Album Details

• Artist: The Ataris
• Album: So Long Astoria
• Label: Sony/Epic
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: kev_stev on 2007-07-02

Some lyrics instantly provoke nostalgia, bringing you back to your carefree, youthful days, causing you to wistfully reflect on the past. The Ataris mastered such lyrics on So Long, Astoria, an entertaingly appealing pop-punk album where settings of "parking lots," "classrooms unattended," "roller rinks," and "drive-ins" are depicted and sung to catchy guitar riffs and danceable keyboard tunes. The songs on Astoria are memorably catchy, perfectly capturing the excitement of joys of youth both lyrically and musically.  With lyrics like, "life is only as good as the memories we make," and, "being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up, these are the best days of our lives," listeners will find themselves either appreciating their youth or pining for their pastimes. The sentiments built into the album are striking: "Looking Back on Today," for example, has lead singer Kris Roe whispering a quaint love story ("If only I had one wish I'd want a million trillion lifetimes that I could spend with you. Fall in love with you again and again) while songs like "Summer of '79" and the widely popular cover of "The Boys of Summer" bring the listener right to the blissful days of summer.

However, some of Astoria’s songs become tiresome; "The Saddest Song," for instance, drones on as Roe whines about his absence in his daughter’s life while "Radio #2" is a silly pop-punk anthem about banning the radio. Overall though, So Long, Astoria is as enjoyable as it is nostalgic, but it'd be best to pick it up while you’re still young enough to make comparable memories with it.

User Reviews and Comments

Review:

on 2007-07-04 hstisgod Said:

Very nicely done...Kevin...seriously.. welcome to the staff brother you got chops!

The album is a six....the review is an eight.
Rating: 8/10