![]() ![]() Crescenzo is a masterful arranger and this song is a perfect example. The instrumentation is more like something you might find on a Carpenters album, but it has a rawness about it as well, that gives it the modern take on a classic sound. ![]() The following track “Cascade” is a psychedelic jaunt where the title of the album “Hymns with the Devil in Confessional” stems from. Female background singers add to the huge sound. The second track “The Moon/Awake” starts off as an alternative rocker with monstrous orchestration and multiple acoustic guitars. From there, each song presents its own unique direction and arrangement. The album opens with a 2 minute orchestral intro with strings and harps layered behind the chorus of Crescenzo and background singers. Regardless, it all makes for something entirely different and spectacular. At times, they sound more like an elaborate version of Death Cab for Cutie if they attempted a Prog Rock opera. They are decidedly more modern sounding and less of a technical beast than the prototypical Prog group. It’s possible that calling this band and their sound Prog is a bit of a disservice. Is it Prog, is it indie, is it pop, is it alternative? Yes, yes, yes and yes.Ĭrescenzo draws from a plethora of influences from The Beatles to ELO to Radiohead. At first listen, so many aspects catch your attention, that it is hard to describe exactly what this album is. There is no band like The Dear Hunter and it is safe to say, there is not another album like this that has come out this year. Now, only a year later, comes Act V, continuing the story and complex musical tapestry that has made this group so unique. After taking a few years away from the series after Act III, and releasing a couple of albums that were not conceptual, Act IV saw a return to what fans have come to love from this eclectic group. The band seems to be going through the motions here and it doesn't stick as much.In 2015, Casey Crescenzo and his band The Dear Hunter returned to the “Act” series that began with Act 1 on 2006. Not a bad album but one that requires a few more listens, personally, to really feel captivated. Ultimately, Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise addresses a lot of its predecessors music-wise but it still feels short-sold at the end. Tracks like the latter are more focused and packed with intent. Consistently!) to breath huge volumes of life into songs like the piano-driven "Remembered", reminding you that no matter what, versatility in musical range is what TDH prides itself on. There's not enough to grip and engage you here but when the momentum lags, Crescenzo flexes his vocals (and note, he's really outstanding throughout. Then there are the cartoony tracks like "Rebirth" and "A Night on the Town" - mysterious and noir-ish like they're auditioning for a Pixar movie but things still feel so loose and lacking energy. Hell, there's even some Coheed and Cambria sprinkled about as you get acquainted to TDH's quaint, eclectic vibe. You feel an authoritative stamp a la labelmate, Max Bemis' last outing on Say Anything's Hebrews with other parts popping a la Andy Hull (Manchester Orchestra) and All Get Out. The hum of organs on "Waves" is a great example of this. They keep a lot of their old essence despite the risky elements of the album and balance a lot of it quite well. You get a lot of folk, pop, indie, jazz and so many other elements that you're accustomed to. It's a risky formula that's always worked in the past but this time, it doesn't feel as fluid. This record ends up being the band's most commercial and most accessible, definitely seeming geared towards mainstream success, but a lot of it feels like TDH's version of elevator music, toying around too much and lacking cohesion at times. Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise continues this descent into his mind and feels familiarly explicit, especially riding the wave of a back catalog and live albums, that possess a lot of character and not to sound cheesy, a lot of pizzazz. Casey Crescenzo has used it as a vehicle to get more imaginative and much more creative than The Receiving End of Sirens allowed and it's been a fun-ride hearing him express this artistically. The Dear Hunter's always been an intriguing music-maker.
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