Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday March 13, 2003
The Ataris
So Long, Astoria (Columbia)
I've always thought The Ataris' sound could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone. But perhaps getting sick of eating ramen on the road caused the Ataris to make an all-out effort to be enjoyed by the masses, and regretfully, they lose their edge.
Devoid of testicles, The Ataris' last album ÷ End Is Forever ÷ strayed from their punk influences to a more alternative mainstream sound.
With So Long, Astoria, lead singer Kris Roe and bandmates try to win back their fans with a bit more grit. This time, they have a "Buzzworthy" MTV video and a hot modern rock track with "In My Diary." The Ataris will join counterparts New Found Glory and Good Charlotte with the pop-y punk that's replacing boy bands around the country.
But unlike Good Charlotte, The Ataris used to be good, know how to play punk rock and write good songs.
On So Long, there are still highlights, including the title track and a cover of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer." But there is nothing that new and nothing very exciting. The album is mostly boring guitar riffs and Roe forcing himself to scream "emotionally" on the lamest of verse. "The runway lights are the deepest blue like the colors of your eyes," Roe sings on "Takeoffs and Landings."
The Ataris have never been hardcore punk rock. But they used to be original and fun with sappy lyrics contrasting a gritty voice and churning riffs.
Now the lyrics, still somewhat sappy, don't have any good riffs or melodies to go with them. And now, there aren't any good songs.
÷ Nate Buchik
Goldspot
Goldspot (Luna Sol)
In the music reviewing business, you come across a variety of music. Both superstar artists and unknowns are put in front of you in order to be listened to and judged.
One phenomenon in all of this is the promotional CD. A band, usually not as well known, will send a selection ÷ between five and seven tracks ÷ of the songs they are the most proud of on a forthcoming release. Two thoughts usually enter the reviewer's mind as they listen to these few songs.
One: Is this the best this band has to offer?
Two: That was way too many songs.
Goldspot, who will soon be playing in Tucson, sent the dreaded promotional CD. They didn't wear out their welcome, however. In fact, they did just the opposite; they left the reviewer wanting to hear more.
Playing like a cross between John Mayer with attitude and early Barenaked Ladies without as much comedy, Goldspot has a sound that can equal only one thing: success.
Each of the seven songs on the promo CD was short enough to hold the listener's interest and just long enough for the listener to really get into.
It is perhaps a combination of good lyrics, the lead singer's great voice and, amazingly enough, a band that seems to know what it is doing, that make this partial album a treat to hear.
It won't be long before you see Goldspot walking the red carpet at the VMAs or doing promo work for its latest video. But, before the band gets too big, go see it live. That way, you can say that you saw Goldspot before VH1 did that "Behind the Music" on it.
÷ Paul Iiams
Living Things
Turn In Your Friends & Neighbors (Dreamworks)
Major labels are beginning to catch on to the rock resurgence, and Dreamworks is about as big a corporate label as you can sign to. Anybody on a label associated with David Geffen and Steven Spielberg has the potential to get paid.
Living Things (notice: not "The Living Things," perhaps either bucking the trend or trying to look past it) is a familial band consisting of the Berlin brothers on guitar, bass and drums.
No major new ground is being broken on this four-track EP, although that doesn't mean this is a bitter taste of things to come. In fact, the sound (Stooges, BMRC) is promising.
An unknown rock band is always easy to judge by the local rock scene it inhabits. It's safe to say that if these guys were from Tucson instead of St. Louis, they'd be the talk of the town. That's how marketing works, kiddies. Would you pay to see a band that is better than your local bands? Of course you would, will, do, and it is here where your friends at Dreamworks can help!
Despite the fact that 75 percent of the songs here are politically inspired, you can listen to them without thinking they are, and without feeling as if some stoned, pseudo-revolutionary is pushing radical agendas (cough) System Of A Down (cough). The lyrics contained hint more at commentary than action.
Verdict: Unless a hardcore fan, wait for the full-length.
÷ Kevin Smith
The Music
The Music (Capitol)
Argh! Be careful what you wish for.
Remember a few years ago when 'NSync and Britney were all over the place and the closest thing to modern rock radio was Creed?
Things have changed ÷ but for the better? It seems new bands with "The" in front of their names are popping up everywhere, and the press hype everyone and everything as the next savior of music, yet none have completely delivered to the masses.
The Music will not win over popular American culture with this album, just as The Stone Roses did not win us over with their ground-shattering debut in 1989. Modern British psychedelia just doesn't seem to blanket this great land of ours unless it's spelled out like the ABC's. See Oasis' What's the Story Morning Glory?
This is a shame because The Music is probably helping ignite some type of musical renaissance on the other side of the pond. This debut plays like the start of a fire, but is it the same passionate fire that lit the Brit-pop scene in the mid-'90s?
The Music utilize spacey, sprawling, spiraling guitar tactics and urgent, treading water vocals that attempt to give the listener a glimpse of something wholly new, even if it sounds like you've somehow heard it all before. That being said, this is as good a self-titled album as you're likely to hear all year.
The fact that most of the members of the band are not even 20 is hopeful indeed. Torches are being passed and these guys got a good one. Let's wait and see ·
÷ Kevin Smith
