If the Dear Hunter excels at anything, it's a grand concept. During a decade spent on the sprawling indie-prog-opera Acts saga, the outfit veered outside the lines just a few times in the early 2010s with the Color Spectrum and Migrant. Once again, they take a break from the Acts with the imaginative Antimai, making a creative jump that's unencumbered by canon or mythology and delivering one of the best efforts in their catalog to date. This time around, the Casey Crescenzo-fronted band attempts a dystopian sci-fi theme, creating a world of the haves and have-nots living in a futuristic city of concentric zones that is centered on a tower inhabited by the all-powerful God Emperor XCV. The only hope for the masses rests in the messianic Indigo Child (who was introduced on 2021's eponymous EP). It's straightforward enough and won't require as much time and effort going down the rabbit hole (as with the Acts), making Antimai an accessible and easily digestible nugget in their expansive, and sometimes daunting, discography. In addition to the fresh setting and storyline, Crescenzo and company inject a welcome pizzazz to their usual sound with an energetic horn section, playful synths, and a funk-soul groove that lends Antimai a dance-friendly, earworm quality, like on the soaring highlight "Ring 7 - Industry." There's even a tongue-in-cheek cheer squad that pops up at the end of "Ring 3 - Luxury," their Emperor-loving chants punctuated by Crescenzo's spirited cries of "Yeah!" and "Unh!" The Dear Hunter don't often sound like they're having this much fun, and it's a thrill to hear. Longtime fans wishing they'd just release another Act can rest easy with "Ring 5 - Middle Class," the most Acts-y sounding track of the bunch, a rousing, two-parter split by a strutting jazz horn and chorus break, and the pastoral "Ring 2 - Nature," an optimistic break sung from the perspective of the observant environment. Neo-new wave anthem "Ring 4 - Patrol" recalls the best of Huey Lewis, if that '80s icon was then rocketed into space, while "Ring 8 - Poverty" channels the chamber pop energy of the Acts and smashes the formula with playful xylophone tinkles and a cacophonous space-funk brass breakdown straight out of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." If this all sounds very unlike the Dear Hunter, that's part of the appeal: with the Acts already accessible, Antimai is a breath of fresh air that stretches the band's sonic arsenal, introducing listeners to a wider scope of possibilities for what they can pull off without losing their core sound. Against the ever-relatable themes of class struggle and structural inequality that mirror the real world, the quality of the tunes and sheer musicianship simply elevate Antimai even further. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

1		Ring 8 - Poverty
2		Ring 7 - Industry
3		Ring 6 - LoTown
4		Ring 5 - Middle Class
5		Ring 4 - Patrol
6		Ring 3 - Luxury
7		Ring 2 - Nature
8		Ring 1 - Tower

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