Gnade is also writing about America, but the America that he knows, that lies in his own mind. Whether speaking of dark thoughts on "So Long Darling / It's No Use" or capturing images of San Diego, Florida or New Jersey, Gnade's vision is made visceral through his art. The combination of word imagery and the stark landscapes of the folk music behind it are lethal and magical. Take for instance the drowsy vocal effects of opener "The Winter / Their Apartment" which sets a fuzzy hypnotic tone before the last spoken line becomes clear, "she says it doesn't matter what; run, hide, retreat, surrender,…your apartment will be your grave." 

I couldn't do justice to Gnade's words in a short review, so I'll leave that up to you to take a listen. I will say that the album is atmospheric and dark, but altogether enjoyable for any interested in the power of words. More often we are anesthetized by pop songs with a third grade vocabulary, but Adam Gnade has shown us there is more than just `baby,' `yeah' and `I love you so.' America cannot be encapsulated by words of the reading level of USA Today. America cannot be bound by simplicity or narrow vision. It is bound by the psyches of its people, its places, its scenery and its collective thought, which Gnade captures to perfection
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There are many definitions for 'breaking the mold', but I cannot say that I have come across an artist that represents that more honestly than Adam Gnade. Gnade's "talking-songs" (as he so unerringly calls them) consist of the words that writers spend their lives trying to capture; quick-witted allusions and poetry that is almost mind boggling, but at the same time entrancing. It takes someone a) without a soul, or b) without at least a medicore I.Q., to ignore the magnitude of this EP and the talent it holds. The mellow backtunes that complement these tracks border on mesmerizing, the perfect match of accompaniment for the lyrical genius. The level of eloquence that one man can possess is tested by this EP, and the outcome is nothing short of amazing. 

The only downside is that, really, the very things that make Gnade's sound the foil of the definition of conformity (as it is in our day and age) are the same things that will make young music lovers turn away from it. Like I said, it takes someone with a special interpretation of music to fully appreciate this music, and the (rather sad) fact of the matter is it isn't up to the catchy, sing-in-the-shower, dancefloor kind of music that people want. If you're looking for an EP that'll stimulate your mind more than any scholastically related activity combined, I highly recommend it. If you're shallowly looking for a catchy tune that's easy to dance to, with a good beat, that gets your blood pumping.. look elsewhere. It's a shame more people don't have the same attitude.
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Adam Gnade - "Run Hide Retreat Surrender," CD
"It is winter again and you are fighting with your woman." So begins the sprawling and sometimes stream of conciousness narrative Adam Gnade unreels on this Loud + Clear disc, a surprisingly resonant pseudo-update of "On the Road" for the lo-fi singer-songwriter set. What's amazing about this CD is just how much the narrative drives it forward, how the unadorned spoken word recording of Gnade's tale of turmoil, flight, and discovery can hold your attention through a revolving landscape of spare guitar passages and noisy asides. Gnade's story--which loosely speaking, details a cross-country journey punctuated with relationship woes and observations about a broken word--is at its best when he manages to hit the little details: the aging, bearded men yearning for their youth while tossing back cheap 7-11 coffee, the work-nightmares that break with cold sweats, the smell of dead horseshoe crabs on a Florida beach. "Dance to the War," an urban landscape dirge with a groove, is the record's most song orientated offering and also the best summary of Gnade's rapid fire approach. In it, he jumps from alcohol-fueled description of Brooklyn and platitudes about needing to keep riding the nation's highways to a news collage about Irag and the Middle East without skipping a beat. By the last minutes of the closing title track, you almost wish Gnade never discovered the story's ending. --Justin Velluci, Punk Planet
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