The Ataris - 'So Long Astoria' (Columbia) Released 03/03/03

Clocking in at 52:40, 'So Long Astoria' is a CD of one act. Pop punk with twinges of emo thrown into the mix drag for the length of the record until an unplugged "Saddest Song" bonus track at the end.

The album is like a late-afternoon episode of 24. At times the album is excellent, Jack shooting some dodgy Serbs, whilst at others it feels like a musical version of Teri's amnesia or watching Kim's boobs run around LA to fill time. It could have benefited from losing some of this packing to slim down to a shorter, tighter album to avoid the creeping feeling of repetitiveness but I doubt labels would want to release a ten minute long album.

Tinny guitars with distortion on can only go so far and whilst the title track and lead-in is filled with potential they totally fail to expand on their sound. If you like the Ataris and this kind of pop punk then you'll probably love the album, personally I like such a long album to have two sides. A bit ordinary really.