Led by lead singer and songwriter Casey Crescenzo, The Dear Hunter have created the Acts saga, a series of 5 albums all connected by one interwoven story. To claim that what The Dear Hunter has accomplished with the Acts series is extraordinary would be putting it mildly. Truthfully speaking, these 5 albums are some of the best pieces of music created in the 21st century, and possibly among the biggest achievements in music's history. So without further ado, let's get into the albums.
Act I: The Lake South, The River North
The Acts series starts with Act I: The Lake South, The River North. This first album, released in 2006, introduces many of the principle characters of the story, as well as their origins. The protagonist of the series, Hunter, is born in the late 1800s to a prostitute named Ms. Terri. The owner of the brothel she works at, The Pimp & the Priest (TP&TP), is the primary antagonist of the story. He poses as a priest in order to gain favor with the people, so his brothel can be run peacefully. TP&TP beats and abuses Ms. Terri, so she escapes the city that they are living in to a place called "The Lake & The River". This is detailed in the song fittingly titled 'City Escape'. The rest of the album details Hunter's childhood, as well as including an introductory song for The Pimp & the Priest. At the end of the album, Ms. Terri dies of natural causes, leaving a now-teenage Hunter alone in the world.
Sound wise, the album is very cabaret-influenced progressive rock, sounding like a more experimental version of popular pop-rock group Panic! at the Disco at times. There are quite a few interesting time signatures, most notably in the song '1878' which is primarily written in 7/8. There's also a wide range of instruments in use on the album, something that only expands further along in the series. One will hear all the standard rock instruments (guitar, drums, bass, keyboard) accompanied by trumpets, cellos, and various other instruments. The album is also the shortest in the Acts series, at only 39 minutes. Use the video below to listen to standout track 'The Pimp and the Priest'.
Act II: The Meaning of, & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading
Act II: The Meaning of, & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading, picks up right where Act I left off. After Ms. Terri's death, Hunter gets a train ticket to return to the city that they escaped from when he was a newborn. While in the city, he stumbles upon The Dime, which happens to be the brothel that his mother worked at. The Dime also happens to be right next door to the church of the city. Of course, he runs into The Pimp & the Priest, who sees the young teenager as a way to make easy money at his brothel. TP&TP introduces Hunter to Ms. Leading, a prostitute who works at the brothel. Hunter ends up falling in love with Ms. Leading, and is then heartbroken when he sees her with another man. At the end of the album, Hunter decides to leave the city to fight in "The Great War", which is understood to be World War I.
The sound of Act II expands upon Act I. The songs are more structured, and the fact that there are 15 tracks instead of 8 allows the band to experiment with more sounds. There's much more piano on this record compared to Act I, as it is now the primary instrument heard along with the guitars. There are also several other new instruments used, such as a glockenspiel and a harp. The album is also slightly heavier than its predecessor, with vocalist Casey using raspier vocals in certain parts to elicit more emotion. As with any Dear Hunter album, there is plenty of experimentation as well. 'Blood of the Rose' is a cello-driven track with Spanish lyrics, while 'Evicted' sees the band try their hand at the interesting and uncommon 5/4 time signature. Act II is also much longer than Act I, at an hour and 16 minutes. Listen to standout track 'Red Hands' below:
Act III: Life & Death
Act III: Life and Death details the events of World War I from Hunter's perspective. Early in the album, Hunter and his squad come across and enemy tank, and he barely escapes with his life. While wandering alone trying to find his way back to camp, Hunter comes across a rogue doctor who poisons wounded soldiers instead of healing them. The poison woman gives him a bottle of poison to keep. Later, Hunter runs into a thief who is looting the corpses of soldiers. He joins the thief as they return to camp, but they run into a battlefield covered in mustard gas. However, Hunter is able to make it back safely when he is saved by another soldier who looks similar to him. Back at camp, the leader of Hunter's platoon tells a story about how he got several women pregnant at a brothel back in the city. The men then go off to battle, where Hunter's friend dies in his arms. Before his death, he reveals to Hunter that they are half-brothers and the platoon leader is their father. Enraged that his father shows no remorse for his son's death, Hunter poisons him and steals his half-brothers identity as he plans to return to the city.
