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| Gatsbys American DreamIn the Land of Lost Monsters2004 LLR 
 Review by: Brian See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on August 10th 2004 Perhaps inspired by the likely swelling crowd of labels that came a-running after Gatsby’s American Dream’s Ribbons & Sugar was released to critical underground acclaim, GAD has now focused an entire disc’s worth of sheer sarcasm and metaphorical hate towards the bile tactics record labels can take. Whereas GAD gained a cult following using short bits of pop and post-punk and nomad-like time-signature travels, they now rely on mellower, piano-laden, melancholic tracks that vary in style and execution drastically, which manage to prevent one of the softer EPs of the year to become at all boring but also propel it to one of the best extended plays of the year. With nifty drum fills (see the closing of “The Dragon of Pendor”), abrupt yet fine-tuned tempo changes (see “You Stole My Story,” “The Dragon of Pendor”) and the maturing vocals of Nic Newsham, Gatsby’s continue to devlop into something words soon won’t fathom. “Yes, This is About You” opens the seven-track wonder asking, “the signal is corrupted / the songs are uninspired / where’s the fucking chorus?” where the closing track, “The Dragon of Pendor” (which could’ve been a fantastic B-side from the R & S sessions, with its jammed-out base and well-timed finger snaps) begs the very same triplet of lines, following it up with the warning of “but you can’t fuck with my integrity.” One of the most notable additions to the sound is a keyboard, which is utilized perfectly, whether it be fuzzed out moog or classical piano. In the acoustic-based coastal trip of “The Badlands,” its use in the bridge of the song provides this unspeakable breath of almost power-pop upbeatness that works wonders for the song’s otherwise depressive/nostalgic-like feel. This time around, the band is also a little more repetitive, lyrically-speaking. Whether or not they’re doing it to fit the theme of the album and make it ironic is beyond me, but either way, it doesn’t come off annoying in the least, even in “I Smell An Agenda,” where the repeated interrogation of “does the right hand, know what the left hand is doin’?” helps further plague a bleak, piano-scale stepping piece of work. Certainly this band gets a little more pretentious with every release, but their musicianship, creativity, and take-no-shit outlook is more than enough to help a listener bypass it to really see what Gatsby’s American Dream has accomplished and will continue to pull off. STREAMThe Badlands The Dragon of Pendor People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Fuck. Words don't have faces. The word pretentious should be shot in the face. Ok, I'm the guy who complained about the lack of time signature changes and all of that. Having just come back from seeing Gatsby's live, and being so impressed by the material live, I have to say I like it a lot better than I did before. I hope they throw in some token math crap for music nerds like me on the upcoming LP but the songs on this EP are really memorable nonetheless. "fatbrendan, youre not brendan from the larry arms, are you??" Wow, I don't have much against Gatsbys but I really can't understand how they have blossomed above many of the other bands in the Western Washington/Seattle scene, when they really aren't anywhere near the best music being made there now. fatbrendan, youre not brendan from the larry arms, are you?? You had better not be messing with my head, anonymous. This ep rocked my ass, but did anyone else get really excited at the end of the first song when it busted into double time? Too bad it ended just as quickly, but dammit, I loved "Why We Fight". I wish more people would discover GAD. Look how little commenting on this album there is. It's seriously unfortunate. This ep rocked my ass, but did anyone else get really excited at the end of the first song when it busted into double time? Too bad it ended just as quickly, but dammit, I loved "Why We Fight". They were actually apporached by Drive Thru but they wanted GAD to write choruses. I love Gatsby's American Dream. They were actually apporached by Drive Thru but they wanted GAD to write choruses. Hence the whole spiel about "where's the fucking chorus?" Hopefully their Fearless debut rocks my nuts. yes, it was inspired by those labels. This wasn't bad but it just can't compare to Ribbons and Sugar. I miss the hyper-convoluted song structures and odd time signatures. I just hope this isn't a real indication of where their sound is headed. I was a bit disapointed when i listened to this album, but that was because I bought it right after I saw them live. They tore it up. The Ep still rules though. Dragon of Pendor is awesome too! This band is so super awesome. Friends of my old dorm parent too, though I never got to see them... i just cant get into these youngsters. The part in the last song where he goes "Where's the fucking chorus / here it iiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssss!" is so fucking awesome. |
