Just from the name of Kris Roe's band it's not surprising that he's a man somewhat fond of nostalgia. So Long Astoria (the band's fourth full-length album of new material and their major-label debut on Columbia) is, in fact, so steeped in nostalgia that it amounts to something of a concept album. In a nutshell, the concept is that growing up is alot more fun than being grown-up and that as goofy as the late 70's and most of the 80's appear in retrospect, coming of age during those awkward years was relatively innocent and magical.

This is a concept I can relate to, because it just so happens to be my very own story as well. In terms of how well he conveys all of this, Roe can be somewhat compelling - but more often than not, Astoria is lacking in any kind of genuine insight into this strange period of time. These tunes, set to the most generic (although often catchy) Emo song-crafting, gives you about the same amount of authentic feel for the years that saw the death of disco, the birth of Punk and then New Wave, as you would get thumbing through a photo album and goofing on your poofey hair and Leisure Suit. It's as if he took Smashing Pumpkins "1979" and stretched it into 17 songs.

In this particular version of post-punk/Emo there is so little punkishness to it that a few of the songs could be likened to R.E.O. Speedwagon (I don't think Roe would like to be responsible for the creation of R.E.M.O?) These songs all bleed together like fuzzy memories, and though there are some fairly fetching melodies and catchy bits here and there - the album really epitomizes everything that is wrong with Emo and why so many other bands similarly pigeon-holed, are bailing out of this sinking ship. There's no future in Emo and as So Long Astoria so aptly proves there's no past in it either.

Ataris, on the other hand are a band that will spin a donut and peel out of this cul-de-sac of a town (Astoria, is the berg from the movie The Goonies) and emerge with a great album in the future. Two years ago, So Long Astoria would have been a good idea, if it would have come out before Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American - that would've been perfect timing. As it is, The Ataris are going to need to overhaul their approach. What kind of album they turn out next time is really going to tell Astory. So Long.