THE DEAR HUNTER started their career with three albums in a row that all told a story about an unnamed character from birth, through adolescence, and into adulthood. The idea of a multi-album concept is very progressive sounding, and would remind a listener of bands like Coheed And Cambria. However, musically, it is hard to compare this band to others, as they blend various different styles including progressive rock into their brand of indie rock. Act III was released in 2009, and many fans highly anticipated the next installment in the series. After stepping away from the story two albums in a row, they finally returned six years later, to the excitement of the fans. The music returns to the styles seen on previous Act albums; however Act IV sees the band continue to incorporate more and more diversity into their already diverse style. At just under 80 minutes, this album goes from hard rockers like The Old Haunt and the first half of A Night On The Town to ballads like Waves and The Line, to electronic sounding songs like Wait, to funky songs like If All Goes Well and King Of Swords (Reversed) to waltzes like Remembered, and finally to circus sounding music in all three parts of The Bitter Suite. It is nothing short of amazing how Casey and the gang are able to blend the styles in a flowing and cohesive way. Certain songs stick out much more, but it is obvious that those were intentional choices because they are what make this album interesting and entertaining from start to finish. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year so far, and an album that I can see myself returning to over and over again. If you have not checked this band out, do yourself a favor, because this band really knows how to consistently challenge themselves and put out quality music time after time.