Why are concept albums hard to sell? Is it because the stories that the artists/bands try to portray through their music either gets lost in the delivery? Is it because most of the concept albums are made by bands with either little to no audience, or that the audiences just don’t want to invest the time into digging into the lyrics and finding a deeper story behind each song. Regardless, concept albums are hard sells; however, critics (such as myself) usually have a soft spot for the creative power that goes into the musical juggernauts that they end up being.

This leads me to the new release from The Dear Hunter. Casey Cescenzo’s original side project from his first band The Receiving End of Sirens became his full time job, combining soulful voices with incredible riffs that would make any contemporary metal band envious. His first three albums was an entire story, each Act combining into one incredible story about “The Boy,” and how he grows up. Now that all three of the acts are finished (the last one released in 2009), Cescenzo had to move on to a different project.

So why not the rainbow? [Read more...]