End Is Forever

End Is Forever is the third studio album by American rock band The Ataris, released on Kung-Fu Records in 2001. The album features a mix of punk and pop punk similar to the band's previous works along with catchy pop rhythms. It contains lyrics that span nostalgia, growing up, love, relationships, and singer Kris Roe's childhood. End is Forever is notable for its many pop culture references and numerous lyrics that Roe describes as having "hidden meanings" encoded within.

End Is Forever
Studio album by
The Ataris
ReleasedFebruary 20, 2001
RecordedJune–July 2000
StudioThe Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado;
Orange Whip and The Crank Lab, Santa Barbara, California
GenrePop punk
Length41:01
LabelKung Fu
ProducerJoey Cape, Jason Livermore
The Ataris chronology
Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits
(1999)		 End Is Forever
(2001)		 So Long, Astoria
(2003)

Background and production

In April 1999, the Ataris released their second studio album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits.[1] They promoted the album with tours alongside Blink-182, Home Grown, and MxPx.[2] In April 2000, the band released a split album with Useless ID.[3] Between June 15 and July 20, 2000, the band recorded End Is Forever at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, with producers Joey Cape and Jason Livermore. Additional recording was held at Orange Whip and The Crank Lab, both in Santa Barbara, California with additional production from Angus Cooke.[4]

Composition

Musically, the sound of End Is Forever has been described as pop punk,[5][6] with themes revolving around Roe's relationships, and being lonely while on tour.[7][8] Roe considered it "a little bit more dynamic" than their previous album, with "a little bit more intricate" song structures, incorporating the use of cello and piano.[9] The opening track "Giving Up on Love" channels the style of the Foo Fighters.[6] "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" talks about staying young; its title is a reference to a cheat code from the video game Contra (1987).[7][10] "Song for a Mix Tape" incorporates country blues guitar licks within its pop-punk chord progression.[11] "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" was originally included on the split with Useless ID; it was re-recorded for inclusion on End Is Forever.[12] "Teenage Riot" features references to "Longview" (1994) by Green Day, and "West End Riot" (1999) by the Living End.[13] "Song #13" is about turning the other cheek when someone says disparaging comments about another person.[9] The album closes with the acoustic song "Hello and Goodbye".[7]

Release

The Ataris appeared on the second leg of the Fat Wreck tour, and performed on the east coast dates of the Warped Tour.[14] In October 2000, the band supported the Vandals on their tour of the UK.[15] On October 8, "Song #13" was made available for free download through the band's MP3.com profile.[16] After initially being planned for released in October 2000,[14] End Is Forever was eventually released on February 20, 2001, through Kung Fu Records. The Ataris held a release show for it at the band's own store Down on Haley; the music video for "Teenage Riot" was filmed at the show. The band toured Australia and then went to the UK. After returning to the US, they went on a tour with Lagwagon, and the Vandals.[17] In April, the band played in Japan, before going to New Zealand, Australia and the UK; One Dollar Short appeared on the Australian dates.[17][18]

After returning to the US in May, the band supported Blink-182 for a few shows. On June 18, the music video for "Summer Wind Was Always Our Song" was filmed at Down on Haley.[17] At the end of the month, guitarist Marco Peña left the band amid to creative and personal differences; he was replaced by guitar tech John Collura, formerly of the band Beefcake.[19] Following this, the band performed on the Warped Tour until August.[20] Later in the month, the band played three shows in the UK as part of the Extreme 2001 festival.[21] On August 27, the "Summer Wind Was Always Our Song" music video was posted on Kung Fu Records' website. Following the stint, the band played a few European festivals, before embarking on another US tour. In November and December, the band went on a west coast tour with All, before taking a break until early 2002.[17]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[22]
Chart AttackFavorable[5]
Drowned in Sound6/10[6]
Exclaim!Favorable[13]
Modern FixFavorable[7]
Ox-FanzineFavorable[23]
Sputnikmusic6/10[10]

The staff of Chart Attack wrote that End Is Forever "doesn't stray far from previous Ataris releases ... wrap[ing] melodies in chunky guitar riffs, working solid song arrangements with tight stop-start coordination."[5] Modern Fix writer Michael Moriatis said the record was "more mature and definitely more produced, almost to a fault, than previous Ataris’ albums."[7] Randy Flame of Ox-Fanzine found the album "[p]erfect both in the songwriting and in the production".[23] Exclaim!'s Rob Ferraz said the band "serve up a tasty buffet of melancholy pop punk" with End Is Forever. He added, "[i]f you enjoy songs about heartbreak, falling in love and making mixed tapes for that special someone, then this is the record for you."[13] Brian Kruger for Ink19 said the "playing, singing, and production are perfect. Too perfect, in fact. That’s what I don’t like about The Ataris — they’re too bright and shiny".[11]

