ANTIMAI

THE DEAR HUNTER is the project of guitarist Casey of the post-hardcore group The Receiving End Of Sirens which he left to devote himself to it in 2005; stories about a boy's life at the turn of the 20th century, here 9th concept album about the life of the last metropolis at odds with the original values; XTC, THE MARS VOLTA, THE TRAIL OF DEAD or GENESIS come to mind but you have to listen and see before the EP 'The Indigo Child' to fully understand the melodic framework sought.

'Ring 8 - Poverty' on a bucolic air, sampled string instruments, I immediately think of the fruity chords of XTC and Joe JACKSON; sax and trumpets set the pace; we are in the enchanting pop prog new wave, a pleasant hint of TRAIN OF DEAD, convoluted and creative. 'Ring 7 - Industry' strong bass, the groovy, funky rhythm on an EARTH, WIND & FIRE overboosted with brass; Airy and symphonic break, grandiloquent before an energetic dancing bass solo. 'Ring 6 - LoTown' with a dreamlike, aerial start leading Casey to use his voice in a languorous way; it goes up, it goes on an astonishing fruity prog pop atmosphere, a mixture of MARS VOLTA and XTC again; break of the spleen intro with jerky drums and solo trumpet, explosive. 'Ring 5 - Middle Class' drives the point home with a title that will scare fans away; 3 minutes and it slows down and the prog spirit is highlighted with sampled wind instruments that create the energy; attention for fans of classic rock instrumentation, you will be surprised.

'Ring 4 - Patrol' brings me back to 'Cherchez Le Garçon' yes it's easy but it's to explain the playful rhythm; 80's keyboard that allows Casey to express all his vocal talent; cinematic drift before the resumption of the chorus, the aggressive and forward trumpet, final of BOF. 'Ring 3 - Luxury' longest title tote everything, present magister voice and frantic pop rhythm; the halfway break reminds me of DEVO's synth on the BOF 'Métal Hurlant'; diversity approaches bombastic baroque opera; first break with a claret guitar solo until the end flirting with the madness of a Zappa. 'Ring 2 ? Nature' with an oozing XTC sound for an unpretentious and fruity bucolic pop song; sax break on the 'Blues Brothers'. 'Ring 1 - Tower' jazzy, groovy, funky romantic ballad, giving pride of place to wind instruments that we would like to be true; the pleasant voice reminds me of Joe PAYNE's excellent album between baroque symphony and crazy operetta pop; final at the Alpenhorn.

THE DEAR HUNTER drives the nail of the progressive musical crucible by mixing instrumentation and voice, jazzy, funky and tonic atmospheres; a singular, creative sound arrangement that kicks ass at convention; often formatted in the neo prog style, I just had a blast listening to this OMNI jewel. Available in vinyl, K7 and other normal media for that convoluted sound, a band and a sound apart.