Composer Reacts to The Dear Hunter - Regress / The Moon / Awake (REACTION & ANALYSIS)
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
- Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on The Dear Hunter "Regress" "The Moon / Awake"
ORIGINAL VIDEO // • The Dear Hunter "Regress"
• The Dear Hunter "The M...
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0:00 Intro
0:54 Reaction
8:40 Analysis
24:04 Analysis - Lyrics
26:55 Outro
Witnessed these songs live with a 34 piece orchestra (harp and all). Goosebumps just thinking about it.
I can not express to you how much I wish I got to experience that!
I was there too! Still have the poster up on my wall. Best show I've ever been to. Melpomene was unbelievable.
Another fun fact - "Regress" is actually the outro (albeit without the vocals) on "Is the there anybody here" from Act IV, which you reacted to earlier.
Fun fact: As is the case with all female vocals you'll hear throughout their entire discography, the female vocals are always the main singer/songwriter, Casey Crescenzo's, Mother!
That's quiet interesting!
a lot of the female vocals from Act 4, Act 5, and The Indigo Child are actually his girlfriend, Tivoli.
You nailed this one thematically for sure! There's a ton to unpack that would be easier if you had the background info from all past four acts but still, in the end, the core aspects of these tracks are that pensiveness and melancholic look at the past.
I feel the supernatural vibe you describe lines up perfectly with both tracks. In Regress, it's because of the Oracles singing. They definitely are a Greek Choir figure but they manifest themselves into the story on Act II, warning Hunter about his life should he not follow their advice. They try to warn him again in the next two acts but he decides not to listen and Regress is them finally turning their backs on him. I feel the pensive/moody vibe of the track works here, as they are both disappointed on Hunter (the main character) and worried about what comes next.
The Moon/Awake is mostly about Hunter reminiscing about his past, while high on opiods and being haunted by an apparition of his younger self. That's why the music gets so trippy at times and has this otherworldly feel to it. It's basically a drug-fueled nightmare. Awake in particular, the instrumental at the end, it's also a reprise of the final section from In Cauda Venenum (another track you checked by them, the second song on Act III). On that section of In Cauda Venenum, Hunter is thinking about his first love while he's in the middle of war, I always assumed this reprise is meant to be a mix of him thinking about her and about war, as part of his allucinations.
One aspect that I just noticed a couple days ago, and that also helps tying the songs together imo, is that Regress foreshadows the big climax on The Moon, the wordless vocalizations in the second half of Regress follow the same melody of the orchestrations on the "Dear apparition..." section from The Moon. There's also a reprise to the main drum pattern from A Night on the Town (another track you reacted to) on The Moon. And probably more stuff I haven't even noticed yet lol
Act V is so far the final act on the series. The band moved onto another concept, The Indigo Child, and they will be releasing the first record (Antimai) this year. Apparently they are going in a space funk direction! Act VI has been planned but Casey wants to make it in some kind of movie format so there's no clear schedule for it. Honestly, I don't mind if it takes time or doesn't get out as Act V closes the story quite perfectly imo.
Great insight as always, Bryan!
There are a lot of callbacks to musical ideas or rhythms just in these two tracks. I love that TDH makes the connections not just with characters and lyrics but with the music too. Thanks for all of this context of how this fits into the larger story.
@@CriticalReactions Yeah, the musical callbacks really help making the story feel connected, it also gives it a more theatrical feel. Act V has a song fully build from musical and lyrical reprises which functions as the big climax right before the big finale, much like some musicals throw in a big medley right before the end. It also makes the experience more emotionally resonant, more cathartic when a melody or lyric comes back and gets repurposed, some times even resignified. There's a video on RUclips that compiles some of the melodic, rhythmic and lyrical reprises and it's 42 minutes long. So yeah, there's a lot of interconnectedness there. I'm glad the additional info was helpful!
@@StringHead92 It really does make it feel more connected - the whole of Act V is riddled with reprises from acts I-IV and it all just ties it all together so wonderfully.
