Singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher Roe has been leading power punk icons The Ataris through an astounding 23 years of guitar-driven mayhem producing 6 studio albums, several EPs and countless tours including coveted spots on numerous Vans Warped Tours over the years. Roe has earned respect and admiration all over the punk rock community not only for his interpretive skills – The Ataris’ cover of Don Henley’s “The Boys Of Summer” became a major hit and the band’s calling card – but also for his intensely emotional, powerfully melodic songwriting. Both of those talents are showcased on Hang Your Head In Hope – The Acoustic Sessions, The Ataris’ latest release, a set of stripped down solo acoustic performances highlighting the best Roe-penned tunes in the band’s repertoire from their 1999 album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits to their gold-selling masterpiece So Long, Astoria and beyond! It’s Roe interpreting Roe, and the results are both compelling and highly addictive.
Longtime fans of the band know how much energy and visceral passion are packed in the original studio recordings of these 17 tracks, but Hang Your Head In Hope spotlights the superb skill in Roe’s singing and lyrics, stripping these monster songs to their bare essentials. The recording process was equally bare bones with everything recorded in one take (no edits, no overdubs) on a 1978 Neve 8078 console using a 1940s RCA 44DX ribbon microphone and mixed to analog tape. The result is a testament to the tried and true notion that good songs don’t need all the bells and whistles to retain their musical power. Hang Your Head In Hope is available now on both CD and limited edition BLUE vinyl – a perfect gift for Ataris fans old and new!
Check out the video Roe filmed recently for one of the album’s standout tracks “In The Diary” (originally heard on So Long, Astoria). The video captures an intimate performance by Roe while video and photos shot by Roe himself play in the background:
TRACK LIST:
1. 12.15.10
2. Can’t Hardly Wait
3. My Hotel Year
4. How I Spent My Summer Vacation
5. The Graveyard Of The Atlantic
6. Your Boyfriend Sucks
7. Eight Of Nine
8. Broken Promise Ring
9. The Hero Dies In This One
10. All Souls’ Day
11. In This Diary
12. Skulls
13. Unopened Letter To The World
14. San Dimas
15. Oh, Kansas City [CD ONLY]
16. Soul And Fire [CD ONLY]
17. From A Tower [CD ONLY]
Buy the CD: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/the-ataris-hang-your-head-in-hope-the-acoustic-sessions-cd/
Buy the vinyl: https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/the-ataris-hang-your-head-in-hope-the-acoustic-sessions-limited-edition-blue-vinyl/
Stream/download the digital: https://orcd.co/theatarishangyourheadinhope
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