Young Hunter Announce Dayhiker Out Oct. 13
It’ll be about a year and a half turnaround from Portland, Oregon’s Young Hunter as they follow-up their 2016 self-titled full-length (review here) with Dayhiker on Oct. 13 through The Fear and the Void Recordings. The genre-spanning/genre/defying five-piece once more bring an exploratory sense to their work musically and thematically with the album’s seven tracks, embarking on a multi-textured heavy feel drawn together through the sincerity of the emotionalism behind it and the weight brought to bear tonally and, again, in terms of the theme.
I’ve only dug into the finished version once or twice at this point, but the growth this band has undertaken over their releases is as palpable as it is willful. They push themselves. They’re pushing themselves still. I hope to have more to come on this one, because I continue to think this band is something special.
They hit the road the night before the vinyl drops. Info came in via the PR wire:
Young Hunter release 3rd album ‘Dayhiker,’ making old sounds fresh and new again
At a time when humanity’s annihilation isn’t a far-flung concept, whether from devastating environmental forces or our culture’s seemingly masochistic need for self-destruction, music and communication often feel like the only hope for turning the tide. Remembering who we are, discovering why we’re here, and finding connection with each other is our only hope, even though the hour feels late.
Enter Young Hunter, a band that evolved from a one-man project churning out tribal, psychotropic desert-doom to a collective of five individuals drawing from across the spectrum of stadium power rock, desert grooves, epic post-metal, and the rose-colored depths of mid-eighties high school rock radio.
With third album, Dayhiker, Young Hunter complete their transformation into a force within the many-splintered world of 21st century heavy music. Musically, the album traces a path through the darkness, confusion, and illusion of our times, transmuting them into a fire to confront feelings of fear and meaninglessness in the face of an uncertain future.
Lyrically, vocalist/guitarist Benjamin Blake isn’t afraid to ask the big questions: Why are we here? What is human culture? What is its relationship to the natural world, and what critical pieces of human history have we forgotten? Young Hunter dives into these themes with a sonic palette that harnesses the duality of male/female co-lead vocals. Harmonies and call-and-response tradeoffs between Blake and keyboardist Sara Pinnell are omnipresent, helping convey a range of feelings and connections that make the darkness beautiful, the heaviness hopeful, and the sorrow both personal and universal.
Says Blake: “Heavy music is inherently cathartic. It’s a way for a room full of people to realize they’re not alone in their suffering, confusion, frustration, and anger. And it’s beautiful because there’s no emotion that’s too intense for it. On Dayhiker, that’s something we pushed ourselves to explore.”
Accessing and expanding the old-becomes-new-again cultural bent of artists like Sumerlands and Horisont and cinematic touchstones like Stranger Things and Stephen King’s IT, Young Hunter’s Dayhiker offers a more organic and primal strand in this increasingly attractive tapestry.
Written collectively and honed on the road, Dayhiker is Young Hunter’s first release on the Fear and the Void label. It was recorded over the course of 5 days with Tim Green (Melvins, Wolves in the Throne Room, Comets on Fire) at Louder Studios, his analog retreat in Grass Valley, CA.
Benjamin Blake – Vocals, Guitar
Sara Pinnell – Vocals, Keys
Erik Wells – Guitar
Sam Dean – Bass
Grant Pierce – Drums
Tracklisting
1. In the Shadow of the Serpent
2. The Feast
3. Entered Apprentice
4. Hunger
5. Dark Age
6. Black Mass
7. Night Hiker
Dayhiker will be released on October 13th on vinyl LP and digital via Bandcamp. Young Hunter’s tour in support of the new record takes place during October across the following dates:
10/12 – Eugene, OR – Old Nick’s
10/13 – Reno, NV – The Holland Project
10/14 – Santa Rosa, CA – Cooperage Brewing Company
10/15 – Oakland, CA – Feral
10/18 – Las Vegas, NV – The Griffin
10/19 – Flagstaff, AZ – Flagstaff Brewing Company
10/20 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
10/21 – Santa Fe, NM – Rufina Taproom
10/23 – Bisbee, AZ – The Quarry
10/25 – Los Angeles, CA – Lexington
10/26 – San Francisco, CA – SF Eagle
10/27 – Nevada City, CA – Cooper’s
10/28 – Bend, OR – M and J Tavern
10/29 – Portland, OR – Kenton Club
https://www.facebook.com/Young-Hunter-127424170682508/
https://younghunter.bandcamp.com/
https://thefearandthevoidrecordings.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheFearAndTheVoid/
