The Sound of the Summer (So Long Astoria - Ataris)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	So Long Astoria - Ataris
Date:	21/02/08 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The music is quite relaxing to listen to.

Disadvantages: There is a lack of variety here, too many of the tracks sound entirely alike.

The Ataris formed back in 1995 and since then have released a total of five studio albums. 'So Long, Astoria' is their fourth album and was released in 2003 through Columbia Records. It is the only album they have ever released on a major label and since then the band have started their own label, Isola Recordings. The album features the hit singles of 'In This Diary' and the Don Henley cover 'The Boys of Summer', a fine album with a great chilled out summery vibe about it. It is extremely easy to kick back and relax as you take in this album, listening as The Ataris blast their way through some fantastically melodic music. It is not the most exciting of albums, but a decent one nonetheless and one that I have given repeated listens to over the years.

It may sound somewhat of an obvious choice, however 'In This Diary' is definitely one of my favourites from this album. It is hugely catchy and listening to the track therefore provides for a greatly enjoyable listening experience. That said, it is by no means the best track from the album and there are in fact a number of other tracks present on the 'So Long, Astoria' album that rival it in terms of quality. 'Summer '79' for example is one track in particular that stands out from this release. It is uplifting and fun, a great track to listen to and one that can be thoroughly enjoyed by all. The award for best track on the album must however go to 'The Boys of Summer'. It is never an encouraging sign when a cover track is the highlight of an album, however that is certainly the case here and this Don Henley track definitely benefits from being given The Ataris treatment.

One problem I do have with The Ataris is that front man Kris Roe doesn't exactly have the strongest voice in the world. His voice is adequate, but at times it lacks power and I feel that the music of The Ataris at times let down a little by his vocal weakness. It is not on all of the tracks that this is the case, however on some his vocals don't seem to come through at all well and the music is therefore not quite as effective as it potentially could be. As well as this, there is also the fact that a lot of the tracks present on this album sound almost identical. On an album that consists of fifteen tracks, a little bit of variety would be greatly appreciated, however The Ataris don't seem to be particularly forthcoming in producing a variety of sounds.

'So Long, Astoria' is a pretty reasonable album from the band, however it could definitely be a hell of a lot better. I do quite like the album and would therefore definitely recommend it, however the fact that the vocals are so weak at times does hamper the overall enjoyment that can be gained from listening to this release I feel. The Ataris are a decent band and do have a fair amount of talent, they just don't always show it and this is something that can extremely frustrating to hear. This music is great to listen to if you're in the mood for relaxing, but is not the most hard hitting or most memorable of albums and is one that you will easily forget the music of soon after you have stopped listening. Not greatly powerful, but a decent album nonetheless; 'So Long, Astoria' is definitely an album that you should listen to, but not necessarily one that will ever become one of your favourites. On the plus side; if you like one then you'll like them all, but the flip side to this is that with every track sounding so similar, listening to 'So Long, Astoria' can at times become quite a tiresome experience.

Summary: Not the most exciting album in the world, but worth a listen nonetheless.