RED EP

And here we go with take two, Red, or the colour of anger, rage, living (pulsing, circulating) blood in veins. And so is this album, it simply rocks, pushes forward with a lively vigor, shorter than most of others, with no time to try new stuff, just doing plain old Rock (or Hard Rock if you wish), which kind of lack from Prog's point of view, but I suppose it goes on with the job, you simply can't make pears from apples and so in such emotion, there have to be some kind of pace (fast pace), instead it won't work. The most reminiscent song (of Act's) would be Deny It All.

'Red EP' - The Dear Hunter (6/10)

The second in The Dear Hunter's most ambitious project yet, the 'Red EP' is a collection of four songs meant to represent that colour. When it was announced that this band was going to make a nine-album project about every colour on the spectrum, some people- including myself- were doubtful that they would manage to pull it off. Here they are however, with all of them released for people to enjoy and listen. Although the project as a whole is a major achievement, it's virtually assumed that not every 'colour' would be excellently represented. Although the 'Black EP' had a consistent record of strong songwriting and experimental edge, 'Red EP' comes off feeling less memorable, and even tame by comparison. The colour red is generally seen as a colour of anger, but the tone of the music here comes across more as frustration rather than rage.

As is typical for The Dear Hunter, the music fuses modern alternative rock/pop with progressive tendencies, and it comes off sounding adventurous and fresh. Usually, The Dear Hunter are focused on creating epic album,s but these EPs work best as collections of songs. For an EP that is supposed to be about anger, the music is remarkably catchy. The highlight 'Deny It All' has a great hook that stayed in my mind long after the EP was first over. Musically speaking, 'Red' is not particularly heavy or aggressive, but it has a more straightforward rock feel to it. It's not an approach that works particularly well for The Dear Hunter, although Casey Crescenzo's acrobatic vocals and warm arrangements are still here. This more rock-based energy would continue into the third EP, 'Orange'. 'Red' is one of the weaker albums in this vast project, but it offers some great hooks along the way.

Listening diary 5th March, 2021: The Dear Hunter - Red (alternative rock, 2011)

I have a lot of respect for The Color Spectrum as a concept, and Casey as a songwriter for attempting it, but it's ones like this that really underlie why it's my least favourite Dear Hunter project. There's something quite contrived about the way Casey conjures up half-assed attempts at edgy post-hardcore just to give this a "red" tinge - even though he was born of that scene, it's undeniable that by 2011 he had musically grown away from it, and this definitely feels like someone trying to channel a musical vocabulary that they're no longer a native in. He still manages to throw in a few good hooks, because he is a god among men at those, but this is probably one of the weakest of the series.

5.4 (4th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

The most aggressive (and very underrated) out of all the colors.

Definitely see why its rating isn't high: This isn't prog in the slightest. With that said, there's something about Red's fast paced and relentless vibe that I personally enjoy more than Black.

Red's sound is very alternative rock-themed, constantly taking inspiration from band like Muse, but with less bass and more raw drums. Every song is quick, short, and concise.

The standout is for sure Deny It All which is honestly something that could easily be a Billboard #1 wasn't it from the fact that it comes from a rather obscure band due to its incredibly catchy chorus and accessible song structure. At minute two the song hits a slow-paced section with phenomenal voice-in-box vocals. This EP is very solid but take in consideration it's not prog at all. Four Stars.