Dear Daycare Parent

While fans of The Dear Hunter have been waiting in anticipation for the prospective 'Act IV', Casey Crescenzo and the band sent something a little different our way, although equally as exciting; not one, but nine EPs released simultaneously. This project is called 'The Color Spectrum', and each of the EPs is a four song set that is meant to reflect whatever given mood each color evokes. It is granted that nine releases is a pretty difficult chunk to digest all at once, and especially considering that the EPs are currently only available on vinyl, it is a bit of an investment for someone that might only want for of a single album's experience. Luckily, The Dear Hunter did opt to release an album version of 'The Color Spectrum'; a selection of songs from each of the EPs that is meant to give a taste of what the project is all about…

The album takes the listener on a guided tour of the rings of the city serving as the setting for the story of the Indigo Child. As is evident by the track titles, each ring houses an increasingly well-off subculture with the center being the tower of the ruler. While the lyrics do an excellent job of highlighting the societal issues of each area (more on this later), the music doesn’t always follow suit. The album has a very unified musical theme, which is almost synth-rock and disco. While it helps the album have a more cohesive feel, it doesn’t necessarily always turn out well. For this reviewer, possibly the most glaring examples of this problem lie in “Ring 4 – Patrol” and “Ring 2 – Nature.” The former discusses the faction of the society used to enforce oppression on the population and the power-hungry officers who abuse their privileges, but having Casey nearly scream about police abuse over a funky beat doesn’t quite sound right. The latter similarly did not seem to fit with the theme of the lyrics (on top of the fact that I couldn’t actually understand the society within “Ring 2” and admittedly need to re-listen to it).