by Dave Campbell
The world of progressive rock is riddled with concept albums, from the classic influential albums to ones made from relatively unknown artists, but few have approached the concept album in the way The Dear Hunter has over its 20-year career. With the “Act series” which began with 2006’s Act I: The Lake South, the River North, and culminated in the masterpiece albums Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise and Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional, the band, led by Casey Crescenzo, told a wild story over 5 albums using any genre at their disposal incorporating pop, Jazz, Vaudeville, Disco, Metal and more. How can you top that?
In 2021, Casey started to develop the story of The Indigo Child, a character in a dystopian future. This began with The Indigo Child EP in 2021, followed by the brilliant album Antimai in 2022, a concept album centered on building the Indigo Child universe, with each song telling the story of a dystopian city-state divided into eight concentric rings. Each ring was a song exploring the extreme wealth disparity, authoritarian rule, and environmental collapse. Musically, the album was another diverse outing with the band exploring new territory once more. Now comes the sequel, Sunya. This album finds a character from Antimai leaving the city and heading into the wastelands and telling of their journey. Continuing the sonic universe they first unveiled on Antimai, Sunya finds the band leaning into synth textures and tightly wound grooves, drawing as heavily from jazz and funk as from progressive rock.
A fitting opening, “The Wasteland” is where the story begins. The song has some fanfare in tow, starting with almost a big band sound. Although much of the song has a positive tone, there are also some shadows here and there. “Welcome to the Wasteland,” he says, with a big smile and a convincing voice. What is there? Nothing. It reminds me of a service counter in the 1950’s…people are nice and accommodating, but there is nothing that they can offer you. The juxtaposition between the warm music and the message is quite striking. The signature vocal harmonies are ever-present as are all the musical layers. You can tell there will be a lot to uncover here with further listens.
“Marauders” is the album’s rocker, a track that has more spunk and more energy, and the melody is easy to follow. It’s fast-moving, funky, and fun, and some might even call it aggressive at times. The tone of his voice moves to firmer as it passes, as if he is trying to shout at you something important. Much of the signature sound of the band comes from the vocal harmonies, and they are strong in this song. There are also some playful moments, once again contrasting with the title of the song. Meanwhile, “The Bazaareteria” takes a different style again, this time with some funk and R&B, which is musically opposite of the lyrics, which depict a place where everything feels transactional, temporary, and ultimately hollow.
The album takes a shift with a 3-part suite titled “The Glass Desert”. “Part 1-Giants” is the centerpiece of the album. It again has a light, jazzy groove to it with an uplifting vibe. The second half of the song enters into 60s big band territory with horns and harmony vocals. “Part 2-Cliffs and Stormlands” sounds the most like something you might hear on the Act albums. It starts off simply with some atmospheric sounds and Casey’s voice before entering into a dancey groove like something you might find on a Bruno Mars album. “Deep is the abyss that is beneath me” he muses, and “I’m in a freefall, long enough to wonder if I reach the ground at all.” There are also more positive messages, like “if you believe in something, it better be yourself, power can rise in panic, as long as you can rise to where you fell.”
“Part 3-The Plains,” concludes the suite in glorious fashion. It has a feel of an ELO song with a wall of acoustic guitars and gorgeous melodies. The ending part of the song, where he sings “Shadows in moonlight, And whispers on the wing” is one of the best moments on the album and a truly emotional piece of music.
The title track closes out the album and is another highlight. It opens with a steady electronic pulse, and it’s like the flowers that were dormant in winter have finally begun to spring. The vocals are tender, and the message positive, and trumpet and saxophone notes accompany the sound. Like the last embers of a dying fire, it fades to completion with a cool complexity. This is also where our character gets to their final destination, only to find ruins.” This destination’s right, Your tunnel’s given way to light, But still, you’re devastated by, The sights of all you had imagined.”
The paradox on the album is dealing with the difficult and/or negative subject matter of some of the lyrics while enjoying the nice top-down ride on a sunny day that can best sum up the music. After listening to the album a few times, the picture becomes clear. The title, which translates to “nothing,” is all the doubts, fears, and insecurities we all have to face each and every day. Some people even get forever lost in them. The message of the album is that you may not find answers out there for your troubles, but there is meaning in the process of the search.
Sunya is a wondrous achievement by a band that refuses to be defined by one style or album, but rather explores any arena in order to tell a story in the most creative way possible. Where will the story go from here? We don’t know, but after this album, the anticipation will only grow. Like their last release, Sunya will no doubt end up as one of the year’s best albums.
Purchase Link: https://vyd.co/Sunya
SUNYA tracklisting:
The Wasteland – 7:16
Marauders – 3:26
The Bazaareteria 5:01
The Glass Desert I – Giants 5:18
The Glass Desert II – Cliffs and Stormlands 7:27
The Glass Desert III – The Plains 5:42
Sunya – 8:03
Casey Crescenzo – Vocals, Guitars, Organ, Bass
Nick Crescenzo – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Maxwell Tousseau – Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Robert Parr – Guitars, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Nick Sollecito – Bass
Aiden Earley – Keyboards
