Gatsby

Gatsby started with an old, forgotten Fender Rhodes piano out of a neighbor's tool-shed, on the only Texas snow-day in 2010. Singer-songwriter Greyson Elkins sat down with a laptop and hammered out the opening ideas for "Love You the Hard Way." Via email, he and longtime friends Kyle and Dylan Samuel recorded the first demo for a band that would be later known as Gatsby.

Over the course of the next year, Elkins and the Samuels played several shows with other great friends (such as Dead Swagger, In The Works, and White Leaf). In the summer of 2012 they were joined by drummer Ben Houghton, a percussion student at UT. His slamming indie-rock drums added a whole new element to Greyson's soulful voice, Dylan's jazz bass, and Kyle's incredible shoe-gazing rock n' roll. Throughout that winter, in their dining rooms, bed rooms, and closets, the group wrote and recorded their debut EP "Get No Rest."

What they ended up with is an eclectic and largely nostalgic album. Parts of the record reach out with clean Coldplay-esque riffs; other parts delve into a more chaotic, dark tone - all the while sitting on a rhythm section extremely reminiscent of MuteMath. Some songs, however, do lend themselves to quieter folk and vocal sounds, driven by a Ryan Adam's inspired lyricist aiming for a Wilco croon. While capturing a certain youthful longing, the record acknowledges the things we've lost and hurt for - but Gatsby also sings with a will to push on.

After two great years of performing and writing, the group has parted ways: Ben and Dylan at school in Austin, Kyle with the Rocketboys frequently touring the US, and Greyson at the University of Denver. But Gatsby never died - there will undoubtedly be more to hear in the future.