Review Summary: With only a couple of strokes of the pen, the Dear Hunter establish themselves as virtuosos of anthems written under the blistering sun.
The Dear Hunter's objective of “The Color Spectrum” was to create a pretty loose collection of musical projects that corresponded rather vaguely with different colors. They hinted towards what Casey himself imagined, but still left it up to interpretation so as to leave the listeners with a bit of freedom to gather from it what they desire. However, the overarching theme of the Yellow EP is perhaps the most universal one: when we picture the color yellow, the stinging rays of summer come to mind, accompanied by ice cream trucks and the impenetrably resilient scent of chlorine. Not everyone shares these exact memories, but even so, the tunes here are representative of the carefree bliss we all harbored during the summer months. It's invigorating to be able to kick your shoes off and do what you love without responsibilities interfering, and fittingly enough this is the purpose that the Yellow EP played for the Dear Hunter themselves.
The SPF-infused melodies and blistering strummed guitar of Casey and company seem inconceivably natural, seeing as The Dear Hunter have never quite treaded this easygoing path before. Instead of the usual fare of Crescenzo having to acutely depict the tale of the boy from the concept album while being as verbose as possible, instead this project gives him an opportunity to do two very important things: to write infectious songs that make him just as happy as his listeners, and to let his inhibitions go musically. From the sunshine-laced introduction of 'She's Always Singing' to the addictive vocal harmonies in 'Misplaced Devotion', the seamless nature of the tracks makes one wonder how this isn't considered standard fare by the group. “The Dead Don't Starve” is perhaps the weakest track on the EP, but this fact alone is indicative of the lack of damaging faults the release possesses as a whole. Although the aforementioned song is filled to the brim with excitable reverb-laden guitars and perhaps just a little too much bliss for its own good, it still establishes itself as a landmark within the Dear Hunter's discography for its sheer potency.
Even though the Yellow is a great success, it does feel a bit too far-reaching at times, as if it's striving for a bulls-eye that's too distant. There are only a few ideas that the group desire to express, and the EP as a whole starts to feel a little redundant by the time that it closes. The vast wealth of vocal harmonies and carefree melodies can feel a little feigned from time, and these blemishes show up in a couple of the choruses, which aren't quite as infectious as the rest of the album. Most of this release is filled to the brim with rejuvenating passion, though, and this is what makes renders each song as effective as it is. Because the Dear Hunter approached such a distinct landmark with such an open mind, it embraces them with open arms.
With only a couple of strokes of the pen, the Dear Hunter establish themselves as virtuosos of anthems written under the blistering sun, and while only trying their hand at the game. This is evidence of how versatile Casey has become ever since his days with
The Receiving End of Sirens, and is reason enough for all of us to wait voraciously and impatiently for Act IV. After all, if all of these different styles have become second-nature, then what terrain won't be successfully covered in the future?
