This is a reissue the first Gatsbys American Dream record from 2002. All profits apparently go to benefit the charity Water.org. (I think they work to provide clean drinking water to third world countries or something like that.) I may be mistaken, but I think this is the first time this album has seen a vinyl release. I always thought Gatsbys American Dream was one of those New Found Glory-type pop punk bands that sprouted up around the turn of the century and made life unbearable for all of us for awhile there. The (very) tiny amount of research I did in order to review this has led me to believe that they grew out of that style and got more “challenging,” though I didn’t actually listen to any of their other records to confirm this. This record is basically really slick pop punk with a few musical twists and turns thrown in. I must be goin’ soft in my old age because I didn’t just want to chuck this out the window. Some of the songs are okay. I don’t think I’m ever gonna throw it on the turntable again, but if you were a fan and always wanted this on vinyl, here you go. The gatefold packaging is really nice and the clear/splatter LP looks great. The money goes to a good cause, too.
–Ryan Horky (Overdue Collection Agency, overduecollection.com)