Following up their breakthrough 1999 release
Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits,
Kris Roe and his band,
the Ataris, offered up the dynamic, dangerously non-
punk End Is Forever in early 2001. Along with singer/guitarist
Roe,
Chris Knapp (drums),
Marco Pena (guitars), and bassist
Mike Davenport wind their way through an expanse of
post-grunge alternative and
emocore more musical than anything
the Ataris had previously released. Listeners familiar with the group's earlier recordings probably won't be too surprised by
End Is Forever as
Roe's quickly developing, gifted writing had always been the outfit's defining factor, making the transition away from
punk's noisier elements predestined. Purists already dismissive of the entire
emo genre will be mortified by
Roe's polished heart-tugging trilogy
"Giving Up on Love," "Summer Wind Was Always Our Song," and
"I.O.U. One Galaxy" that opens the disc. Things degenerate further for credibility-obsessed
punk fans when
Roe and Co. kick out some old-fashioned big
rock on tracks like
"Road Signs and Rock Songs." Listeners anxious about
the Ataris unavoidable flight to the
punk genre suburbs won't have to read between any lines to figure where the band was heading when they produced this 2001 release. After
End Is Forever, all that remained to be seen is just how far the quartet's undeniable mainstream appeal would take them. ~ Vincent Jeffries
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