BB

             THE DEAR HUNTER
                                   presents
                                                                     ACT III- Life & Death

       I've never really been into mysteries or book series, but I guess you could say one band changed that.  Although I'm still not into those things, I've created an interest similar to them.  The Dear Hunter is a full-time project of former Receiving Ends of Sirens member, Casey Crescenzo.  As of June 23, 2009, The Dear Hunter released their third album, Act III- Life & Death.  The main project is a six album story based on the early 1900's of the life of a boy, only to be referred to in the story as, The Boy.

  The Dear Hunter consists of Casey Crescenzo (vocals, piano, guitar), Erick Serna (guitar, vocals), Nate Patterson (bass, vocals), Andy Wildrick (guitar, keyboard, vocals), Nick Crescenzo (drums, percussion, vocals), and Josh Rheault (acoustic guitar, keyboard, vocals).  A genre would be hard to pick, but alternative/progressive rock works.  The band is currently on Triple Crown Records and been going strong since 2005 (minus the major member loss). 

  The story begins with Ms. Terri, who is a prostitute at The Dime (also known as The Church). Act I is mostly about her life leaving The City to raise her child (The Boy). In Act II The Boy travels back to The City to discover more of Ms. Terri's life before The Lake and The River (Hint the name, Ms. Terri...Mystery).  He then falls for a prostitute, Ms. Leading, who too works at the Dime. (Other hint the name, Ms. Leading...misleading). Fun isn't it? The Boy then leaves The City after Ms. Leading 'breaks' his heart.  Now we are at Act III, war.  During this time The Boy joins the army and experience war (World War 1).  The Boy also discovers the four incarnations of war; Destruction, Being Deceiving, Greed, and Pain.
 
   Now that we know the story lets talk about music!  The Dear Hunter never fails to amaze me with their talent of producing such an awesome album.  Being that they are lengthy, the time never catches my eye.  Transition throughout each song carries on to the next.  Act III, to me, had more of an older tune that fit well with the story age.  I remember the other night listening to Transition 1, my dad comes in and says, "This sounds like The Beach Boys...".  Not only does Casey have a huge vocal range, there are more experimental instruments in the album. 

  Also including more group vocals, I would have liked to have heard a more clean-cut voice on Casey's part.  It's so beautiful and unique, I would hate to see if cut down by more effects . Just sayin.  Since this album was about war, I felt the music was more intense and moving. Which gave me the feel of it.

  On June 23rd (the release date), I was able to attend their San Francisco show with mewithoutYou and Polar Bear Club.  You could tell from the start  their audience was more of an older crowd (college students).  It was hard for me to remember that it's only drums, guitar, bass, piano. But oh my, what comes out of it. It's like a being a part of an underground Mafia family.  Even when they perform simple versions of great songs, it's still amazing.

  You can purchase your own Act III at (http://www.merchdirect.com/TripleCrownRecords).  It includes 14 double-sided postcards with little mysteries throughout the whole CD package.  So keep your eyes out.  Also be sure to pickup your own Dear Hunter tickets on their headliner tour with Empires and The Felix Culpa. Also, be sure to check out (lakeandtheriver.com), where you can find out the whole story and discuss with other fans.

                                                                                                                           -BB

Three Song Download:
 Act I- The Lake South, The River North : 1878
Act II- The Meaning of, and All Things Regarding Ms. Leading: The Bitter Suite 1&2
Act III- Life & Death: What It Means To Be Alone

                                                                          We Look Just Like Fire