A couple of years ago I went from never having heard of TDH to them being one of my favourite bands and owning the whole discography in the space of a few months. Looking forward to the new album due out soon!
Same here, I can't wait!
This whole album is amazing, it blew me away the first time I listened.
Please give "most cursed of hands" or "the flame is gone the fire remains, the march" on this album a listen. What I would consider the pinnacle songs on this album on an excellent thematic level. I wouldnt complain if you went through the Act1-5 full albums either lol, I would recommend keeping lyrics at the ready if you do, asthe "theme" of tdh is blanketed throughout all the albums lyrically and musically. This might be my all time favourite album though haha. Saw them on the Coheed cruise, such godlike replayability.
Also, the unsatisfying ending at the end of "the moon" you speak of is intentional, and is revisted again with the grandiose conclusion you would expect at the end of the album.
All of act V is amazing, but particularly The Flame through Blood. That section just rocks and flows so well, which also coincides with story climaxes.
YES MAN I love your TDH reviews :) hyped to watch this
I’ve loved the dear hunter for years and I am SO JEALOUS of those who heard this specific album with the orchestra- im a violinist that’s been playing for 9 yrs, and was in a symphony last year, and I tend to gravitate twords bands with immense instrumentation because of it.
The dear hunter has branched out SO MUCH over time, and I still can’t find myself disliking any of it.
About a month ago now they released a new album! It’s another concept album, but this storyline (the acts) is officially over.
So the new album is COMPLETELY new sound, since this new storyline is sci-fi.
I’d recommend checking it out!! Music wise it is more funk, it doesn’t have the orchestral backing but it relies on harmonies, synth, brass, and bass a lot more. You’ll find a lot more of those out of the ordinary jazz chords there as well.
Super underrated band. And this ist probably my favourite album of theirs.
Need some full album reactions to this band. There are so many recurring musical and lyrical themes and callbacks that I think you would really enjoy catching and diving into the potential meaning of.
I know a lot of channels will hold off listening to a band's discog for later reactions, but with a band like TDH you shouldn't wait. Act 1-5 are amazing and some of the best albums I have ever listened to, THEN they have the MASSIVE rock concept album The Color Spectrum where they do 4 songs per color and each have a different vibe completely. Now we just got the newest addition to the set with the new album ANTIMAI which is a sci-fi arc about a ringed city and how it has changed from it's original intention in creation. It is such a good album and you can perfectly picture being immersed in the city they describe through the trials and issues in the caste they have.
Amazing set of songs to react to
A note about the lyrics:
The main character, the Dear Hunter, is in the middle of an opium high in this song. There is a level of hallucination happening (especially in the lyrics ‘dear apparition’), but the song is primarily a conversation with his younger self.
“I think it just misses the mark for the theme though” - guy who has no idea what the theme is
i hope to one day know music the way you do and be able to articulate better on what i hear. You are fun to watch because i hear what you hear (most parts anyways) and it just so good!
It's all about practice. Listen intently to individual elements and then ask "what does that mean" or "is that connected to anything else." The more you do it, the faster you'll get. I had teachers drill this into me for years. Also did "name that tune/composer" for jazz courses and "name that era" for classical courses. Funny enough I hated that stuff in school 😅
@@CriticalReactions I appreciate the advice and look forward to routinely asking those questions about songs that really stand out to me and figure out why. Thank you!
Just fantastic... 👌Can not help but hear similarities to The Long Winters sense of vocal melody and harmony 🤔
Oh, I always loved the beginning of this album! Those contrasts, with soft delicate intro, then transition into dark mood of The Moon quickly developing into hopeful melody and triumphant resolution into bridge. Just awesome and instantly so engaging!
