Gatsbys American Dream

Gatsbys American Dream’s last album was based on George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and its latest, Volcano, is also a concept album. With references to Lord of the Flies and a story told from the point of view of Mount Vesuvius, it might seem more dull than your eighth-grade summer reading list, but Gatsbys makes learning rock. Volcano is a tight, unpredictable collection of songs that flirt with emo, math, indie rock and pop with a reach that rarely exceeds its grasp. Driven by Rudy Gajadhar’s athletic drumming — his brother, Mark, is the Blood Brothers’ drummer — the act leaps from style to style, big idea to big idea with the confidence and skill of a band that’s been at it for far longer than three years.