Reviews

Stunning. Complete. Pristine. Beautiful. It will make you feel the ground beneath your feet in a whole new way. One of the best albums of this year, right up there with Smoke or Fire and Gratitude.  Gatsby’s American Dream have created an epic masterpiece; an album so full and well rounded in everything from the emotionally captivating lyrics and the furiously passionate vocals to the intricate artwork and layout of the insert.
 
In my review of “In The Land of Lost Monsters” about a year ago, I said that there was something I couldn’t put my finger on about this band. I wasn’t too fond of them until I started listening to that EP constantly, and I realized that what I couldn’t put my finger on was exactly what made them such a good band. They’re fantastically original; with a cunning allure and a real appreciation for art that is incomparable at best and entirely moving.
 
The album opens with “Theatre,” with lyrics like “And the wind sings songs as if it would lament/Some tragedy on the far side of the world,” and “The world is a woman from whom I must take take take/In an act of lust, in an act of pride/I am damned but can I be saved.”  About a minute and a half into it, there are some killer fills on the drums that are impossible to not take notice of.  This leads right into “Pompeii” which goes right along with the theme of Volcano.  “The Guilt Engine,” is a sexually motivated guilt trip that results in sweaty palms and a guilty conscience.  “Mind of Metal and Wheels” is one of my favorite tracks lyrically with lines like “The man is abandoned/He cracks a lonely smile like an oyster that’s been shucked and dead/The company the red posies they sprang and they whispered sweet tragedy/There’s a bird who is broken down/She hunts the soil so her young can feed but the morning never stays for long and the flock will starve for needs.”  Musically, my favorite track is “Shhhh! I’m listening to Reason.”
 
If you’re sick and tired of mediocrity, buy this album. Actually, just buy it anyway. It’s fabulous, it really is. Five fucking stars.