By Louis Coutoufos
The Dear Hunter is a band known for putting together elaborate projects, and this collection does not disappoint on that front. The indie rock outfit most known for its series of Acts has undertaken one of the most unique musical projects I have ever seen. With “The Color Spectrum,” the band has created a nine part EP set which takes the listener through all the colors of the rainbow (along with black). Each color symbolizes an emotion, and the listener is taken on a rollercoaster ride from the despair and chaos of Black all the way to the serenity and hopefulness of White. Stops along the way include overzealous joy (Yellow), contemplative sadness (Blue), and even a brief four song musical (Violet). Whatever you’re feeling, I guarantee there’s an EP that captures that emotion.
While capturing such a broad spectrum of emotions would be impressive all its own, what really makes this collection so uniquely amazing is that the band essentially created nine different sounds. Each four track EP has its own musical style, to the point where sometimes you aren’t even sure you’re still listening to the same band. Everyone will find something in their wheelhouse in this collection, as every genre is represented. There’s hard rock with Orange, a folksy style with Green, industrial with Black, and musical theater with the aforementioned Violet, just to go into a few. But what’s surprising is how well each EP flows into each other; the changes between musical styles are never jarring.
My only caveat is that if you’re a fan of the band’s previous work, don’t go into The Color Spectrum expecting more of the same sonically. This a standalone project, and the band pretty much did away with its sound from the Acts for this collection. Not a bad thing at all, it’s just different. Also, not every track is a winner, but that is to be expected for this large a collection. For those who are wary about undertaking a listening experience this large (it will take you roughly two and a half hours to go through all 35 track in one sitting) there is a sampler platter of sorts also available. This eleven track version gives the listener one track from each EP with two each from Green and White.
Final Verdict: 4.8 of out of 5. Damn near perfect.
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