Media Review

Gatsbys American Dream

Why We Fight (CD)

Rocketstar
website | mySpace | pureVolume

Overall Rating:

6.0

Music Quality: 6.5

Production: 7.0

Originality: 7.0

Gatsby's American Dream comes from the indie Seattle label Rocketstar, and use very creative formulas to expand on the already stable emo/pop punk trend. The most creative elements within the music of Gatsby's American Dream are definitely the rhythms and chord progressions. The vocals tend not to stick out, but are reminiscent of old Saves the Day (Can't Slow Down days).

Although there are possibly a thousand different rhythmical patterns on this CD, the combination of unordinary rhythms and chords create for an odd, unordinary sound. What the band needs is an amount of catchiness to break out of the sometimes repetitive and usually strange music. Still, the band brings in a few vocal changes, such as the occassional screamed out line, yet avoiding really any prominent vocal harmonies. It took almost the whole disc for me to suddenly be taken aback by the band; "The Child" provided a highly sincere sounding tune with mellow breakdowns and buildups. It's no wonder that in this favorite track of mine, the vocal harmonies suddenly take flight and are highly recognizeable, and the sudden punch of the guitars created a jumpy feel. Finally, the ending vocal interlude, "sometimes, it takes the mind of a child..." that progresses into "sometimes!!! it takes the mind of a child, to overcome" and into the piano outro, made me realize this band had some raw talent. In fact, this song was alone the reason I still have hope for the band and look forward to their next release.

So, while the rhythms and complex guitar patterns are against the grain of most artists today, Gatsby's American Dream simply needs to expand on their vocals and try to bring them out more; otherwise, the blend of off-the-wall guitar riffs and drum patterns (music) behind them tend to take an exceeding amount of control.

reviewed by Andrew Martin