Fifth studio album from the seven piece US alt-rockers who have taken on five new members since their last effort, 2003’s ‘So Long, Astoria’. This prior album achieved notable success thanks in part to the unlikely cover of Don Henley’s ‘The Boys Of Summer’ that achieved significant airplay Stateside. I’ve had this album for a few weeks now and after the first few plays I was tempted to write it off as something of a dreary whine-fest but…..its beginning to grow on me. And it’s probably fair to say that if I was writing this in a months time the score would be a little higher. 

Lead single ‘Not Capable Of Love’ kicks of the album with a guitar wall-of-sound effect and a powerful vocal from mainman Kris Roe. This track is definitely one that brings to mind The Killers and that is certainly no bad thing, getting the CD off to a strong start. The curiously titled and melancholic ‘Cardiff By The Sea’ is next up and features a cello accompaniment. ‘New Years Day’ is another up tempo number and so far, so good. ‘Secret Handshakes’ is nothing special, sounding like a REM out-take and now the quality control begins to drop away and the album goes into a mid-period downturn.  

Things get back on track with ‘Whatever Lies Will Help You Rest’, a far more emotional and powerful song than its predecessors where all of the musicians seem to gel at the same time. The Ataris have come a long way since their pop-punk roots and this song is a good example of them successfully reinventing their sound and one that demonstrates their maturity. But just when it seems the album is about to take off again we have another meandering number in ‘When All Else Fails It Fails’ and the overlong ‘Begin Again From The Beginning’. 

So, overall this is something of a mixed bag, and you can certainly make an argument that it is a couple of songs too long. But there are some moments here that will appeal to those with varied tastes, both mainstream and left of centre. If they can succeed in keeping the current line-up together then it will be interesting to see where they go from here. 

‘Welcome The Night’ marks the bands first release through their own Isola recordings (distributed via Sanctuary) and is available from February 20^th.

Let us know your views on 'Welcome The Night'

Track Listing

Not Capable Of Love
Cardiff By The Sea
New Year's Day
Secret Handshakes
Cheyenne Line
And We All Become Like Smoke
Connections Are More Dangerous Than Lies
Whatever Lies Will Help You Rest
Far From The Last Last Call
When All Else Fails It Fails
Soundtrack For This Rainy Morning
Begin Again From The Beginning
Act V Scene IV And So It Begins