Why are concept albums hard to sell? Is it because the stories that the artists/bands try to portray through their music either gets lost in the delivery? Is it because most of the concept albums are made by bands with either little to no audience, or that the audiences just don’t want to invest the time into digging into the lyrics and finding a deeper story behind each song. Regardless, concept albums are hard sells; however, critics (such as myself) usually have a soft spot for the creative power that goes into the musical juggernauts that they end up being.

This leads me to the new release from The Dear Hunter. Casey Cescenzo’s original side project from his first band The Receiving End of Sirens became his full time job, combining soulful voices with incredible riffs that would make any contemporary metal band envious. His first three albums was an entire story, each Act combining into one incredible story about “The Boy,” and how he grows up. Now that all three of the acts are finished (the last one released in 2009), Cescenzo had to move on to a different project.

So why not the rainbow?

The Dear Hunter’s new project, entitled The Color Spectrum, isn’t necessarily a concept album, but nine different concept EP’s which combine with each other to make an epic 36 song album (each EP you can by separately for $3.99 on iTunes, or you can buy everything for $34.99). I decided to take the cheap way, and that’s buying their album, which includes one of each color in the LP, which includes an extra song for the colors green and white. Each song is supposed to give the listeners a feel for each of the EP’s, which it does successfully, though the colors run together at times.

The eleven song album has some great moments throughout. The beginning track “Filth and Squalor (Black)” brings out an aggressiveness that is sounds like a mixture of Circa Survive lyrical layering mixed with Nine Inch Nails effects and riffs. “Deny It All (Red)” which is produced by and featuring Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull, sounds like something that could very well be put into one of many of Hull’s own side projects. “But There’s Wolves (Orange)” mixes a contemporary rock song formula, with some heavy metal-influenced drum parts.”

If any song on this LP represented their color best, it would be the smiley and happy “She’s Always Singing (Yellow),” which features folksy instruments (including banjo and glockenspiel) that only emphasizes the beautiful melody being played. Both of the Green songs are great, however, “Things That Hide Away” sounds like it could be a part of the white section of the album, while “The Canopy” is a country song to its roots. The majestic “Trapdoor (Blue)” brings a calm, relaxing touch to the middle of the album, without losing any momentum made by the beginning tracks.

Two of my favorite songs happen to be basically the same color, but two completely different songs. “What Time Taught Us (Indigo)” is a fast paced ballad, mixed with some complex techno rhythms, while “Lillian (Violet)” is an orchestric love song, which ironically, sounds darker than it’s purple counterpart.

Lastly, both of the White songs, “Home” and “Fall and Flee” are both very relaxing songs, which all bring elements used in the other colors, though I found that they both weren’t as memorable as I would’ve thought the last two songs of the same color would be.

The Color Spectrum definitely deserves multiple listening. Even if you don’t want to buy the entire thing (album or 36 song collection), the separate color EP’s definitely deserve some attention. Just pick your favorite color out of the nine colors showcased in the collection, and enjoy the musical adventure that Casey Cescenzo and company deliver.

Final Grade: B

Download: “What Time Taught Us (Indigo)”