- Release Info -------------------------------------------------------------- -
Artist: The Dear Hunter
Album: Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise
Label: Equal Vision
Playtime: 74:24 min
Genre: Rock
URL:
Rip date: 2015-09-03
Street date: 2015-09-04
Size: 142.76 MB
Type: Normal
Quality: 254 kbps / 4410Hz / Joint Stereo
- Release Notes ------------------------------------------------------------- -
"Never say Casey Crescenzo lacks ambition. If this guy had been in the control
room for NASAÆs lunar mission, he wouldÆve been griping about how we werenÆt
thinking ôbigö enough. The Providence-based songwriter is the self-styled
Proust of prog rock. If heÆs so vain, itÆs because the song is about him,
though what itÆs really about is the aporia of existence and the cyclical
nature of life, etc., etc.
Restraint might not be CrescenzoÆs strong suit, and heÆs probably not moving
any records with his sense of humor. But six albums into his career as The
Dear Hunter, heÆs right where he feels most comfortable: in the middle of an
epic album cycle that explores the birth, life, and eventual death of his
navel-gazing nom de guerre.
When we last left off in summer 2009, The Dear HunterÆs overarching narrative
had just reached the conclusion of Act III. ThatÆs three full albums dedicated
to the convoluted story of a boy who comes of age in the early years of the
20th century, with three more still to go. Before picking up with Act IV,
however, Crescenzo stepped away from his magnum opus to focus on writing
another concept project, a series of nine EPs about the color spectrum. Some
musicians choose cocaine as their preferred drug. Crescenzo might be the first
to develop a genuine addiction to big-picture rock records. Even 2013Æs
Migrant, the first non-conceptual album in the Dear Hunter catalog, feels like
a grandiose production. Crescenzo described it as a ôslightly more
stripped-downö record, but thatÆs like calling a humpback slightly smaller
than a blue whale.
Whether you love or loathe The Dear Hunter will likely depend on factors
bigger than one album, or even six. Like The Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria,
and other modern acts that fly the prog flag, this isnÆt a band for those who
seek out rock music for its simple, visceral pleasures. The stakes on a Dear
Hunter record are high as heaven, and Crescenzo genuinely sounds like heÆs
trying to squeeze more out of his talents with each outing.
This much holds true on Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise, the long-awaited
continuation of the six-album concept series that began in 2006. If the
complexity of CrescenzoÆs songwriting has grown by leaps and bounds over the
past decade, so has his fansÆ eagerness to extract a coherent story from his
lyrics. Online forums overflow with musings on The Dear HunterÆs hero (or
anti-hero ù weÆre never quite sure), and it seems the bandÆs mythos has
benefited from the internet culture it has evolved alongside.
All of this obscures the fact that Crescenzo is far more interesting as a
musician than as a lyricist. His ôstoryö is too often hindered by vague,
flowery language and one-dimensional characters saddled with names like Ms.
Terri and Ms. Leading (get it!?). WeÆll leave the more narrative aspects of
Act IV to annotation sites, which seem to have been made for highly textual
bands like The Dear Hunter. Suffice it to say thereÆs some batshit stuff going
on here, though much of what happens in the protagonistÆs story is rooted in
CrescenzoÆs own life. HereÆs the dirty secret: Strip away the concept, and
youÆre not really losing all that much.
As far as the actual music goes, Crescenzo has never sounded more willing to
take chances. The results are sometimes strange, sometimes thrilling, and
sometimes both. A title like Rebirth in Reprise suggests that repetition can
be a cleansing or purifying act, but Crescenzo doesnÆt sound like heÆs moving
in circles here. He throws the whole damn sink into opener ôRebirthö, which
transitions from a choral invocation into a chamber waltz with a flick of the
maestroÆs wrist.
Crescenzo enlisted Bay Area musicians the Awes÷me Orchestra for this chapter
of his tale, and he sure gets his moneyÆs worth. They steal the show on
ôRebirthö and lend a snappy, swinging rhythm to the epic centerpiece ôA Night
on the Townö, making it feel shorter than its interminable nine minutes. Aside
from texture, the orchestral arrangements add a crucial sense of time and
place. Act IV is supposed to take place in the early 20th century, and the
horns especially evoke the Jazz Age. ItÆs a good look for The Dear Hunter, a
band thatÆs always relied heavily on atmospheric elements but has never
sounded as confident in their tools as they do here.
In some ways, Act IV is the most ambitious entry in the series yet. ItÆs also
among the more accessible. Tucked into all that prog silliness are some
successful standalone pop songs. ôWavesö is a pretty, contemplative rock
ballad that takes its cues from the anthemic folk rock thatÆs blossomed in the
years since Act III. The songÆs soaring guitar line is reminiscent of
Icelandic indie rockers Of Monsters and Men, and its lush production is
typical of the genre. ôThe Squeaky Wheelö is more of a conventional piano
rocker, but its subtle variations remain interesting throughout, and
CrescenzoÆs voice shines at the front of the mix.
Other cross-genre stabs at pop accessibility donÆt work out quite so well.
ôKing of Swords (Reversed)ö is powered by a disco beat that feels
anachronistic at best and cheesy at worst. Not even Crescenzo has the power to
bring disco back.
In fact, the back half of Act IV ù pretty much everything that follows the
three-part continuation of ôThe Bitter Suiteö ù features more stumbles than
outright triumphs. ItÆs most successful in its quiet moments, like the
acoustic ballad ôThe Lineö, which chronicles a relationship fading and
fizzling. In this way, the song calls back to ôWavesö and suggests that
thereÆs something cyclical about the albumÆs sequencing. ItÆs too bad that
ôThe Lineö is followed by the murky ôWaitö, whose existential lyrics (ôWill I
ever know heaven or hell/ Or is eternity something worse?ö) want to hit hard
but donÆt carry the same immediacy as a simple love song. At moments like
these, Crescenzo sounds like heÆs merely playacting at profundity, or at least
reading a little too much Nietzsche.
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. As for the
uninitiated? That depends on the sensitivity of your bullshit meter. There
will always be people who want more from rock music than music. They want
literature, mystery, capital-M Meaning. They want the hand of God in the
grooves of the vinyl. Crescenzo is fun because heÆs down to take on that
impossible role of savior. Whether it all amounts to a car crash or a meteor
shower, give him this: We canÆt look away."
- Track List ---------------------------------------------------------------- -
01. Rebirth ( 2:51)
02. The Old Haunt ( 4:36)
03. Waves ( 4:12)
04. At the End of the Earth ( 5:16)
05. Remembered ( 3:50)
06. A Night on the Town ( 9:00)
07. Is There Anybody Here? ( 6:42)
08. The Squeaky Wheel ( 4:35)
09. The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and the Sermon In the ( 5:40)
Silt ( )
10. The Bitter Suite VI: Abandon ( 5:32)
11. King of Swords (Reversed) ( 5:07)
12. If All Goes Well ( 4:41)
13. The Line ( 3:37)
14. Wait ( 3:20)
15. Ouroboros ( 5:25)
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