Album Review :
Goodnight Wednesday - The American Nightmare
Artist: Goodnight Wednesday
Title: The American Nightmare
Label: Paper Mache Records
Release Date: May 18, 2013
Reviewer: Jessica Cooper
Track Listing:
- Prologue
- New World Odor
- Let’s Kill Our Kids
- God vs Politics
- Army of the Living Dead
- Mouth Like An Open Grave
- The Ballad of Tatty Higgins
- Twilight In America
- Oroku Saki (The Reckoning)
- Worth Dying For
- Standing In The Prodigal Son
- The American Nightmare
Maybe it’s just me (and you can investigate for yourself), but I’m reminded of My Chemical Romance’s Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge and The Wedding’s The Sound, The Steel EP when I listen to Goodnight Wednesday’s new release, The American Nightmare. The theme is similar to the angst of Platoon 1107’s We Glory In The Title, with its political outwardness and contempt of patriotism for the sake of patriotism rather than the good of the nation and its citizens. The overall sound that I’m hearing is very clean, driving punk tones that give a boost to the straightforwardness of the lyrics.
It’s dang near impossible to get away from sounding like something else that’s already been done, so I can appreciate the efforts of every band out there that puts themselves and their talents on the line. A little slice of Green Day anarchy shines through their music, and it’s unmistakable when you see this album’s cover art. It remains a common and recurring theme that nowadays if you’re a Christian, it’s assumed that you’ve taken a stance against legalism, and the same goes for pop punk bands – you’ve probably taken some position against the government doing things you don’t agree with, and use music to convey that frustration. And with The American Nightmare, there’s a pretty balanced mix between both, along with the expression of finding hope in a higher power and pushing forward through your struggles to find what makes it all worth it.
“Just don’t give up / You’re worth dying for / You’ve got what it takes to live for something more / Cuz we’re all worth dying for.” – “Worth Dying For”
Overall: I think Goodnight Wednesday has a lot of potential to be a good, perhaps great, band. They’ve got a lot of what makes punk music so enjoyable and their lyrics are relatable. The American Nightmare is a fair start and a good point in the right direction for this band, and I look forward to hearing from them in the future. If you find yourself wanting to give this a listen, it’s available for download here.
RIYL: Take It Back!, Yellowcard, Green Day, Platoon 1107, A Wilhelm Scream, Bad Religion, Rise Against.
