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.

The Gatekeepers: "All The Content" video

Watch the new video from The Gatekeepers for All The Content, a track from their Nostalgia for the Great American Monoculture album: "The storyline is not that difficult: clamouring for a guy to take charge and save the day, find out that people have been taken for a ride while being entertained ad nauseam with run-of-the-mill content as a diversion of the scheming by the powers that be, and the unevitable regret. The delusion that things were better in the past is taken apart with glee, as the music swerves from vaudeville and jazz to off-kilter avant rock and back. It is quite the opposite of a party record, but the joy of diving into it is far more rewarding and is likely to last much longer."

» gatekeepersalbum.com

HCTF review of Nostalgia for the Great American Monoculture

The Gatekeepers: Nostalgia for the Great American Monoculture

LA based director and composer Alex Wroten's pet project is a loose collective named The Gatekeepers, who turned his visions of a political psychedelic rock opera by way of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht into a self-titled album in 2022. Everyone who was involved loved the project and when he put out some feelers for the follow-up, Nostalgia for the Great American Monoculture, people jumped at the chance to become part of it. The notoriousle evasive The Residents said yes, as did singers Shawn Phillips, Alison Niedbalski, Molly Harvey and Aislinn Quinn to name a few.

The music is spread over three acts - "Strongman Privilege", "Plug and Prey", and "What Else Is New" (the bonus tracks are rounded up under the "Capital Surplus" banner). The storyline is not that difficult: clamouring for a guy to take charge and save the day, find out that people have been taken for a ride while being entertained ad nauseam with run-of-the-mill content as a diversion of the scheming by the powers that be, and the unevitable regret. The delusion that things were better in the past is taken apart with glee, as the music swerves from vaudeville and jazz to off-kilter avant rock and back. It is quite the opposite of a party record, but the joy of diving into it is far more rewarding and is likely to last much longer.