Since leaving his previous band The Receiving End Of
Sirens following their 2005 full-length Between
the Heart And The Synapse, Casey Crescenzo has more than proven himself as
a singer-songwriter. Crescenzo formed side project The Dear Hunter, whose ongoing Act
series (Act 3: Life In Death, the
most recent addition to the series was released in 2009) has proven he can
deliver a series of albums with an overarching story and thematic content. The Act series also displayed a growing
signature sound for the band, with a theatrical element and horn section. Following
Act 3, he released The Color Spectrum, a series of nine EPs
each corresponding to and interpreting one of the colors of the color spectrum
(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, white, and black.) The nine
EPs displayed a wide array of musical stylings, and showcased Crescenzo’s versatility
as a songwriter. Since, Crescenzo has
proven himself to be one of the most creative and unique songwriters already,
the next step was for him to create a single, standalone record with his The
Dear Hunter project, something that he had not yet done.
Thus, Migrant,
was born. The band’s most recent full-length, produced by Crescenzo himself and
featuring his own brother on drums, is exactly the kind of record that a band
makes when it has absolutely no pressure on them. It shows a progression from
the band’s previous releases while still maintaining the artistic integrity
that got the band that position in the first place.
The formative notes of album opener “Don’t Let Me
Bring You Down” comes in the form of a sinister-sounding orchestra, before
breaking into a piano composition not dissimilar from the theme to Square Enix’s
video game series Kingdom Hearts. The song combines all the elements of
multi-instrumentalism that have made Casey Crescenzo known as one of the most
talented musicians and composers in the scene.
The album’s unquestioned highlight comes in “Shame,”
a track that could easily be confused for a Bond theme song. With a string
orchestra battling a beautifully constructed piano and keyboard base, the instrumentation
gives Crescenzo’s vocals a hint of a sinister nature. “Shame, that you couldn’t suffer the blame.
Cause now it’s the only way that you could find a fix to mend these lies,” he croons
in the song’s repeated refrain, in what I imagine to be in a sneer that recent
Bond villain Raoul Silva would be proud of.
Crescenzo’s improved vocals are apparent especially
on the album’s two singles, “Whisper” and “An Escape,” as he soars overtop the
complex instrumentation, and leaves his own unique mark on the songs and their
lyrics. As Crescenzo sing “On the greatest intentions that we’re too stubborn
to let go,” on Whisper, his voice achieves a power as-of-yet unseen from him,
and the backing instrumentation responds accordingly, swelling to a climax.
The album reaches its climax right at the beginning
of its second half with the rocking “Girl” a song quivering with bravado. Achieving
a snare sound reminiscent of the best of the Foo Fighter’s work, Casey’s
brother Nick paces this song with a crushing drum beat that allows Casey to put
the finishing touches on top with a fuzzy, shrieking guitar lick. The song combines
all the bravado of the Act series
with the gritty, garage band vibe of the Orange
and Red EPs from the Color Spectrum.
The back half of Migrant
falls into a repetitive pattern of mid-tempo ballads that negates the momentum
that the front half constructed. If “Girl” is the climax of this production,
then far-too-simple alt-indie number “Cycles” and the piano-driven “Sweet Naiveté”
are the falling action. And the quality of the tracks takes a step even further
back from there. “This Vicious Place” plods along. The track’s bluesy guitar
solo, which could have been a highlight if it was allowed to explode with
bravado, never ignites a track that sorely requires it. Album closer “Don’t
Look Back” doesn’t raise any new ground for Migrant, nor does it look to raise
the stakes for the album in any way. It is ultimately a safe choice for an
album closer from a band that usually doesn’t allow “Safe” to enter its
vocabulary.
Bottom Line: Migrant
is certainly The Dear Hunter’s most straightforward release to date, but it is
uncertain if that straightforward nature is a good thing for the band. My
personal draw to the Act series, Act III in particular, was the varied
instrumentation and song structure, and the versatility of The Color Spectrum made it easier to digest 9 EPs worth of songs at
once, because all the EPs were so different. Though Migrant does have some tracks that stand out from the rest, the
predictability of the album’s back half is unsettling. Crescenzo is an
extremely capable songwriter however, and his vocal performance sounds better
than ever. Because of this, Migrant is
still an enjoyable listen, and one that I will certainly be coming back to a
lot this Spring. It's certainly a disappointment that the back half of the album couldn't match the first half's brilliance.
7/10
Key Tracks: "Shame", "Whisper", "Girl"
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