THE ATARIS “Welcome The Night”
On their fifth record as a band, THE ATARIS find themselves drastically changing their entire approach to music. Not only has their overall style changed, but the entire make-up of the band has been uprooted. The only remaining members from their 2003 hit album So Long, Astoria are longtime frontman Kris Roe and guitarist Joe Collura. In the process, they added a pianist and a cellist to the mix. In a sense, Welcome The Night is hardly an ATARIS record. In the past, the band’s success once relied on the strength of a Don Henley song; now it’s the moody alternative rock of the 90s. Roe and company create some disturbingly haunting songs on Welcome The Night (see “Secret Handshakes”). Moreover, Roe has completely abandoned the voice that carried the torch for much of the band’s back catalogue. On this record he sings in a wiser yet more disrupted tone. It’s almost as if this entire record is made up of his eagerness to relieve himself of his demons. That said, there are some hopeful tunes to this album. The opener “Not Capable Of Love” has an incredible hook and “The Cheyenne Line” is an up-tempo affair with a generally radio-friendly chorus. As the album plays on (and believe me, it does play ooonnnn), THE ATARIS stick to creating these moody tunes with occasional flares of the past. If there is one thing that they’ve succeeded in doing during this transformation it’s found within the texture of the songs. Songs like “A Soundtrack For This Rainy Morning” and “Far From The Last, Last Call” are awesome examples of this – especially considering the latter’s bouncy rhythm and acoustic leanings. As a whole, Welcome The Night probably has more artistic integrity than anything THE ATARIS have done in the past, and I’ve found Roe’s newfound voice to be rather pleasing. A few years back, THE ATARIS quickly faded from the limelight once the initial impact of “Boys Of Summer” settled, and unfortunately for them, this isn’t the album that will get them back to that spot. All things considered, maybe Roe doesn’t need that again, and for that I’m willing to admire his new direction – even if no one’s paying attention.
Sanctuary
