Welcome the Night

Welcome the Night is the fifth studio album by the band The Ataris.

Welcome the Night
Studio album by The Ataris
Released	February 20, 2007
Recorded	2005 at Seedy Underbelly Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Alternative rock,[1] indie rock[2]
Length	52:21
Label	Isola, Sanctuary
Producer	Nick Launay
The Ataris chronology
So Long, Astoria (2003) Welcome the Night (2007) Silver Turns to Rust (2017)
Singles from Welcome the Night
"Not Capable of Love" Released: November 14, 2006 "And We All Become Like Smoke" Released: 2007

Background

With this album, The Ataris abandoned the pop punk genre and moved to the alternative rock genre.

Release

On June 10, 2006, it was announced that the band had left Columbia Records. The band explained that they asked to be let go from their recording contract: "[since the release of So Long, Astoria,] almost every key person working at Columbia has either been fired or has quit[.] [...] We, like so many of the great people who have recently left Columbia, are not interested in remaining on a label that is in the process of being dismantled." The group mentioned that this caused a minor delay in releasing Welcome the Night.[3] On November 7, it was announced that the band started their own label, Isola Recordings, and partnered with Sanctuary Records to release Welcome the Night.[4] On November 14, "Not Capable of Love" was made available for streaming via the band's Myspace account,[5] and released to radio on the same day.[6] The song was released to iTunes on December 19, featuring "Welcome the Night" as the B-side.

Welcome the Night was released on February 20, 2007 through Isola Recordings and Sanctuary Records.[4] Early pressings of the CD purchased at Best Buy contained a bonus disc with "The First Elegy" as track one and "Sonnet for the Early Departed" as track two. Also, early pressings of the CD purchased at Target contain the bonus track "The Ghost of Last December". The special edition of this album, sold in Canada and Europe by HMV, contains "Welcome the Night" and "The Ghost of Last December" as bonus tracks.[7] For the release of this album The Ataris partnered with the developer of the hugely popular computer game World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment, for a contest encouraging fans of the band, the game, and the medium of machinima to produce music videos of songs from the album using the Warcraft intellectual properties and animation engine.

The video for "Not Capable of Love" was released in February. From late February to early April, the band went on their first U.S. tour in three years. They were supported by Asobi Seksu and Wax on Radio.[8]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	43%[9]
AllMusic	[1]
Chart Attack	Unfavorable[10]
Exclaim!	Unfavorable[11]
Melodic	[12]
The Phantom Tollbooth	3.5/5[13]
Punknews.org	[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]

The album debuted at number 85 on the Billboard 200, selling about 10,000 copies in its first week on the chart.[16]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Kris Roe.

Welcome the Night

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Not Capable of Love"	Roe	3:29
2.	"Cardiff-by-the-Sea"	Roe	4:12
3.	"New Year's Day"	Roe, John Collura	3:13
4.	"Secret Handshakes"	Roe	3:42
5.	"The Cheyenne Line"	Roe, Collura	3:11
6.	"And We All Become Like Smoke"	Roe, Collura	3:59
7.	"Connections Are More Dangerous Than Lies"	Roe	2:59
8.	"Whatever Lies Will Help You Rest"	Roe, Sean Hansen	3:32
9.	"From the Last, Last Call"	Roe	4:09
10.	"When All Else Fails It Fails"	Roe, Collura	3:34
11.	"A Soundtrack for This Rainy Morning"	Roe, Collura, Hansen, Paul Carabello, Angus Cooke, Bob Hoag	4:47
12.	"Begin Again from the Beginning"	Roe, Collura	5:39
13.	"Act V, Scene IV: and So It Ends Like It Began"	Roe, Collura	5:56

B-Sides

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sonnet for the Early Departed"	5:59
2.	"The Driftwood Sinn"	3:48
3.	"The First Elegy"	2:17
4.	"The Ghost of Last December"	3:13
5.	"Welcome the Night"	3:27
6.	"Oh, Kansas City"	2:50

Personnel

Band

• Kris Roe - Vocals, Guitar, Percussion, Theremin
• John Collura - Guitar, Piano
• Paul Carabello - Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
• Sean Hansen - Bass, Vocals, Percussion, Drums
• Shane Chikeles - Drums, Percussion
• Angus Cooke - Cello, Percussion
• Bob Hoag - Piano, Mellotron, Percussion, Vocals

Production

• Nick Launay - Production
• Tim Palmer - Mixing
• Thom Flowers - Production (on "Not Capable of Love", "New Year's Day" and "Connections are More Dangerous Than Lies")
• Paul David Hagar - Mixing (on "Not Capable of Love", "New Year's Day" and "Connections are More Dangerous Than Lies")
• Stever Marcussen - Mastering

References

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r949939
2. Payne, Chris (December 17, 2013). "The Ataris Announce 'So Long Astoria' 10-Year Anniversary Tour; Share Exclusive Promo Video". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
3. "The Ataris leave Columbia Records". Alternative Press. June 10, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
4. "The Ataris sign to Sanctuary; Welcome The Night out Feb. 7". Alternative Press. November 7, 2006. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
5. "The Ataris post first single off Welcome The Night". Alternative Press. November 14, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
6. "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
7. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000MCICBU
8. "The Ataris announce U.S. tour with Asobi Seksu". Alternative Press. January 30, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
9. Hockenbury, Russ (February 18, 2007). "Ataris, The - Welcome the Night". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
10. Chart Attack (February 27, 2007). "The Ataris". Chart Attack. Channel Zero. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
11. Sutherland, Sam (February 14, 2007). "Ataris Welcome To The Night". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
12. Roth, Kaj (February 17, 2007). "The Ataris - Welcome the Night". Melodic. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
13. Morovich, James (March 4, 2007). "Welcome the Night". The Phantom Tollbooth. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
14. Aubin, Paul (February 27, 2007). "The Ataris: Welcome the Night (2007)". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018.
15. "Welcome The Night". Rolling Stone. 2007. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008.
16. Katie Hasty, "Norah Stays Tight At No. 1 Amidst Slow Sales Week", Billboard.com, February 28, 2007.

External links

• Welcome the Night at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)