So here we are – halfway through the sprawling six-volume epic of The Dear Hunter, and the road has been anything but smooth. After the universally adored Act II came out and gained traction in the scene, the band was almost dismantled by the departure of three members, leaving the future of the band and its opus in clouded doubt. Thankfully for fans, Casey Crescenzo is persistent to the greatest degree, and along with Erick Serna, rebuilt The Dear Hunter to rise again.

One might think that with this discord and splintering, the work of The Dear Hunter might suffer in kind, but such is not the case. If anything, Act III: Life and Death ends up being a much more focused, coherent offering, and exhibits no signs of faltering or lost momentum. Whereas Act II: The Meaning Of & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading was the progeny of the band experimenting across the entire sonic spectrum, Act III is the sound of a band finding their sound, and honing it to a fine point. Act II was lauded for its diversity, but Act III almost makes it sound disconnected in comparison. Act II was almost certainly the band (and Casey) finding itself, and Act III is the first revelation of the growth to come from said self-awareness.

Concept albums offer up one hell of a tricky proposition. They are essentially the 7-10 split of music, where artists generally have to choose between having an album with artistic authenticity, or one that actually sounds good. Now, take that slippery slope and multiply it six-fold and you can have a hint of the battle Casey Crescenzo and company are facing with their now-unfurling multi-act epic – the story of The Dear Hunter.

For those of us who took the time to listen to, and appreciate, Act I: The Lake South, The River North EP, chances are you were taken a little off guard by just how damn solid the release was. Treated to thirty-nine meaty minutes of music-set storytelling, the listener is easily swept away into the parallel universe in which the work resides. And to be sure, most of us enjoyed every single second of it. While good for the EP itself, the fidelity of the release gave rise to some pretty inflated expectations for the then-upcoming LP. So, one main question still remains – how does it stack up? The answer is “brilliantly,” as Act IIshatters all existing expectations and blows even its EP and demo predecessors out of the water.