But the vocal harmonies week would not be complete without Pure Reason Revolution - there's no other band singing like that in prog-rock world. Especially recommended: "The Bright Ambassadors of Morning" - ruclips.net/video/8XR9rm7h4V0/видео.html but also The "Twyncyn / Trembling Willows" or "Bullitts Dominæ"
Also you should hear the middle part of British Theatre's "As The Leaves Are To The Limbs" ruclips.net/video/xP7HcG2zxX8/видео.html
I've never heard of this band, but I will definitely be checking them out more. I really liked this. I especially like stories in music and concept albums. Another new band for me 😀. I think this makes 5 or 6 now. And as always I enjoy the learning process & technical analysis.
From what I know, The Dear Hunter have 5 albums that all tell a single story: called Act I through Act V. They're at the top of my list of albums to dive into as well but knowing I'll have some 50 tracks ahead of me is a bit daunting so I've been putting it off 😅
@@CriticalReactions I'll be checking out the 5 as well. So, far have only listened to Odyssey to the West from Slice the Cake in it's entirety. It was awesome. Then on shuffle I've have Rivers of Nihil, ISIS, Rolo Tomassi, Lorna Shore, Karnivool, and Vector. I haven't even listened to the new Mastodon and they are in my top 5. And, still digesting Colors 2 from BTBAM. It is a very ambitious undertaking, but enjoyable. Btw, I got my CR t-shirt today 😁. I truly appreciate what you bring to your channel and the community is good company.
I'm in the same boat as far as having sooo much music to check out that even the stuff I'm psyched for ends up on the back burner.
And I'm glad you appreciate the channel! Hope you like the shirt :)
@@janeg6759 odyssey to the west is amazing. really unique concept album, at least for the genre for sure. definitely recommend listening to all of the dear hunter stuff. just recently sat through all 5 of the main acts to alongside the story and lyric notes so i can finally understand it. improves the experience so much doing that, especially since i'm awful at deciphering the meaning of lyrics without having them in front of me to read at my leisure; i tend to focus on the instruments more often than lyrics, which the dear hunter are amazing at combining with the lyrics to tell the story.
Hi Jane, don't loose the very last work "Animai", it's simply amazing, from the beginning to the end
I won't try to better Santiago's thematic analysis of these tracks, but I will say that I think Act V and Act IV are The Dear Hunter's peak as a band, which is appropriate given that they're also the climax of the concept they've been developing over 5 albums; but just musically by this point they've really mastered their incredibly diverse range of styles and how to transition between them for maximum effect given whatever story point, character, or emotional state they're trying to convey. Lots of people have talked about "rock operas" in the context of similarly ambitious concept albums set to rock music, but I really feel like The Dear Hunter have come the closest to capturing what opera is really about--a hybrid art-form where the drama dictates the musical storytelling and the latter is used to enhance the former--better than any others. Even if I might prefer an album like Operation: Mindcrime to anything by The Dear Hunter, as an operatic "journey" I don't think anything matches what The Dear Hunter achieved across these 5 albums.
I'm just going to tell you to listen to the albums anyways. For the algorithm!
oh hey, one of the only bands I was a fan of before being introduced to them here
Me: 3 CR: 47
Insta-like. Will be back later for the watch!
you should listen to Mother Mother's song Ghosting
I don’t know if you ever dabble in RUclips shorts, but the first verse of Opeth’s Closure has some of the most beautifully haunting vocal harmonies I’ve ever heard. More than half of the song is instrumental, so it would have been a poor fit for this week’s theme, but if you’re ever looking for a mini-react to fit a theme, the first 30 seconds or so of that song are dripping with particularly memorable harmonies.
I've been trying to figure out if I could use the shorts format for something but keep coming up empty. I'm not sure I'd want to go with this approach though as music is more than just one part of a song. Maybe if I did the whole song for a full reaction and then made a short just of the vocal harmonies though.
@@CriticalReactions could work. I don’t think you’ve done anything from their Damnation album, and it’s pretty distinct from anything else in their catalog, sort of their first real experiment away from the prog death sound that defined their early-mid career. Your format does seem like a tough one to translate to shorts though, unless you were doing one of those like 9 second grindcore songs.