At this point in time, Act IV marks the pinnacle of a storied career for The Dear Hunter, and places them squarely on steady ground with nothing but bright lights on the horizon.
With some new explorations entwined, Act IV exhibits all facets of the band's alluring brand (extensive instrumentation, orchestral theatrics and experimental whimsy) in impressive form.
For all of its many excesses, Act IV basically represents Crescenzo at the height of his powers, and fans will likely eat it up, digest it, regurgitate it, and sidle back up to the table for another helping.
Not a bad album but one that requires a few more listens, personally, to really feel captivated. The band seems to be going through the motions here and it doesn't stick as much.
This album is a masterpiece, plain and simple. The sheer variety found in this album is unreal, but it still manages to maintain continuity.This album is a masterpiece, plain and simple. The sheer variety found in this album is unreal, but it still manages to maintain continuity. This is the Act IV album people have been waiting on for the last 6 years. Grandiose orchestration and epic guitar riffs accompany brilliant vocals by Casey Crescenzo, which weave the continued story of The Dear Hunter. It's very apparent Casey has made a big push towards symphonic tones, considering he recently completed his first Symphony, Amour and Attrition. This usage of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion add a significant level of depth to the album. It just proves that thinking out of the box can sometimes result in absolute brilliance.
The Dear Hunter is still wildly under appreciated by the industry, but I have hopes this album pushes them to a new level of recognition. They certainly deserve it.…Expand
Even with a few shortcomings, Rebirth in Reprise is another great edition into The Dear Hunter’s discography. With Casey’s excellentEven with a few shortcomings, Rebirth in Reprise is another great edition into The Dear Hunter’s discography. With Casey’s excellent performance and the beautiful melodies set by the instrumentation, many listeners are going to be satisfied with the band’s return-to-form sound. It’s the ambition and the imagination that makes The Dear Hunter so great and influential to begin with, and Act IV is just the epitome of just what this group can accomplish. Now with four Acts out of the way, it’s a question of what exactly they will come up with next.…Expand
I will preface my review by saying that I really like TDH and the previous Acts I-III. Color spectrum contained a handful of awesome tracksI will preface my review by saying that I really like TDH and the previous Acts I-III. Color spectrum contained a handful of awesome tracks (mostly concentrated in Violet) but ultimately felt like mostly filler to me. I thought Migrant was pretty good but could have been a lot better. I was very excited for Act IV but in the end disappointed.
Waves and Night on the Town are really great tracks. Unfortunately they are the best tracks on the album and the rest of it sounds like a tired re-tread. Is there anybody here, and End of the World get honorable mention. Casey is at his best when forging new ground and coming up with fresh ideas, as in the above mentioned songs. The rest of the material just didn't click with me--instrumentation wasn't very original, not really any standout melodies. In fact the entire rest of the album after track 7 just doesn't really go anywhere.
Without a doubt you will appreciate the raw lyrical character and instantly comfortable rhythms of "Waves", as well as the instant classic melodic chorus of "Night on the Town" (not to mention it's rather interesting orchestral arrangements).
But beyond that I'm just left with...not a whole lot. I think Casey is struggling to come up with new ideas for this story and the established structure of the narrative is limiting his ability to come up with new things. Notice that with color-spectrum, there was still a "structure" imposed on the material, which was that each "set" of songs had to adhere to a particular mood. Even Migrant, supposedly unbound, still had an extremely structured feel to the arrangements and instrumentation.
Basically, after watching this band for several years now, it seems that Casey is being held back by something, and from some of the lyrics on Migrant I would wager it is his struggle with faith. He has a wonderful ear for melody, which we know for sure because we have a good number of songs in his back catalogue with some very emotionally-driven hooks, complex melody and harmony working together. He has the talent, and so do his band-mates. So why isn't their music going anywhere or building towards anything? I think he needs to let off the reigns, stop trying to control. Stop trying to micro-manage his music and loosen up.…Expand
