by Rick Krueger
The Dear Hunter first caught my attention when I saw them open for Coheed & Cambria and Porcupine Tree in 2009. Imagine a group of hardcore punk rockers who’ve raided their parents’ record collections, only to be captivated by the Beach Boys and Queen records they’ve found. It was hard-driving, deeply melodic, richly textured, over-the-top melodramatic, way impressive stuff.
Since then, I’ve happily followed TDH’s career, enjoying their Acts I-V concept albums, but more drawn to unrelated projects like their Color Spectrum EP set. This new EP, their first self-released project, distills what makes Casey Crescenzo and company’s music special into just 25 minutes and 6 “all killer no filler” tracks.
As always with these guys, if your attention drifts, you might think you’ve accidentally stumbled into a completely different song. For example, the agile Latin groove and warm, open-hearted verses of opener “The Right Wrong” slam directly into a stratospheric chorus of shreddy vocals, simultaneously putting the hardcore hammer down, then morphing into and out of a giddily rocking bridge in a flash. “Blame Paradise” encompasses a seriously badass beat, a off-kilter opening riff, call and answer vocal patter over surf-music guitar, an unstoppable harmony chorus, a spooky instrumental bridge, an ominous vocal/synth duet, and an atonal dead-stop finale. Whew!
“Beyond the Pale” slows things down in a riveting ballad that piles on the rich vocal harmonies, unexpected harmonic shifts, and synthesized strings and percussion. When it can’t do anything else, it collapses into stasis, then seques into “Shake Me (Awake),” an utterly glorious Brian Wilson pastiche for the emo generation (with Freddie Mercury-like rhymes and a vaudevillian softshoe bridge to boot).
“Witness Me” aims true at mid-tempo existential yearning, telling its tale through multiple vocal characters, the verses downshifting into a gorgeous synth turnaround before the theatrical chorus, the hardcore holler of the bridge, and the “keep dreaming” electronica-laced fade-out. The closing title track starts softly, climbing through muted verses to a floating chorus as a gently funky beat gains strength. Edgy, ascending guitars build to a big choral climax — only to wrap around to the song’s muted beginning, with a final half-verse just hanging there, suspended in mid-air.
And here’s the thing about The Dear Hunter’s music: as wildly disjunctive as all this sounds, the whole EP flows brilliantly from start to finish. Every new element is a surprise, even a shock, as it kicks in — but almost immediately it feels inevitable and right. This is great progressive punk-pop, made with open-hearted emotion, craft and commitment. When Crescenzo sings and TDH locks in around him, they’ll sweep you along with them, no matter how bumpy the ride gets.
All Is As All Should Be is available for download now on ITunes and Bandcamp. I completely missed the pre-order for physical formats (vinyl and CD), which are already sold out; here’s hoping a second pressing follows soon! The EP is released to streaming services on December 8.
Wow, when I first heard this, I wondered who or what lit a fire under this group’s collective backside. After watching the excellent film that accompanies this recording, I have to say it’s having Gavin Harrison behind the drum kit. As good as Pineapple Thief’s 2016 album Your Wilderness is, I think the versions from this show are better: tight, energetic, and riskier. And if you ever wondered where Bruce Soord came up with the band’s name, now you can find out. By the way, every song from Your Wilderness is performed here, except for “Where We Stood”. Go figure.
A lot of us fans of the classic Spock’s Beard lineup never thought we would see them reunite, let alone perform the double-album masterpiece, Snow. Well, Neal Morse managed to get all the Beardsters – past and current – together at his 2016 MorseFest, and they delivered a tremendous performance of Snow in its entirety. I’m probably biased (because I was there), but it is quite an emotional experience.
I approached this set with trepidation – it is the first recordings of Yes without the late Chris Squire participating. However, as I got into the music, I was very pleasantly surprised. Jon Davison does an excellent job on vocals and acoustic guitar, while Billy Sherwood fills Squire’s huge shoes. Steve Howe is still full of fire, and Geoff Downes is uniformly excellent on keyboards. They perform all of Drama (one of my favorite Yes albums), as well as “The Revealing Science of God” and “Ritual” from Topographic Oceans. Add in “And You and I”, “Heart of the Sunrise”, “Leaves of Green”, “Roundabout”, and “Starship Trooper”, and you have a set to satisfy any Yes lover. It definitely helps that Jay Schellen was able to play drums and assist Alan White. God bless him, but Alan’s timekeeping has gotten a little shaky over past few years. That said, this is a surprisingly strong set of performances from Yes.
Holy cow, this is a fun concert to watch! I wish I’d been there in June of this year when Jeff Lynne, supported by a crack band, played songs from every phase of his career, including The Traveling Wilburys. The love for Jeff from the huge crowd is evident, and he delivers an outstanding performance. I had forgotten just how many popular (and beautiful) songs he’s written. Takes me back to my high school days when ELO’s music was inescapable on the radio. How far we have fallen…. Anyway, this show had me grinning from ear to ear from start to finish.
Progarchy 