strangeproliferation:

iTunes Artist-a-Day #24 - The Dear Hunter

I’m going through my iTunes library in alphabetical order and sharing a track from every artist, once a day until I’m done.

I love The Dear Hunter. Love, love, love them. If Coheed is my favorite band, The Dear Hunter is a close second. I have no qualms about calling Casey Crescenzo my favorite vocalist currently making music. His voice is absolutely amazing in the way that it carries his raw emotion through every song. The man is a musical genius.

I was dating a girl a while back that I got really into Coheed and she had an older sister who told me to check out The Dear Hunter, figuring I would like the story-based nature of the Act albums. When I finally sat down and listened to them, I was blown away. They very quickly became one of my obsessions.

Through the three Act albums, The Color Spectrum, and Migrant, Casey has shown that he’s a force to be reckoned with in music. His originality is staggering and his ability to adapt different musical genres to his own style is incredible. Every song he writes has so much depth in the music and he’s a wonderful lyricist. I hope that he goes back and finishes the Act series, but everything he puts out is so great that I’m not bothered by waiting.

I had a pretty hard time picking a song to post, trying to think of what would be a good introduction to the band for a newcomer. I chose “The Lake and the River” because it’s a great track and it gives a good indication of the style of the Act albums, which are really Casey’s masterpieces. Act II is my personal favorite, but Act III is so damn close that it’s hard to pick sometimes.

Migrant hasn’t even been out for three weeks and I’ve already listened to it more times than I can count. I’ve been posting music and lyrics from it on my tumblr non-stop. It’s so damn amazing.

If you’re not already a fan of The Dear Hunter, please stop whatever you’re doing and give them a chance. They’re one of the best bands that’s ever been recommended to me.

I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them live a couple of times, too. The first time was a stripped-down Anthony Green show, promoting his album Beautiful Things. Casey and his brother, Nick, played an amazing set. Just the two of them. They alternated instruments depending on the song and it was amazing. It was a tiny venue, too, so I was only a few feet from them the entire show.

It was a great first live experience for me. The second time I saw them, they played with a full band, opening for Coheed. It was a great show, but after having seen them the other way, I felt that smaller, more intimate venues were the best way to see Casey work his magic. I really hope I get to see them again soon. I need to see Migrant played live. Really badly.