The Ataris - So Long Astoria
The Ataris have come a long way since I first heard them in ‘99 with the release of “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts... Next 12 Exits.” In comparison to that album, the amount of experience Kris Roe has gained is apparent. The experiences and troubles of fatherhood, being married, and being on tour most of the time show through in his lyrics. There are more than only the sappy (but great) love songs from “Blue Skies..” (there are still the sweet, melt-your-<3 emo songs to belt your heart out to) there are songs about growing up, leaving your hometown and family troubles Kris did not have the experience to write about before. They have the catchy melodies of a pop-punk band, but have more than just the 3-chord, unoriginal songs and poppy guitar riffs, which really sets them apart from the usual mainstream band. There are some acoustic sounding songs that really add to the whole ambiance of the album too. I was surprised at how fast I learned these lyrics, but this cd will make you want to listen to it every waking hour and will have the songs embedded in your mind. The first single, “in this diary,” sends out a great message about how “being grown up isn’t half as fun as growing up, these are the best days of our lives.” So telling you to seize the moment and “appreciate the good times, but don’t take the worst for granted, cause you only get so many second chances.” The variety of songs on this album is awesome, it goes from talking about getting out of your hometown with “So Long Astoria” (which reminds me a lot of the Goonies) to suddenly realizing how much his mother has meant to him and wishing he could have more time with her in “The Hero Dies in this One” to talking to his daughter and apologizing for not being in her life with “the saddest song.” I think everyone can find room to relate to his meaningful lyrics. The Ataris have defiantly shown that they have more musical ability that one-cd’s worth. This CD rocks 5 out of 5 stars!

Mel-O-dy