I’m fast becoming a big Gatsby’s American Dream fan. I’ll readily admit that ‘Ribbons and Sugar’ took me quite some time to fully enjoy, but once I ‘got’ it the disc hardly left my stereo. With new EP ‘In The Land Of Lost Monsters’ having just been released on LLR Recordings, it goes to show that Gatsby’s are not a flash in the pan – and they have a very rosy future ahead. One of the band’s strengths is that they don’t sound like any other band currently doing the rounds. They are a little off-the-wall and a little unorthodox, yet maintain some killer hooks and melodies to sucker you in. The vocals are perhaps comparable to Daniel Johns of Silverchair in his ‘Neon Ballroom’-era, but that aside I’m really struggling to come up with anything else. It’s not earth-shatteringly original stuff, but it’s different – and in a world where everything has screaming and quiet/loud guitars, it’s refreshing stuff.
‘In The Land Of Lost Monsters’ is a gem of a record. The vocals are beautifully bittersweet, the music often soothing yet biting lyrically. The pianos tinker like Coldplay and the guitars drift in and out, before teasingly building themselves up again. The drums even hit hard in places too, often when you least expect it. Opener ‘Yes, This Is About You’ ends with the fantastic ‘where’s the fucking chorus?’ line which seemingly taunts themselves for the lack of a singalong hook. ‘A Conversation With The Devil’ is brash and bold, while ‘I Smell An Agenda’ is moody and atmospheric. ‘You Stole My Story’ is beautiful; the vocals almost despairingly poignant in delivery, while ‘The Badlands’ is the best song that Chris Martin never wrote. It’s only fitting that the climax, the stunning ‘The Dragon Of Pendor’, is arguably the highlight – a twisting emotional rollercoaster that references the first track on the CD. “Where’s the fucking chorus?†vocalist Nic Newsham sings again. “Here it is,†he yells back. “But you can’t fuck with my integrity.†Genius.
I can’t see it being long before someone invests some serious money in this band. I’m not saying they will go on to sell millions, but it would not surprise me at all if their next record was one in a similar vein to ‘Deja Entendu’, a record revered by critics and loved by so many. They clearly have the talent after all.
www.gatsbysamericandream.com
LLR Recordings
Paul