AllMusic reviewer Vincent Jeffries wrote that the band "offered up the dynamic, dangerously non-punk End Is Forever." He noted that listeners that knew the band's earlier works wouldn't be "surprised by End Is Forever as Roe's quickly developing, gifted writing had always been the outfit's defining factor".[22] Mat Hocking of Drowned in Sound noted the lyrical themes of "girls, love, broken hearts, teen frustrations and er, girls", before asking, "[w]hich isn't really anything new is it?" He said that "[c]ompared to previous albums this is pretty average and a lot tamer".[6] In a retrospective review, Sputnikmusic staff member Atari said the record was "their most consistent album to date." He added, "[i]t's an underappreciated and often overlooked album".[10] Punk Planet reviewer Kyle Ryan said track three alone was "enough for me to give the Ataris a gold star of cleverness". Though, apart from this, the band managed to "pull [the pop punk sound] off occasionally, but they don't make it work the whole time".[24]

It reached No. 14 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and No. 24 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[25]

Track listing

All songs by Kris Roe, except "Giving Up on Love" by Roe and Jasin Thomason.[4]

  1. "Giving Up on Love" – 2:53
  2. "Summer Wind Was Always Our Song" – 3:56
  3. "I.O.U. One Galaxy" – 2:00
  4. "Bad Case of Broken Heart" – 1:58
  5. "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" – 3:01
  6. "Road Signs and Rock Songs" – 2:45
  7. "If You Really Want to Hear About It..." – 2:45
  8. "Fast Times at Drop-Out High" – 3:39
  9. "Song for a Mix Tape" – 3:08
  10. "You Need a Hug" – 3:49
  11. "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" – 3:22
  12. "Teenage Riot" – 2:58
  13. "Song #13" – 2:25
  14. "Hello and Goodbye" – 2:22

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[4]

Charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[26] 81

References

Citations

  1. Jeffries, Vincent. "Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits - The Ataris | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  2. Cornelius, David. "The Ataris | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  3. "Let It Burn - The Ataris | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  4. End Is Forever (booklet). The Ataris. Kung Fu Records. 2001. 78782-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. "The Ataris — End Is Forever". Chart Attack. February 21, 2001. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  6. Hocking, Mat (March 12, 2001). "Album Review: The Ataris - End Is Forever / Releases". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  7. Moriatis, Michael (April 2001). "CD Reviews". Modern Fix. Archived from the original on January 13, 2003. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  8. White, Adam (December 24, 2000). "Ataris New Abum [sic]". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  9. Benwell, James (October 22, 2000). "The Ataris - Nothing to do with computers!". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 12, 2004. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  10. Atari (September 29, 2012). "Review: The Ataris - End is Forever". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  11. Kruger, Brian (June 27, 2001). "The Ataris End Is Forever". Ink19. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  12. Jordan (May 14, 2008). "The Ataris". Pastepunk. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  13. Ferraz, Rob (June 1, 2001). "Ataris End Is Forever". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  14. Paul, Aubin (April 12, 2000). "Ataris are Busy". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  15. Paul, Aubin (August 23, 2000). "Vandals, Ataris and Bigwig Hit the UK". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  16. Paul, Aubin (October 8, 2000). "Check Out the Ataris New Single". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  17. "News". The Ataris. Archived from the original on December 21, 2002. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  18. White, Adam (March 8, 2001). "New One Dollar Short Single". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  19. Roe, Kris (August 7, 2001). "What happened to Marco Pena, the old guitar player?". The Ataris. Archived from the original on April 9, 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  20. Vanhorn, Teri (March 13, 2001). "Warped Tour Adds Rollins Band, Lists Dates, Cities". MTV. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  21. "The Jake's Gonna Be On You!". NME. May 1, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  22. Jeffries, Vincent. "End Is Forever - The Ataris | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  23. Flame, Randy (March–May 2001). "Reviews: Ataris / End Is Forever". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  24. Ryan 2001, p. 122–3
  25. "The Ataris". Allmusic. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  26. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 19.

Sources

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