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The Dear Hunter's full length debut album Act II: The
Meaning Of And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading is the follow
up to the Boston based rock quartet's debut EP Act I: The Lake
South The River North. Like Act I, Act II has
a rock opera frame where each track is descriptive of a scene
that forms a complete story when all the songs are strung together.
In this case, the story is about a boy whose lust guides him to
a bordello where he is beguiled by the charms of Ms. Leading.
The story's themes reflect on the decay of innocence and trust,
and the outcome is a deep sense of disillusionment impaled by
hate. The music is emblematic of modern rock syntheses with entangling
guitar riffs ribbed by elements of country-folk shadings from
the banjo performed by Phil Crescenzo, classic harp inlays
played by Krysten Keehes, and chamber-jazz threads of the
french horn and trumpet plotted by Jason Belcher. The instrument
parts are melodically bolted and all are visceral to building
intensity and suspense in the story.
Produced, engineered and mixed by the band's lead singer, songwriter
and creator Casey Crescenzo, Act II is imaginative,
heady and emotional. The chord shifts dimple and thorn the movements
making curves in the tempos while Crescenzo's vocals clench and
soar across the melodic folds. His vocal rises enhance the intensity
and trajectory of the oblique chords implanting episodes of resonance
and retraction. The songs are in a constant state of flux with
rousing transitions and melodic phrases that ease the flow of
the changes like in the song "The Bitter Suite" which
has 3 parts - "Meeting Ms. Leading", "Through The
Dime", and "Embrace". The melody begins as a soulful
piano and vocal broth that trails into a Fosse-style choreography
of prancing jazz piano, horns and vocals. The music builds into
vibrant top hat splashes and a series of teased guitar flourishes
that bulk up and recede periodically and then trickle down to
a soulful vocal and piano interlude. The instruments and vocal
choreography are complex and make the song manifold and multi-textured
holding the listener's attention.
The four members of The Dear Hunter are multi-instrumentalist
Casey Crescenzo, guitarist Erick Serna, keyboardist Luke
Dent, and his brother and drummer Sam Dent who also
plays the glockenspiel, timpani and tubular bells. The band incorporates
sections of string arrangements by violinist Matt Tobin
and cellists Philip Wolf and Brandon Brooks who
add billowing effects and orchestral tones on tracks like "The
Death And The Berth," "Blood Of The Rose," and
"Vital Vessle Vindicates." Slices of classical piano
and lava-rapt vocals modem the finessed tempo changes on tracks
like "Smiling Swine" and "The Procession."
The chord progressions and vocal exchanges are gripping as they
provide intensity and suspense in the music's choreography particularly
on the track "The Oracles On The Delphi Express." The
glockenspiel chimes on "The Lake And The River" give
the song a sunny vista along the vicissitudes which thicken and
release planting crimps along the movements and creating a dialogue
in the country-soul mix of acoustic guitars and jamboree of percussive
stomps.
Crescenzo wrote all the lyrics for the songs and "The Lake
And The River" illustrates the album's main theme of disillusionment
as Crescenzo professes, "You'll believe what you are led
to believe/In the hands of ghosts we're never responsible/ Wait
to see what you're meant to see/ The veil lifts when you expose
your soul/ Pray'd I would leave this place someday…Begging
my God to make the wheels go round/ Eat so much but I never get
full/ Earth opened up and swallow you whole." Crescenzo uses
symbolism to portray human behavior like a philosopher. The lyrics
can be applied to anyone's life, not just the boy in the story
who is beguiled by a prostitute, because prostitution is symbolic
of that factor in life which causes disillusionment. It can be
found in politics, sports, entertainment, anything that involves
human interaction even dealing with parents. Act II leaves
the listener feeling hopeful that not every life experience will
result in a corrosion of faith when the album concludes with the
sounds of the open sea, it's like a portal to fresh air.
The Dear Hunter's latest release Act II: The Meaning Of And
All Things Regarding Ms. Leading, is a modern rock alloy that
coalesces teased guitar riffs with orchestral implements, jazz
incisions, classical filigrees, and country broods. The vacillating
intervals and bends in the melodies are choreographed to contour
the vocal steps. Artistically and intellectually, the album reaches
a challenging level of excellence. The songs travel into each
other so none of them stand above the others. Like a rock opera,
all the tracks are integrally linked to each other and the album
has greater appreciation as a whole. The Dear Hunter's propensity
to create musical sagas is still a vital spark in the band's impetus
and creativity. The band has the capability to translate these
sagas to an audience like only veritably seasoned musicians can
achieve.
-Susan Frances
Track Listing:
1. The Death And The Berth
2. The Procession
3. The Lake And The River
4. The Oracles On The Delphi Express
5. The Church And The Dime
6. The Bitter Suite (Meeting Ms. Leading and Through The Dime)
7. The Bitter Suite (Embrace)
8. Smiling Swine
9. Evicted
10. Blood Of The Rose
11. Red Hands
12. Where The Road Parts
13. Dear Ms. Leading
14. Black Sandy Beaches
15. Vital Vessle Vindicates
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