The Dear Hunter – Act I: The Lake South The River North / 2006 Triple Crown / 8 Tracks / http://www.thedearhunter.com / http://www.triplecrownrecords.com / Reviewed 05 December 2006

The Dear Hunter start off their “Act I” in an interesting way with a meshing of a multiple set of vocals that has some commonality with the work of “Bohemian Rhapsody”-era Queen. While one vocal does end up dominating during this sub-two minute track, the presence of the multiple vocals sticks with listeners well after the track ends. During “Battesimo Del Fuoco”, a class sound is imbued on the band even considering that the track was recorded in the current time period.

The second track, “The Lake South” has a much more carnival like atmosphere to the track. In fact, one can almost make out the presence of a soundtrack-like composition laid into the track by The Dear Hunter. It is during “City Escape” where The Dear Hunter break away from any conceptions that listeners of the disc may have about The Dear Hunter up to that point. In this track, The Dear Hunter add a few minutes to the track and create something that is nearly completely tied to the current period of emo music. There are still hints of the classical influences that the band has shown on the previous two tracks of “Act I”, but what is dominant during “City Escape” is something that is much newer and easier for listeners to latch onto. The band does not have tracks that could easily make it onto rock radio, but it seems like with “Act I” that The Dear Hunter is attempting to wedge themselves into an Interpol meets Radiohead like sound.

The band does have a high amount of talent during each of the tracks on the album, but it takes a number of tracks for the act to create and maintain their own style. One of the things that may be problematic to listeners is the fact that all of the songs after the two introductory songs on the album are very long. Each of the following 6 tracks nearly or completely passes over the six minute mark. While The Dear Hunter is able to create differing styles and approaches during this album, individuals might just not have the attention span necessary to stick with these quite long tracks. For those individuals that absolutely loved the older recordings of The Mars Volta, The Dear Hunter may just be the band to pick up. However full the compositions may be during tracks like “The Inquiry of Ms. Terri”, brilliant moments are few and far between for The Dear Hunter.

Top Tracks: The Inquiry of Ms. Terri, Battesimo Del Fuoco

Rating: 5.6/10

[JMcQ]