The Gatekeepers: Diary of a Teenage Prophet

With the release of Diary of a Teenage Prophet LA based director and composer Alex Wroten has finished his trilogy about America, performed by his loose collective named The Gatekeepers. It is a sci-fi satire about religion featuring a cast of over 50 collaborators telling the tale of an "eco-rebel" named Bonnie Brown, who is brought back to life. Her writings in a journal become gospel for a zealous lot, who love to bicker to about the exact meaning of her words. And as per usual, a prophet will be loved and hated.

It is a modern day rock opera of sorts - imagine Igor Strawinsky, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht teaming up with the Mothers of Invention and Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. Wooten needs a lot of words to tell the story, so consulting the lyrics booklet every now and then will help to make hay of all the shenanigans. The music is served up in four acts and it is wise to pause after each one to let its contents sink in, before going in at the deep end and listen to the whole thing in one sitting. There are a lot of characters involved and it is best to familiarise yourself with them, before looking at the whole picture.

Featured performers:
Aislinn Quinn, Allison Niedbalski, Amy Denio, Bill Brovold, Brian Poole, Brian Wnukowski, Brian Woodbury, Cheer-Accident, Cult With No Name, Dan Britton, Duncan Mackay, Emily Hay, Fernando Perdomo, Frank Pahl, Friendly Rich, Henry Kaiser, Hugh Banton, Jacopo Costa, John Howard, Keith Smart, Mattias Olsson, Megan Ennenberg, Miroslav Wanek, Morgan Ågren, Nate Blum, Peter Daltrey, Robert Webb, Ron Geesin, Sam Holik, Shawn Phillips, Timo Vuoppola, Wally Scharold, and Ward White.

Diary of a Teenage Prophet is released via Think Like A Key (vinyl, CD, digital).

Tracks:

1. Act I: Cryogenesis
   
1. High School Overture
2. She's Just a Regular Teen
3. AP Doomsday
4. The End of Man
5. Probably the Afterlife
   Act II: Notoronomy
6. The World of the Future
7. The Ancient Vagrant
8. She's Awake
9. Way Too Much Attention
10. Staying In The Shadows
    Act III: Revelation
11. For the Brown Book Tells Me So
12. The Fundamentals
13. Friday Night Rites
14. In Matt's Image
15. She's Not A Regular Teen
16. Beached
    Act IV: Aquaterminus
17. The Messenger vs. The Message
18. To The Ocean!
19. Everyone I Know Is Dead
    Apocrypha
20. The Ancient Vagrant [CWNN Remix - CD and digital only]
21. Way Too Much Attention [Alternate Timeline Remix - CD and digital only]

» gatekeepersalbum.com

HCTF review of Nostalgia for the Great American Monoculture