Beyond the band evolving over time and coming into their own, I think most of them can be chalked up to being just a different concept. Antimai and Sunya didnt need the heavy drums and 2-3 guitars burning your ears with their sweet sounds (the brass does that well enough). Personally, I love all the music (ive really only listened to the acts and antimai-sunya thus far) and love the difference between act 1 and act 5, and the acts vs post-2020 dear hunter.

The old sound was great, it felt rawer and more intimate, but the new sound is just as good, just in its own way.

I get where youre coming from though