The Dear Hunter - Act 1: The Lake South the River North
Rating
RIYL
SilverchairThe Mars Volta
Jeff Buckley
DeVotchKa
Codeseven
Tracklist
1. Battesimo Del Fuoco2. The Lake South
3. City Escape
4. The Inquiry Of Ms. Terri
5. 1878
6. The Pimp And The Priest
7. His Hands Matched His Tongue
8. The River North
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You've never heard a debut quite like The Dear Hunter's Act 1: The Lake South, The River North. Sure, it's almost impossible that you haven't heard the sounds found on this record before, but the catch is, you've never heard them put together quite like this.
It's almost impossible not to think of critical darlings and over-self-indulgers The Mars Volta for nearly the entire length of "City Escape," which has everything The Mars Volta has, right down to the brief quiet electronic near-noise interlude, but minus the penchant for going off the deep end and delving into the vast recesses of vacuous boredom. The vocals also don't grate on the listener as much. In fact, the song maintains the listener's attention for its entire length, making it miles better than the past two The Mars Volta releases. Take notes, because this is how you write an interesting six-minute track.
Of course, it is almost necessary to jump right to the third track when reviewing this disc, as the first two tracks act simply as introductions. It is difficult to recall an album using two intro tracks, but they're nicely done here. "Battisimo del Fuoco" can appear to be either a fine display of the subtlety of vocal phrasing or a complete waste of time, because no one cares that "the flame is gone, the fire remains." That doesn't really matter, though, because "The Lake South" is heavily in the DeVotchKa/Beirut vein and I, for one, couldn't be happier, as DeVotchKa has quickly climbed the ladder in my list of favorite bands.
However, after "City Escape," The Dear Hunter truly begins to take on a sound entirely its own, fusing more The Mars Volta love with hefty doses of Codeseven, Cursive, and Silverchair thrown into the mix. It's a very disparate group of influences that mastermind Casey Crescenzo brings together to near-perfection. The album is fragile, yet powerful, as Crescenzo not only sings his heart out, but also writes some of the most interesting music of the year. There honestly is not much wrong with The Lake South, The River North, aside from the typo on the side of the case.
It's becoming increasingly rare to hear an album that makes you crave the band's next release. Rarer still is the album that makes you check on their history to find bands in which the members have previously partaken. I've never heard The Receiving End of Sirens, but they might just get thrown into my list of "bands to check out," even if I never listen to anything they do post-2005. But the rarity of The Dear Hunter doesn't stop there. No, sir. The Dear Hunter makes me positively giddy to hear past, present, and new releases from Beirut, Ben Folds, Brazzaville, Jeff Buckley, Call Me Ishmael, Codeseven, Coheed and Cambria, Decibully, DeVotchKa, Dredg, Incubus, The Mars Volta, Paulson, Silverchair, Skeleton Key, and even, at times during "The Pimp and the Priest," Panic! At the Disco, and untold numbers of other bands simply by picking up on the very essence of what made these bands so appealing and putting them all together into one tiny little EP packed with more zeal and pleasantry than the newest of politicians. Never have I heard an album that brought out as much passion to hear and seek out music by artists I at one time adored but for, one reason or another, don't listen to nearly enough anymore, quite like The Dear Hunter has done here. Enough cannot be said.
An absolute delight, The Lake South, The River North is genuine, ingenious, well-crafted, marvelous, masterful, and much, much more. This is one of those albums where you will hear something new with every listen, no matter how often you listen to it. We all know those make for the best albums anyway. Casey Crescenzo has firmly established himself as a one-man musical wrecking crew whose vision is too pure for a world so worn with bland, run-of-the-mill, same-old-same-old, day-after-day drudgery in every aspect of our waking lives.
--Ben Rice
Comments
Manchester, England
Tucson, AZ
Anytown USA
You play to win the game.
"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against
Toronto, Ontario
"Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative."
MySpace / Facebook
Austin
The Daily Galaxy
An elephant that never forgets...to kill!
AZ
www.myspace.com/arcoftheaurora
nj
Raleigh, NC
josh.hofer
corruptedlens.net
twitter.com/josh_hofer
flickr.com/photos/corruptedlens
Wiltshire, UK
Colorado
Cincinnati, OH
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
This album packs orchestral instrumentals, low-fi noise portions, an impressive array of unconventional instruments and song structures for a rock record, a number of different vocal styles from quiet and reserved to loud and aggressive, and a good array of other qualities.
They tried so hard to situate themselves far away from the norm that they made an album that not only alienated potential fans, but also existing fans. Meanwhile, Mr. Credenzo has managed to write and execute this masterpiece using a lot of the elements I would say these two bands have in common.
Just throwing that out there.
"(Hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!) Alright alright alright! (Hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!) Ah, ah, ah, ah! (Hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!) Alright alright alright! (Hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!) Ah, ah, ah, ah!"
Charleston, SC
New Jersey
when i see it in your eyes
i just want to go blind
Anyway, I liked this a ton.