Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gotta use who you can..., August 16, 2006
Typically, the eponymous debut is the music industry standard. If you release a self-titled album after a stream of otherwise titled output, it's because your band is running out of steam creatively. So it's ironic that this is Gatsby's American Dream's self-titled record, their name here giving the old one finger salute to the American music business.
For anyone new to the game, this four-piece melds progressive rock and punk in a manner that has the end result of sounding like Rush being obliterated by a tank with Bach and Jello Biafra at the wheel. "Dream pop" is about the farthest away from Gatsby's intricate, "distortion-blitzed" squall as one can get, though it might be accurate to call their work pop music that hammers its way into your dreams. The band's mission statement, at least partially, pops up here in a most unlikely place, on "Margaritas and Cock": "I've gotta write these songs to remind you that you believe in music."
It's another helping of more of the same with "Gatsby's American Dream," but having lyrical targets like literature and the sins of the music industry continuously on their horizon is at least more entertaining than album after album of love unrequited. Anti-music industry tirades crossbred with (some might say haphazard) references to literature comprise the lyrical content of Gatsby's back catalog. The arrangement and composition of their music has always far outstripped the frustration evident in Gatsby's lyrics. And frustrated though they may be, the words are clever. This record is no exception.
"Gatsby's American Dream" is probably the most bitter and direct denunciation of the corporate element of any of the band's efforts, however (with the possible exception of the "In The Land of Lost Monsters" EP). It speeds along like a bullet fired from a riot gun, clocking in at a mere 33 minutes and some change, biting the hand that feeds by way of satirical rants like "Badd Beat" and the Coldplay-riff-lifting "Filthy Beasts" ("Some things you can't protect...") all along the way.
Though it feels like a stopgap record to start, "Gatsby's American Dream" has politics AND drunken harmonizing, not to mention eleven challenging, and hopefully thought-provoking pieces that summon inspiration from the pages of Philip K. Dick and van treks in the name of music across the miles of the American highway system. It might be outwitted by other albums from this band, but not much else.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Tripods Are Coming!, October 15, 2008
A interesting little CD by a band I never heard of. Yet they seem to be fans of the Tripod series, with such songs are My Name is Ozymandias and The White Mountains. Weird, twisted, somewhat unnatural, but worth getting. Just get it used.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Go Wrong With GAD, August 29, 2008
It seems that some people are complaining that this album is "more of the same". Yeah, it has plenty of the traits of GAD: No real structure, the most infectious vocals, a rad rhythm section, some of the most passionate guitar playing I've heard from a new band, great lyrics, etc. But it feels a lot different, and it's definitely less produced that Volcano. I think that they could not have done a more different follow than Volcano (well, not different as releasing an album of noise like Merzbow, but you get the point).
So what's new? First off, the production was said to be a lot more raw and less polished, and if you compare this to Volcano, you can easily tell. Actually, I think the drums sound better than ever. The groove is pulsing, throbbing, and will make you dance. I read somewhere that said if you liked A Mind full of Metal and Wheels, you would love a lot of the record. Everything sounds more raw, but at the same time, sounds more vibrant and biting. Oh, and those vocals that back up are awesome. Not as, eh, progressive sounding as Volcano, it won't replace that masterpiece, but it's very obvious.
Like the past two Gatsby's American Dream albums, there isn't a single bad song on here. If you liked the past two albums, you will find some great tunes, and not just more of the same either. The piano, while isn't refined, just adds more song craft to their songs (floating organ sounds, some jazzy bits). They might be learning some jazz after all? If they realize the merits of that, I can't wait to hear it on their next album. The lyrics and vocals have changed, and while Nic's vocals are less refined and could easily be passed off as whiny, I still find him the most infectious vocalist to come along in this decade, for sure (and the backing vocals rule). The lyrics are stabs at the record industry, though you can probably detect other topics as well. (and no, Shadow of the Colossus is not about the videogame despite it's title).
Highlights? Damn. The highlight is pretty much the whole thing, though you don't want to miss the many memorable parts this album has. Check out the sing-along on Badd Beat, the pounding drums of My Name is Ozymandias, and the distortion blitzed finale of The White Mountains. You wouldn't want to miss the gang vocals on Filthy Beasts either, or the groovy We Can Remember it For Your Wholesales. Again, it boast more ideas than Fallout Boy and Taking Back Sunday have accomplised in their whole careers.
Though I feel it's not AS good as Volcano or Ribbons and Sugar. Still amazing music, and don't let any retarded idiot tell you otherwise, whether it's some naysayer listener or some retarded online magazine. This is great stuff, and it will challenge you a bit. It's not the ideal album to start with, I sure wasn't sold on this album.
It's too bad that these guys went on hiatus after the release of this album. But hopefully, they learn some stuff from all the bands they are playing in (I've heard some strong ideas from all the bands, save from Nic's lame punk band, awful). Let's hope the next release by this excellent band blows us away. They have quite some composition skills under their belts learned from everything they have touched, learned new things. With seven different bands, they can easily pick up more dimensions and a lot of ideas. Let's hope that they take EVERYTHING and apply it all to one album. Just imagine that!!!
9/10
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