Album Review: Atmosphere - The Family Sign

Atmosphere has been making real life, every man music for years now. And as the years have passed, the music has gotten more mature which is certainly true on their latest, The Family Sign. Slug and Ant bring their most polished and sophisticated music yet. And they don’t do it alone. Thanks to the help of Nate Collis on guitar and Erick Anderson on the keys, Atmosphere delivers what the label calls the groups’ “most personal and intimate album yet.”

The album kicks off with “My Key” which shows off the groups newest members immediately. Anderson’s keys open the album in grand fashion and then Collis joins the fray with a bluesy guitar riff to go with Ant’s snare and kick drum. This is music in every sense of the word. Of course the finishing touch is Slug who is as sharp as ever on this album.

The musical soundscapes are gripping especially on “The Last To Say,” “Became,” “Who I’ll Never Be” and “Something So.” The instruments are as big a standout on this effort as Slug and perhaps more so as we’re used to hearing great stories from Slug but never over music this advanced. The acoustic guitar drives “Who I’ll Never Be,” and the guitar on “Something So” takes you to another place. Every time I listen to it I think it would be perfect for a movie as the song slowly builds and becomes more and more climactic. Slug says, “They tell me that I’m not qualified to lend my voice to something so beautiful.” On the contrary. This is fantastic music.

And while the instruments bring a fresh sound, Ant’s production remains consistently excellent as do Slug’s lyrics. Slug goes into full story telling mode on “Became,” “Who I’ll Never Be,” “Your Name Here” and “If You Can Save Me.” “Became” paints an amazing picture as Slug goes searching through the woods for a friend who he believes was hunted down by wolves. The picture he paints with the lyrics are extremely vivid as the listener feels like they can feel the cold snow on their feet as they follow the footprints into the woods.

“If You Can Save Me,” is the aftermath of an auto accident, where Slug is lying on his back looking into the sky taking in the sounds around him and slowly slipping into death, only to be saved by “an angel in a firefighter uniform.” “Your Name Here” finds Slug running into an old friend and having the awkward conversation we’ve all had with former aquaintances years later.

Of course this wouldn’t be an Atmosphere album without a look at relationships. The lead single, “Just For Show,” finds Slug mocking his girl for saying she’s going to leave, but calling her bluff as their relationship continues to deteriorate. That’s followed by “She’s Enough” where Slug promises to do anything in his power to make his girl happy because quite simply she’s enough and that’s as good a reason as any.

The most powerful song on the album is “The Last To Say,” which finds Slug begging his friend to leave her abusive relationship before it’s too late. The imagery is chilling as Slug describes a family history of domestic abuse. He finishes by saying “Just tear it all apart and build new/Because if you don’t kill him, he’s going to kill you/You can’t hold hands when they make fists/And I ain’t the first to say this.” The song pulls on your heartstrings as it deals with a very serious issue that too many people are too scared to talk about.

All in all, this is a terrific effort from Atmosphere. However it’s not without a few missteps. “Bad Bad Daddy,” and “Ain’t Nobody” don’t keep up with the quality of the rest of the album. And “Just For Show” and “She’s Enough” are fine, but don’t necessarily bring anything new to the table either. I would rank this one ahead of Seven’s Travels and well above Overcast, but not above the Lucy Ford EPs, God Loves Ugly, You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having or When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold.

The Family Sign is worthy of adding to the collection and it certainly grew on me the more I listened to it.

Final Grade: B+