If your least favorite parts of The Crane Wife were the high-concept, prog-friendly, organ blaring twelve minute suites, then you should probably leave The Hazards of Love alone.

It’s a single-narrative piece with four main characters (two of which are sung by Colin Meloy, which sometimes makes things confusing) that spends more time indulging in metal-friendly prog rock than folk rock that originated as a stage play.

If that’s not something that would send you the other way (for me, it is about half of the time), then there’s plenty to enjoy, from the uplifting vows of the folk-rock “Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)” to My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden’s classic rock roar as the Fairy Queen, especially on the distorted stomp of “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid’s” second half.

There’s also some elements that are to be stomached rather than enjoyed, like the ghost-child choir that appears after the villain murders his children, who come back to take their vengeance, or the corny accordion led “Isn’t It a Lovely Night.”

Over all, the story is interesting enough, if not convoluted (Wikipedia had to clear some of the narrative up for me), and the album’s highlights are enough to cover over its weaknesses, even if I wouldn’t usually put it on for a spin.

 

edit: when I wrote this seven years ago, I was still shedding a lot of my damage from my folk days and metalcore days (separate eras, to clear that up). My budding fascination with Krautrock and shoegaze had left me unable to appreciate this record as much as I should.

While everything I said is still true, I’ve come back around to this record.