Forgive Durden - Wonderland

[tommy's ghost]

Forgive Durden - Wonderland
Record Label: Fueled by Ramen
Release Date: May 6, 2006

After reading a review for Razia's Shadow: A Musical at this fantastic site, I decided to give it a listen. I was instantly hooked. Great vocals, lush instrumental arrangements, and an interesting plot grabbed my attention. After the musical dust settled and I had finished listening to the album, I was darn impressed with this band. So I decided to check out their earlier album, Wonderland. I thought this album was going to be inferior to Razia's Shadow in nearly every way and that I was going to wind up disappointed. How wrong I was. This a great album in nearly every way. It's very different from Razia's Shadow, which isn't surprising considering most of the band left after the release of this album.

Wonderland opens with a trembling bass-line that leads into "Ants," a great song that is narrated by the creator of Wonderland. You see, this is a concept album. It doesn't exactly have the noticeable story of Razia's Shadow, but you can see the outline of something being told in most of the songs. The album is like a collection of stories pertaining to the lives of the inhabitants of Wonderland. The tales are told through singer Thomas Dutton's wonderful lyrics, which are quite clever and at times, brilliant.

All in all, this is an extremely enjoyable album. The sunny melodies are a great contrast to the often bleak lyrics and the band isn't afraid of foregoing the usual pop-punk structures via experimentation (listen to the awesome breakdown at the end of "Il Tango Della Signora Francesco Di Bartolommeo Di Zanobi del Giocondo" *takes breath* and the epic closer "Cue the Sun"). If you haven't listened to this album because it hasn't gotten as much attention as Razia's Shadow, and you're afraid of being let down, don't be. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your walk through Wonderland.

1. Ants - 3:20
2. Beware the Jub Jub Bird and Shun the Frumious Bandersnatch - 4:05
3. Ear to Ear - 3:02
4. Parable of the Sower - 4:23
5. Il Tango Della Signora Francesco di Bartolommeo di Zanobi del Giocono - 3:29
6. A Dead Person Breathed on Me! - 1:34
7. The Great Affair Is to Move - 4:02
8. Harry Frazee and No, No, Nannette - 3:41
9. For a Dreamer, Night's the Only Time of Day - 4:09
10. I've Got a Witch Mad at Me and You Could Get into Trouble - 4:19
11. Cue the Sun - 3:41
Fall Out Boy; The Dear Hunter; Say Anything
myspace.com/forgivedurden (http://myspace.com/forgivedurden)

[soundslikeredd]

ya know, ive always tried and tried and tried to convince people to listen to this album. its one of my all time favorites for our generations music....this band has so much potential and it saddens me to see the other FBR bands get so much attention and advertise so much, yet durden sorta sits on the side.i completely support dutton 100000000% in his music, and as long as he stays working with bates, ill keep on livin my life expecting a work of art from them.they did an excellent job on "razia's shadow" too! its a great musical that i think a musical should be made in the first place ahead of todays musicals...
and i do believe, that someday they will have a bigger fanbase.....great things take time....and i really cant wait. :D
and great review btw!
www.myspace.com/mikealtee

[thehereaway]

You missed out probably the most obvious RIYL - Gatsbys American Dream, and i would have touched more upon the music if i were you, as i feel its quite a diverse album.

Both albums are good, but i'd take Wonderland over RS any day. The music is great and i think its a very clever album. I like how you mentioned that the 'sunny' melodies often contrast the dark, twisted lyrics, it makes me feel as though Dutton purposely did this to anchor the idea that although the world seems a nice place on the surface, if you get below it society is very greedy and self centered and the majority of people are often very two-faced, or will sell you out to get to the top. So its like, although the music sounds upbeat and 'sunny', if you get below the surface and explore the album more, you understand that it actually holds some very dark lyrical themes.

[saving jonathan]

RIYL Fall Out Boy??

[Dirge07]

RIYL Fall Out Boy??
haha yeah seriously?

anyway good review. this is a truly great album that many people just overlooked. i still don't see how FD didn't sell or get much attention: great songs, they toured with notable bands such as Saosin, Envy on the Coast, etc and is even on FBR, yet this STILL bombed. i really hope people pick this up or download or whatever since it's a real hidden jem.

[Daniel Thompson]

great great album

[wall e]

Amazing cd, I still have the poster that came with the preorder on my wall

[tommy's ghost]

RIYL Fall Out Boy??
If those three bands fused, I think the outcome would be this album. That's just my opinion though. :shrug:

[tommy's ghost]

haha yeah seriously?

anyway good review. this is a truly great album that many people just overlooked. i still don't see how FD didn't sell or get much attention: great songs, they toured with notable bands such as Saosin, Envy on the Coast, etc and is even on FBR, yet this STILL bombed. i really hope people pick this up or download or whatever since it's a real hidden jem.
Definitely. I really hope Thomas continues with the band, even after the lack-luster sales.

[Operator!]

It's sad that this album wasn't heard by more people when FBR obviously had the means to promote it.
I think I remember Thomas Dutton saying FD was always odd man out on the label. (I also believe he said Days Away suffered the same treatment.)
It's one of my absolute, all-time, desert-island favorites.

[TriangularDuck]

RIYL: Gatsby's American Dream

and Wonderland beats the shit out of Razia's Shadow. I hope that the exposure that Razia's Shadow has will lead more people to listening to Wonderland.

[goldy]

i hope so too. Ants is hot shit