Prog-rock band The Dear Hunter covered Hall & Oates‘ ’80s pop hit “Maneater” on the spot for Musora as part of a series on the channel in which bands are surprised by a song and asked to create an arrangement on the spot.
Like all installments of the series, it is a lesson in songcrafting, showcasing what makes a song and what doesn’t. By having the band talk out their understanding of the original and their approach to a rearrangement, the series showcases both what iconic aspects of material carry over to give a song its DNA as well as insight into the process of contemporary artists in their approach.
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The series includes installments like prog metal band Leprous covering A-Ha‘s “Take on Me,” jazz fusion group Vital Information covering Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun” and folk pop duo Fionn covering System of a Down‘s “Toxicity.”
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Their reinvention sees the pop hit take on a more atmospheric and textural ballad structure built largely around the tone of the sax solo in the original. They replace the initial momentum-heavy dance beat with something closer to sophisti-pop. The band keeps the key vocal the same while adding a lot of syncopation over the other instruments.
The Dear Hunter, known for their multi-album conceptual projects, recently released their newest album Sunya, the third installment in their newest conceptual arc. It is their third such conceptual work following their five-album Acts series and nine EP Color Spectrum series.
The Dear Hunter have North American tour dates scheduled through August, with tickets available here.
Get a free 30-day trial of Musora, including material for piano, bass, drums, guitar and singing, here. The site includes content from Pianote, Playbass, Drumeo, Guitareo and Singeo.
Watch the video of The Dear Hunter’s rearrangement of “Maneater,” as well as the original for comparison, below.
