A Review of Act IV: Rebirth and Reprise by The Dear Hunter

We continue our review series of Dear Hunter's Act albums and we've reached Act IV: Rebirth and Reprise but first, here's a rough translation of this album's plot (source can be found here)

Act IV: The Oracles give a quick reminder that The Boy as now assumed the identity of his half-brother The Son and plans on fulfilling his promise to The Son to care for his mother (referred to as The Mother). The Boy expresses his desire to use this opportunity to relive the happiest moments he had with his own mother, Ms. Terri.

The Boy deserts his post in the war and manages to sneak onto a boat going towards where The Mother lives, hoping the ship lasts the journey because of his eagerness to remember the feeling of love that he had previously felt briefly in his past.

The Boy arrives and The Mother doesn't tip off whether she can see through the deception or believes he is actually her son but goes along as if he is The Son, causing everything to be well for a brief time. However, soon The Mother grows ill and it becomes evident that she will die soon. The Boy holds onto this safe place they built for each other for a little while longer until The Mother's inevitable death.

The Boy spreads The Mother's ashes across the sea and remembers a time where she mentioned a girl The Son had been seeing previously and he should find her in The City. The Boy originally dismissed this idea vowing to never return to The City however he now realizes that he has nowhere else to go.

The Boy arrives in The City once again and experiences a drunken night of doubt and wonder if his true identity will ever be found out. It's during this time The encounters a woman who seems to recognize him, a women he drunkingly assumed was Ms. Leading and The Boy experiences a wave of bad memories from Act II and how she treated him.

The next morning, the two wake up and The Boy realizes that she was no Ms. Leading but she turns out to be The Son's fiancee, The Lover.

That morning, The Lover almost immediately has suspicions that this really isn't her fiance as The Son and The Boy have different outlooks on life. The Lover eventually decides to go along with the lie, to give the relationship a chance because she feels like The Boy needs her and she would be capable to help him. The Lover wakes up The Boy and both go to church.

As they arrive to Mass, The Boy sees The Priest/Pimp but The Boy seems to be the only one in the congregation expressing distrust as the sermon begins. The Priest/Pimp explains how for a small fee, they can achieve salvation through his church. The Priest/Pimp keeps The City in a constant cycle of sin and forgiveness because he's got the market cornered on both as The Church and The Dime both see a healthy profit which goes straight to his pocket.

After the sermon, The Boy devises a plan to run for Mayor as way to loosen the Priest/Pimp's grip of the people of The City. The Lover's father, The Senator, agrees to assist in this political campaign. The Priest/Pimp somehow overhears this entire plan.

After The Senator's endorsement, support for The Boy pushes him to the front of the race. The Boy lets the crowd know of his (The Son's) humble beginnings and realizes that through the hardships he fell onto, The Boy could really do good for The City and owes all of his success to The Lover, who has shown unwavering support.

As the election continues, The Boy utilizes more and more cheap tactics to defeat his opponents. In fear of him becoming corrupt, The Lover warns The Boy to not push it too far and get carried away. The Boy ignores the warning and continues his corrupt ways to eventually win the election. He accepts the inauguration in a speak where he vows to turn The City into Eden.

The Lover becomes increasingly disappointed in The Boy's corrupt tactics in the election and sees a growing bitterness in him over the past hardships. She tries to convince The Boy that he should decline being the mayor and he would be happy if they left and lived a simple but good life together. The Boy remembers how love always found a way to leave him in the past, he choose the mayor's office over The Lover and she leaves him for good.

The Boy recalls all the horrible things he's done to get to where he's at now and begins to hope that there is no greater force that will one day judge him for his sins.

Now The Boy is sworn in as the mayor and he vows to take down The Priest/Pimp and expose him for the snake The Boy knows him to be. The Priest/Pimp encounters The Boy and claims he know his true identity, the bastard son of Ms. Terri and former lover of Ms. Leading. The Priest/Pimp, knowing the scandal it would be if The Boy's true identity was made public, offers a deal to the new mayor: turn a blind eye to his activities in exchange for keeping the secret identity a secret.

Act IV ends as The Boy remembers the Oracles' prophecy from Act II and realizes just how far he's wondered from The Lake and recognizes that he has nothing left to do.

Kue: After the climactic battle sound of Act III, Act IV comes in as the dust settles in the aftermath. The tone is much more somber (with the exception of "A Night on the Town"), but still as impactful as any of the other albums. Personally, I find myself digging this album especially probably due to the tinge of smooth soul influence that echoes, as if painting a scene of calm resolution, yet still some loose ends to tie up. By the time the final track, "Ouroboros", plays, one gets the feeling that the end doesn't come without a question mark.

Standout tracks include "The Old Haunt", "Is There Anybody There?" (Ironically more haunting), "The Bitter Suite IV: Abandon", and "Wait".

Chris: I'm sure all of you have figured out by now that I'm completely in the tank for The Dear Hunter and failed miserably at seeming unbiased so I'm not even going to pretend in this review: Act IV is by far Dear Hunter's best album and one of my favorite albums ever. There was a six year gap between Acts III and IV (the band released Migrant and Color Spectrum in those years) and it was like the band was visiting an old friend and the listeners were in on the conversation. Act IV is an example of something Dear Hunter is really good at, making their music like an inside reference but it's not to the point where it's neglectful to the casual listener but the music itself is good enough to make the casual listener curious enough to check out the rest of their music so that they're in on the references as well. The first half of the album feels like a graceful stage curtain opening up to welcome you back into the fold and then it's just kind of floating around almost aimlessly (mostly because the main character is still struggling to find a new purpose). Things get real interesting at the end of A Night on the Town as dedicated Dear Hunter listeners are sure to get chills the first time they hear the haunting reprise of The Bitter Suite I, a reference to The Boy's initial and greatest heartache almost a decade prior. The second half of the album (starting with The Bitter Suite IV and V) is where the album really impresses me as the character finds a new purpose and the band kicks into a new impressive gear of storytelling through music that engages even the casual listener. I don't think I could accurately give a list of my favorite songs on the album because I'd probably list the entire album as I seem to have a new favorite every time I listen. I will say the final track, Ouroboros is an incredible achievement as it's the only major confrontation between The Boy and The Priest/Pimp and it's the only time in the album somebody called out The Boy's false identity so it very much serves as the plot climax. After that last song, I became incredibly relieved to find out Act V would be coming out about a year after ACT IV, any longer and I would've gone mad with anticipation over what the band is called their "Final Act." Will it really be the end of the Act series? Or will it be the last before another break? I suppose we'll find out when Act V comes out this Friday (9/9/16) and we will be back to offer our thoughts on the new album next Monday (9/12/16).