Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Hunter & the Bear – A Band Review

     A few months back, the song “Forest on the Hill” was introduced to Indie Obsessive. It’s a song we enjoyed from the first listen. Too often, an instant appreciation is soon followed by indifference, since there aren’t musical features that foster a long term appreciation. “Forest on the Hill” is an exception. In fact, we sometimes go to the Soundcloud page of the band (Hunter & the Bear) and let their four songs loop. Our favorite of the four hasn’t changed, but the others are closing, particularly “Dusty Road.”
     Hunter & the Bear is about three-part harmonization, acoustic guitar and energy. The members are Jimmy Hunter (vocals, guitar and mandolin), Will Irvine (vocals, rhythm guitar and kick drum) and Josh Abdelfatah (vocals, bass and harmonica), but there are others who contribute to the band’s sound. In particular, the song “The North” would have a very different texture if not for the violin (or violins).  
     If we were to pin a genre designation on Hunter & the Bear, it would be Folk. However, there is a Rock element within their music. If we were to pin a preferred song structure to their sound, it would be “A, B, A, B,” where “A” is a segment that is vocalization-heavy with acoustic accompaniment and where “B” is a segment that is energy-filled. “Dusty Road” has this “A, B, A, B” song structure.

      “Forest on the Hill” by Hunter & the Bear

      “Dusty Road” by Hunter & the Bear

      “The North” by Hunter & the Bear

      “Taliesin” by Hunter & the Bear

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