Where most recording artists have to work up to crafting, mixing, and releasing a concept album, Casey Crescenzo (recording under the moniker The Dear Hunter) operates in diametric directions. His fifth studio album is also his first to not wax conceptual. “Bring You Down” opens with lush, symphonic strings that swell with sweeping grandiosity before dissipating to reveal Crescenzo cooing softly over stark piano notes. When the song builds up again, it plays with a gorgeous sonic panorama that’s rooted in the rich production values of Brian Wilson by way of Phil Spector. Freeing himself from the heady confines of piecing together conceptual albums pays off, as evidenced here and in the following “Whisper”—a similarly orchestrated composition with faster rhythms and what sounds like a church choir of vocal overdubs. After touring with the Los Gatos, Calif., band Dredg, it’s quite possible that some of that group's baroque-pop songwriting style seeped into the soulful “Shame,” which plays like a collaboration between The Dear Hunter and Dredg. “Let Go” is an emotionally triumphant standout.