Emotionalpunk.com
Media Review
Music Quality: 9.0
Production: 8.0
Originality: 10.0
Tracklisting
2. We're Not Orphans
3. Epilogue
4. Work Lies Sex Love Fear Hate Friendship
5. A Manifesto Of Tangible Wealth
6. Snicker At The Swine
7. Apparition
8. Cut The Strings
9. The Horse You Rode In On
10. Recondition, Reprogram, Reactivate
11. Counterfeit Language
Gatsby's American Dream's last rendition, Why We Fight, showed a band with serious potential. With vocals akin to the Can't Slow Down era of Saves The Day, and shattering rhythms and drums really unheard of, the band was obviously capable of great things. Ribbons And Sugar is not merely a continuation of a successful style, but a blend between the band's creative rhythms and developed, catchier, and more upfront vocals.
Though the average song-length on the record is between 2 and 3 minutes, each song's concise direction makes for a killer listen. It's almost like an extra-long EP that hits hard with every note and every riff. Nothing gets old, because most of the choruses and verses only hit once, which is truly something that hasn't been done before. We're Not Orphans immediately shows that the band's singer is given more attention and has been working on the notes and melodies; and sounds akin to the new Further Seems Forever singer. However, much like their fellow Rocket-Star mates Time To Fly, the guitars stray from the typical, bouncing from note to different note, from hook to hook, from rhythm to rhythm. The result? An earth-shattering, genuinely different sound.
As if that weren't enough, the concept-artist style lyrics, based off of George Orwell's Animal Farm, and completely off-the-wall liner notes make Gatsby's American Dream a band worth listening to and supporting. Because while they take ideas from the non-conventional, you can expect the singer's catchy vocals and on-target hooks to please the conventional fans easily. Well worth the wait and what I'd expect from a band's sophomore release; growth based upon the roots.