The band is The Ataris; the CD is So Long, Astoria, and one word comes to mind: astounding. This emo punk band has done it again. They started out of Santa Barbara with the intentions of playing the music they love for the people that love it. Five years later they are still playing with the same ideals, and like wine, they are only getting better with age.
For all you Ataris fans out there who fear that they have sold out, you need not worry. Kris Roe and the gang stated, “We are and will always be the same band that were when we started. The only difference is you. We care about our fans more than you will ever know.” The songs on this CD are peppered with references and ideas that only the listener would get if you really took the time to pay attention to it. In addition they still are keeping up with their photography. To see the pictures, go to the Ataris’ website www.Ataris.com they’re deep, they’re dark and they are just straight up amazing as with the CD.
Kris Roe, the lead singer, writes about personal experiences, thoughts, hopes, and dreams and avoids songs about money, fame, sex or any of those common themes we hear in today’s music. He keeps it real and writes what he loves. The great thing is that his experiences are ones that everyone can share. Whether it’s hanging out with your friends causing trouble in your high school days or writing a letter to a love one that you dearly miss. You can relate to it all. Plus the great thing is it isn’t manufactured bad pop, its real, deep emotion that you can feel in all of his songs.
They have refined their sound and have gone back to their roots. Two of the songs “Looking Back on Today” and “I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone”, from past albums, have been redone. They took something incredible and im-proved upon it. Something I thought they couldn’t do. Also going back and working on older stuff to make it its best shows real dedication to the music and their listeners.
I highly suggest going to their website, the band itself updates it as regularly as the can. Though being on tour can put a damper on this, they do take the time to add to it. Correlating with their love of the movie The Goonies, the website features quotes and interactive aspects. They love hearing from their fans and love talking to them at shows even more. This band is so awesome that they even let fans play with them. I highly suggest getting the new album, checking out their website and looking up some of their older stuff. Records such as Blue Skies, Broken Hearts, Next 12 Exits, Look Forward to Failure or the numerous compilations they’ve done is highly suggested.