WELCOME THE NIGHT - THE ATARIS
Much has happened to the Ataris since the Indiana rockers last emerged from the studio with 2003’s “So Long, Astoria.” Somewhere along the line the group effectively splintered before frontman Kristopher Roe and guitarist John Collura brought it back together, parting ways with Columbia Records and dramatically restructuring and reinventing the sound. The Ataris in 2007 are a seven-piece outfit with keyboards and cello bolstering the guitar attack to create a dense, textured sonic blanket that has more in common with Radiohead and the Cure than it does with the Warped tour. And while song titles such as “Confessions Are More Dangerous Than Lies” and “Act V, Scene IV: And So It Ends Like It Begins” sound like perfect fits for Fall Out Boy or Panic! at the Disco albums, they are unrelentingly sober ruminations on romantic loss, spiritual longing and even suicidal despair, albeit with anthemic choruses that keep you pumping your fist while Roe is tearing out his heart. Billboard
