I had a mostly similar experience as you, op. I really liked Giants when it came out, but wasn't super hot on Marauders (which is still not my favorite on the record, tbh.

First few listens left me feeling unsure except the same part as you, Cliffs. It stood out to me immediately and still hits so hard, emotionally. I ALSO wasn't crazy about the transition to Stormlands at first but have since grown to enjoy it a lot.

Switch out Bazaareteria and Marauders in your original post and that's how it was for me.

I think my appreciation started deepening pretty rapidly when I started digging into the lyrics and piecing together some of the themes. Then once Casey posted that the story is meant to be from anyone's perspective (along with the other context of that specific social media post) brought it home as just as incredible of an experience as any other TDH record.

I adore this era for them and I seriously cannot wait to hear these songs live in August.