THE DEAR HUNTER – Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise (2015)

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THE DEAR HUNTER were formed out of the ashes of post-hardcore band The Receiving End Of Sirens in 2006, with vocalist Casey Crescenzo looking to create a more conceptual and progressive rock project. As his previous band style is not my cup of tea, it is not strange I never heard about him.
But with THE DEAR HUNTER Crescenzo has already produced 6 albums, and what they create indeed result quite interesting to me, as heard on their new album “Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise” to be released next September 4.

“Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise” is the 4th part of a concept which last episode appeared in 2009 (after that the band released a couple of non-concept records).
Whether you love or loathe The Dear Hunter will likely depend on factors bigger than one album, or even six. Like many modern acts that fly the prog flag, this isn’t 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 he’s trying to squeeze more out of his talents with each song.
This much holds true on “Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise”. It’s a complex piece of music, but always interesting.

Crescenzo is far more interesting as a musician than as a lyricist. His ‘story’ is too often hindered by vague, flowery language and one-dimensional characters saddled with names like Ms. Terri and Ms. Leading (get it?). We’ll 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 there’s some batshit stuff going on here, though much of what happens in the protagonist’s story is rooted in Crescenzo’s own life. Here’s the dirty secret: strip away the concept, and you’re not really losing all that much.

Then, as far as the actual music goes, The Dear Hunter is truly challenging. The results are sometimes strange, sometimes thrilling, and sometimes both.
An album title like “Rebirth In Reprise” suggests that repetition can be a cleansing or purifying act, but Crescenzo doesn’t sound like he’s moving in circles here. He throws the whole damn sink into opener “Rebirth”, which transitions from an opening multi-part vocal arrangement (some Queen / Kansas on it) into a crazy waltz with a flick of the maestro’s wrist.

Crescenzo enlisted Bay Area musicians The Awesöme Orchestra (sic) for this chapter of his tale, and he sure gets his money’s worth. They steal the show on “Rebirth” and lend a snappy, swinging rhythm to the epic centerpiece “A Night on the Town”, making it feel shorter than its nine minutes.
Aside from texture, the orchestral arrangements add a crucial sense of time and place to the story (the early 20th century).

“Act IV Rebirth In Reprise” is musically ambitious, but also pretty accessible. Tucked into all that prog arrangements are some standalone rock&pop songs. “Waves” is a nice, contemplative rock ballad that takes its cues from traditional folk-prog rock but its essence is easy to the ears.
“The Squeaky Wheel” is more of a conventional piano rocker, but its subtle variations remain interesting throughout, and Crescenzo’s voice shines at the front of the mix.
Other cross-genre stabs at accessibility may sound a bit out of place in the record, but I like it alot. “King of Swords (Reversed)” sounds like ’79 ELO updated to modern times.

As said, “Act IV Rebirth In Reprise” is a challenging record. It is impossible to classify, mixing rock&pop, prog in all its variants, even some classic rock.
At places, The Dear Hunter feels a bit pretentious, but you can’t deny its intention to create something new or at least, original. They take their varied influences and mash up the whole thing.
Just check “The Bitter Suite IV And V: The Congregation And The Sermon In The Silt” inspired by Queen (not far from what Swedes Jono have been doing recently) and then “If All Goes Well” adds strong guitar riffs in modern rock vein while the vocal harmonies are typically Seventies. Strange and defiant, but works wonderfully for the most part. Pretty original for sure.
Do not be fooled by the album artwork (beautiful) recalling classic prog, the sound & style here is really modern.
Open your ears and try “Act IV Rebirth In Reprise”. I liked it alot.

01. Rebirth
02. The Old Haunt
03. Waves
04. At the End of the Earth
05. Remembered
06. A Night on the Town
07. Is There Anybody Here?
08. The Squeaky Wheel
09. The Bitter Suite IV and V:
The Congregation and the Sermon in the Silt
10. The Bitter Suite VI:
Abandon
11. King of Swords (Reversed)
12. If All Goes Well
13. The Line
14. Wait
15. Ouroboros

Casey Crescenzo – vocals, piano, guitar, bass
Nick Crescenzo – drums, percussion, vocals
Robert Parr – guitar, vocals, keyboards
Nick Sollecito – bass
Maxwell Tousseau – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Andrew Brown – keyboards, vocals

PRE-ORDER:
www.equalvision.com/releases/act-iv-rebirth-in-reprise/
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