So Long Astoria - Ataris (The)

...it sounds brilliant. There is so much passion in what he sings, you can really feel the emotion. The lyrics are all so passionate probably because they all have a meaning, you can read quotes of these in the track break downs below.

The album is full of catchy emo riffs with sliding notes and tuneful playing. The guitars are truly brilliant and contribute greatly to the unique sound that the band have. The riffs continuously change ...
...the lyrics are sad anyway. So as you would expect the rest of the band play in a much more mellow tone. it’s a sad song and you feel sympathy for the singer in a indescribable way.

7)Summer79
A very fast beat continued to previous songs, the lyrics are as great as ever and the riffs are sliding up and down throughout the song. The front man sings about the last day of summer and it makes for yet another truly uplifting song.
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Fresh from seeing The Ataris live last night at Nottingham’s Rock City I thought now would be a good time to write a op that Ive been meaning to write for a while.

This is the album that got me into the Ataris, if you were to listen to it you would understand why, its just sheer genius.

The singing is a true highlight of the album. The singing is provided by Chris Rowe(Might have spelt that wrong) and it sounds brilliant. There is so much passion in what he sings, you can really feel the emotion. The lyrics are all so passionate probably because they all have a meaning, you can read quotes of these in the track break downs below.

The album is full of catchy emo riffs with sliding notes and tuneful playing. The guitars are truly brilliant and contribute greatly to the unique sound that the band have. The riffs continuously change in the song and start and stop to coincide with the music.

The drumming is typical emo and sounds great, all the guitars fall in round the drumming and it sounds really good.

Here is a break down of all the songs on the album
1)So Long Astoria
An amazing opening track to the album. Quick fast paced riffs and a steady beat with the singer crying out the lyrics with a strong passion. A very nice song to listen to and is a true mood raiser.

2)Takeoffs And Landings
This song continues on from where the previous song left off, the guitars are at quite fast all the way through with plenty of stalls and sudden rises in the riffs. The beat is fast yet steady and all this is accompanied by really well sung lyrics.

3)In This Diary
The song opens with the gentle plucking of a guitar followed by a steady beat and brilliant singing. The front man sings about favourite times in his life and gives the message “Been grown up isn’t half as fun as growing up” and I think it’s a message that a lot of people would agree with?

4)My Reply
This song has a slower tempo then previous songs but still has loud guitaring and a similar beat to previous songs. The singing is again brilliant and there is a lot of passion in the singers voice and in the lyrics. Another brilliant song.

5)Unopened Letter To The World
The fastest song on the album, with a strong and fast beat and tuneful riff to the gentle sounds of the singers voice. You want to get up and dance around when you here this song. This song further raises the tone of a very happy uplifting album.

6)The Saddest Song
As the title would suggest this song is a sad one, well the lyrics are sad anyway. So as you would expect the rest of the band play in a much more mellow tone. it’s a sad song and you feel sympathy for the singer in a indescribable way.

7)Summer79
A very fast beat continued to previous songs, the lyrics are as great as ever and the riffs are sliding up and down throughout the song. The front man sings about the last day of summer and it makes for yet another truly uplifting song.

8)The Hero Dies In This One
This song always makes me sad, but only in a good way. Last night when the band played this I felt like crying cause it reminds me of all the hard things that Ive been through in the last year and despite it all I made it through it and was there with my beautiful girlfriend, Im feeling content with myself and everything bad that’s happened seemed a million miles away. I felt so incredibly happy. The singer cries out “The hardest part is not finding who your meant to be, its being content with her you are” something I can defiantly relate to. He then goes on to sing “Sometimes we're helpless and alone, but you can't let it keep you weighted down, You must go on” which is so true. This song has a lot of meaning to me.

9)All That You Can Ever Learn
After a previous sad song this one once again raises the mood and makes you happy. This is another song which you want to dance/sing along to. The guitaring is brilliant and has a slightly different sound to it then in previous song. At the end there is the only scream in the album and it’s a piercing scream of “Nothing really matters”. This song is really good.

10)Boys Of Summer
Several bands have covered this song and I have to say that its defiantly the best version that I have heard, it’s the same song just with a rock edge to it and the brilliant voice of Chris Rowe doing the lyrics true justice.

11)Radio#2
Another upbeat song which no other and could make without it sounding corny. The sweet lyrics with the brilliant music accompanying it makes a song you cant go far wrong with.

12)Looking Back On Today
Another great song, with really nice lyrics and a punk beat to it. This song is about love and being happy in life.

13)Eight Of Nine
A happy yet sad song. The normal guitaring style with a slightly different pitch. The song is about dieing and the singer wrote it after narrowly escaping death he sings “So appreciate the good times, but don’t take the bad for granted, because you only get so many second chances” which is something I can relate to after the crash I nearly died in last year. This is a brilliant track to close the album.

14)Secret Track1
Just when you think the albums over this music bursts through the speakers. A very happy song. The singer sings about his love for someone and the song is typical Ataris

15)Secret Track2
This song is an acoustic version of The Saddest Song and has a nice sound to it.

By the end of the album you feel really in a good mood and uplifted.

The music is shockingly original, it has a punk sound to it in a lot of places, yet it is emo music and on top of it the brilliant lyrics which you would not normally find in bands of this style ensure its originality. It

The music is in a league of its own really, its classified as emo, yet it is so much more than that, it has a edge of punk and lyrics which send out the right message without sounding corny. Due to this there is no real competiton, if you like The Offspring and New Found Glory you will probably like this, however Offspring and NFG aren’t really competition.

The messages of the band are inspirational, Yesterday on stage the singer said something along the lines of “ Despite all the hard stuff you go through whilst your young, all you can do is try your best and in the end it will all just work out….your understand when you’re a boring old fart like me”. Songs such as Eight Of Nine and The Hero Dies In This One further show the meaningful lyrics.

You know a good band when their music has the power to alter your mood. This album does that and always makes me feel happy when I listen to it. I think it’s a mix of the high energy guitaring and beats that accompanied the best lyrics I have ever heard from a band of this sort. Its magic.

The CD has been a favourite of mine for sometime and I listen to it at difficult/sad points in life when I need cheering up(or when im really happy and want to be even happier). The CD is a timeless classic and one you will no doubt find yourself coming back to time after time.

Due to the fact the band have quite a small following the CD is quite pricey and your probably looking at paying about £12.99 for it on the internet and up to £18 for it in HMV. So it maybe more expensive then some of the other CD’s on the market but the extra money is really worth it.

I just cant stress enough how meaningful the lyrics are in this album, they are inspirational, offer comfort and support and more often then not make you think and realise what matters in this world.

Overall I would have to say that this CD is genius. Its unique sound and meaningful lyrics go together to create something truly inspirational and uplifting, if you have an open mind and are willing to try something new, you will probably love this band.

Thanx for reading

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This op is for the girl that got hit by a car on the way to the gig last night, I hope she is recovering. 

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