Album Rating: 4.5

About time I slap a rating on this but wanted to say the production is absolutely immaculate. Tower might be my favorite, so mind-boggling and futuristic (not to mention how creepily despair inducing it is)

Album Rating: 4.0

I need to give it more time and listens but overall very enjoyable

god damn the first and only Dear Hunter album I heard was Act I which I thought was perfectly average, but now I check the band's rating and yall really seem to think theyre like the best modern prog-rock-opera band of this generation huh. I might have to re-listen

Album Rating: 4.0

definitely check ole Act IV and V, though those are top TDH

Album Rating: 4.0

Act I is pretty average/boring compared to Act II, IV and V tbh. Start with those instead

once I'm done devouring this new Porcupine Tree I'll check em

i still remember the hype around the colour spectrum

what an insane collection in retrospect

Album Rating: 3.0

i cannot get through I and II but IV is great and V is incredible

Album Rating: 3.5

It's pretty funny that some people thought they fell off after act III and thought they'd never get around to the concept again due to color spectrum and migrant and then they dropped IV and V. Wouldn't be surprised if they pulled off a similar trajectory again

So does the story not really matter at all? I'm down to skip Act 1 and 2 and go right to 3-5 but will that impact the enjoyment?

Album Rating: 3.5

The story isn't necessary to enjoy their albums. Like Coheed, it can just be a vague thing in the background that you'll pick up some details on through osmosis. If you actually pay attention though, there are some cool twists and turns. I understand skipping Act 1 but Act II rules

Album Rating: 3.0

skipping act 2 would be very not epic, act 2 and act 5 are the best

Album Rating: 4.0

Yea, really Act II, IV and V are top tier TDH

Act II has bad production, but apart from that it's stellar

Album Rating: 3.0

haven't cared about this band for a while and this review does not get my hopes up

First half of Act III rules, In Cauda Venenum, The Tank, and Mustard Gas are certified bangers, along with He Said He Had a Story, but the lyrics on that one are weird outside of the concept. Album tanks pretty hard towards the end. IV and V are best, and The Most Cursed of Hands is probably my favorite song of theirs.

Album Rating: 4.5

"when a band is so focused on the concept, the album fails if the concept fails"

Personally, I couldn't agree with this less. I've listened to The Dear Hunter for 15 years, and multiple of the Acts albums are some of my favorite albums of all time, and yet I STILL barely grasp or understand any of the story or character elements behind the lyrics and concepts of those albums. If tomorrow I decided to do a bunch of digging and reading to find out more about that stuff, and came to the conclusion that the story and concept behind the Acts was generic and mediocre and boring (not saying they are, this is hypothetical), that wouldn't even remotely affect my continued enjoyment of those albums and my appreciation of them as musical masterpieces.

I think it's super cool that some people delve beyond the music to follow the stories and characters and analyze the lyrics through the lense of that stuff, I really do. And I think it's fair to have expectations from the band regarding that stuff based on their previous work, and to be disappointed when they don't meet the bar you hold for them. But I disagree with the idea that their ability to make good music lives or dies by those standards. They release their art in the form of music, and therefore I think it deserves to be judged as MUSIC first and foremost, and everything else is just a bonus. If the music wasn't more important than the story and concept, then it wouldn't be released as music, it would be released as a novel or a screenplay.

I'm not saying my disagreement here should change your appraisal of the album, I appreciate your arguments that the musical styles don't complement the concepts they're married to, and how that can be jarring and affect your enjoyment. And if you think musically this album falls short of their previous work too, that's fair. I just take issue with the idea that a concept album can't be an incredible album based just on the music alone, even if the story isn't all that original or satisfying or comprehensible, as someone who often finds it unnecessary to even pay attention to the lyrics in music (even story-based concept albums) in order to still get worlds of enjoyment and euphoria out of it.

Personally I absolutely LOVE this record. The arrangements are exciting, production is fantastic, it's bold and unique and groovy and powerful. I've listened to it a handful of times just blissing out to the music alone. I think it's another example of how genius this band is.

Album Rating: 3.0

^ That is a totally fair and very well written comment and argument. It's actually one I agree with. I love all of the Acts and don't really know the story or the concept that well at all, if I'm going to be entirely honest. I can return to any of the albums and enjoy them individually. I think that's where some of my disappointment here lies, because I feel like it's way more focused on the idea of being a concept album than the Acts. There's nothing subtle or hidden about the story - It's fairly in your face, and it became really difficult for me to separate the music from the concept, which isn't something I've experienced with their music before (or really any of the concept albums I enjoy) I also definitely see how people can, and in that case, I see how this is more enjoyable. Musically, I do think there are some issues too, but I think it's even further dragged down by how tied it is to its concept. But more power to folks who don't have that stumbling block!

Haven't listened since the color spectrum. How does this compare?

Album Rating: 3.5

You got a lot to catch up on lol I would take this over a decent amount of Color Spectrum, but Acts IV and V are better. Migrant is about on par with this imo

Oh right I did listened to Migrant when it came out and wasn't a big fan. Maybe that's the reason I haven't listened to Casey again. Need to catch up.