Act III is far more bombastic than the previous two records. Strings and horns play a much bigger role, creating an epic-sounding, huge record. Saxophones, trombones, and french horns all enter the mix and result in the most full-sounding album yet in the Acts series. There's also a great contrast between the battle songs such as 'In Cauda Venenum' and 'Mustard Gas', and the slower songs like 'This Beautiful Life' and 'Saved'. Of course, there's plenty more experimentation to be had as well, such as banjo-led track 'Go Get Your Gun'. Check out standout track 'In Cauda Venenum' below:
Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise
Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise came out six years after the previous album in the series, the largest gap of any of the albums. So in a way, it was the "rebirth" of the Acts series. In Act IV, Hunter returns to the city, posing as his half-brother. On his way to the city, he reminisces about his love for Ms. Leading, hoping that he may see her again upon his return. When he reaches the city, Hunter finds out that The Dime has closed while he was away. Hunter meets his half-brother's fiance, and very quickly forgets about Ms. Leading, instead getting the fiance pregnant. One night, Hunter goes out on the town and gets drunk, and runs into Ms. Leading again, who is working as a bartender. However, they don't interact as he only catches a fleeting glance at her. However, being reminded of Ms. Leading is enough to cause Hunter to enter a deep depression, and when the fiance realizes something is wrong she encourages him to visit the church. At the church, Hunter sees his arch-enemy once again, The Pimp & The Priest. With his brothel closed, TP&TP is now posing as a doctor, scamming the people of the city for money. Hunter decides to use his fake identity to run for mayor and oust TP&TP to the city as a fraud. Hunter ends up winning the election, but his plan is foiled when TP&TP reveals that he knew his real identity all along. TP&TP then blackmails Hunter into reopening The Dime and keeping his fraudulent activities a secret, threatening to reveal Hunter's true identity to the people otherwise.
Act IV is far, far more orchestral and layered than the previous albums sound-wise. For this record and the following Act V the band was able to use a full, live orchestra to record all the string and horn parts. This, along with better production values, allows for a more full and satisfying sound. This also allows for many, many more instruments to be used in the album. These new instruments include the flute, the oboe, the piccolo, the bassoon and contrabassoon, the clarinet, the tuba, and many more. Act IV is also the most varied album in the series, with many styles present throughout. Lead single 'Waves' is a calm, simple indie rock song, while 'A Night on the Town' is a 9-minute long epic filled with horns and strings. Meanwhile, 'The Bitter Suite IV&V' sound similar to a Disney villain track. The album also holds disco track 'King of Swords (Reversed)' and an electronic rock song in 'Wait'. Listen to standout track 'Waves' below:
Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional is the most recent album in the Acts series to date, and marks the climax of the story. The album takes place nearly a decade after the events of Act IV, and Hunter has been mayor for that time. The Dime has reopened, and The Pimp & the Priest is more powerful than ever, with the city's mayor in his clutches. Hunter has also started an affair with Ms. Leading in between albums, yet another thing that TP&TP has to use against him as blackmail. Juggling his duties as the mayor and a father along with the pressure of TP&TP knowing his secrets, Hunter has developed an opium addiction. At the midpoint of Act V, a powerful businessman by the name of Mr. Usher arrives in the city, wanting to expand his business. Hunter is ambivalent towards Mr. Usher, but plots to use his business expansions to overthrow TP&TP once and for all. However, TP&TP is once again one step ahead of Hunter, and has already struck a deal with Mr. Usher to keep The Dime intact. As revenge for attempting to overthrow him, TP&TP kills Ms. Leading. He also reveals Hunter's true identity to the people of the city, and that Hunter killed his own father. Enraged, Hunter decides to take matters into his own hands, and sets The Dime ablaze, burning it down along with the church. This results in a furious mob appearing at Hunter's doorstep, demanding he pay for his crimes. TP&TP enters Hunter's house to negotiate with him, and Hunter stabs him before killing himself.
Act V is by far the darkest sounding album in the Acts, to go along with the dark lyrical themes revolving around death and drug addiction. Instrumentally, the album uses many of the same styles as Act IV as they were actually recorded at the same time. There's a 40s/50s sounding swing track in 'Mr. Usher (On His Way to Town)', as well as a western style song in 'The Most Cursed of Hands/Who Am I'. Acoustic number 'Light' is also different for the Acts, as acoustic songs have been few and far between. Listen to standout track 'The Revival' with the video below:
That concludes our review of the Acts series by The Dear Hunter. There is still one more album planned for the series, Act VI, but no details have been given by the band regarding the release of the final album. In the meantime, you can check out more information about the band and their music at www.thedearhunter.com.
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