.