Gatsbys American Dream

Seattle's Gatsbys American Dream built a catalogue on literary allusion and an appetite for unusual time signatures. Formed from the ashes of an earlier Richmond, Indiana outfit called One Point Two, the group took its name from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, a fitting choice for a band whose records are dense with references to books, films and games. Their indie rock sound leans towards a harder-edged pop, and their suspicion of the music business has been a running thread from the start.

The band's debut, Why We Fight, appeared in 2002 on Rocketstar Recordings, after a demo reached the label through Acceptance guitarist Kaylan Cloyd. Their second album, Ribbons and Sugar, followed in 2003 as a concept record loosely built on George Orwell's Animal Farm. The EP In the Land of Lost Monsters, released through Chicago's LLR Recordings in 2004, responded to label pressure to write choruses. Volcano arrived in April 2005 on Fearless Records, and the self-titled fourth album came out on 8 August 2006. That record peaked at number 22 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and number 28 on the Top Independent Albums chart. The band has been largely inactive since, though they returned to the stage for a reunion show in 2010.