PRESS
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // Chris Terry, Razorcake #79 {04.14.14}
Dark, serpentine indie rock with crashing crescendos and orchestral chamber pop breaks. Kelly L’Heureux has a smooth voice that fits the album’s many moods, and I suggest digesting In Planetary Sugar from start to finish, as the songs build and wind with purpose. I found this record intriguing, and I can’t stand Slint, who are an obvious influence. Give this a listen, you’ll be surprised.
CHIP'S TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2013 // Chip McCabe, Lonesome Noise {12.30.13}
One of the best live bands Connecticut has ever produced... Heavy enough that the discerning metal fan could dig on it but accessible to fans of acts like Jesu, Portishead and Mazzy Star. Easily one of the best albums produced by a CT act this year.
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // I AM NOT A MUSICIAN {09.05.13}
ATRINA's debut full-length album "In Planetary Sugar" was released earlier this year and it is an absolutely stunning work. There isn't one song on this album that I don't love. The band mashes rock, metal, and pop until the lines between these genres are so thin, you give up to differentiate and just slip into the pure enjoyment of ATRINA's brilliant world... Listening to ATRINA is like watching a day unfold through a prism, not interfering but just observing and enjoying a great array of images and colors. "In Planetary Sugar" is a must listen for every music lover.
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // The Sound of Confusion {06.25.13}
Atrina are pushing themselves and their music to stay at the forefront of cutting edge guitar music, whilst staying true to actual guitar music, and not just flooding the songs with the latest electronic techniques... Like the rest of "In Planetary Sugar" they do this do a high standard and have pieced together an imaginative and fully-realised album.
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"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // Babyblaue Prog {06.15.13}
Very pleasing... a beautiful discovery.
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // Simon Savard, La Marge {05.03.13}
A mature sound rarely heard... catchy, melodic and complex, with a distinctive voice and a dark vision.
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // Thomas Pizzola, Verbicide Magazine {04.29.13}
Atrina has created an exciting slab of indie rock that is at times dreamy, ethereal, psychedelic, and always enthralling. In a music world where it seems like everything has been done before, it’s nice to see a band breathing new life into a form of music that seems to have been on life support for a while now.
"THRUSH & THRASHER" BY ATRINA // DLee, This is That Song {04.23.13}
If you only listen to one song today, make it “Thrush and Thrasher” by Atrina (2013, from the album In Planetary Sugar)... The sound is a bit heavier, more low-end heavy, and more jagged than I usually go for, but the vocals of frontwoman Kelly L’Heureux make it more appealing by rounding off some of those sharp angles. It’s a good balance of light and heavy, soft and hard.
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" REVIEW // Droning Earth {04.23.13}
Transforms your apartment into a spaceship, if it isnt already one.
An epic and sprawling album. I haven't felt this satisfied listening to a complete album in some time. Bravo, ATRINA, Bravo.
ALBUM OF THE DAY - "IN PLANETARY SUGAR" // Chip McCabe, CT.com {01.09.13}
An absolutely stunning album in just about every way imaginable ...this album is the perfect musical example of the universal struggle of the light versus the darkness. It is the sun both rising and setting in an aural battle of the bombastic versus the placid.
"IN PLANETARY SUGAR" ALBUM REVIEW // Tamyra Davis, LocalBandReview.com {02.13.13}
This is an album that can appeal to a diverse audience. There is a beauty that is heard throughout each tune ...In Planetary Sugar is simplistic in nature, yet complex in its arrangements. Give Atrina a listen. You will not be disappointed.
ALBUM OF THE DAY - "BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE" {EP} // Chip McCabe, CT.com {10.20.11}
A masterpiece to these ears. When you can listen to an album over, over and over again and not ever tire of it then the band is doing something right to tickle your musical palette ...This isn’t your daddy’s “alt rock”.
LIVE SHOW REVIEW: GRASS WIDOW, BROKEN WATER, ATRINA // Crawdaddy {04.29.11}
The back-room concert space in New Haven’s BAR has a lot going for it, including the two most crucial components of intimacy and sound quality. On this occasion the sound in the room was spot-on, and the stage is but a wooden riser less than a foot high, amounting to practically no separation between the band and the audience. Grass Widow bassist/singer Hannah Lew took full advantage of the closeness, venturing a few steps out into the crowd with her bass to remind us that this was indeed a punk show. As an event, it was up against its share of mild adversity: A weeknight, competing with an Of Montreal show (a significant factor in a town this size), annoying drizzly weather, and of course a scheduling mishap that caused it to start an hour later than planned. And yet Grass Widow, Broken Water, and local opener Atrina didn’t merely overcome. They killed. Atrina’s heavy, polished and vaguely proggy set started things off with a nimble shellacking. Their musicianship is impressive, and though their sound has little in common with the scrappier “indie”-type punk that followed, their performance nevertheless commands respect...
THANKSLISTENING: CTINDIE MAKES A MIX OF CONNECTICUT BANDS TO BE THANKFUL FOR // Chris March, New Haven Reigster {11.25.10}
“Seven Ways,” Atrina: In 2008, the now defunct Play magazine wrote that Atrina sounded as if “Siouxsie sang some pop tunes through the Melvins’ gear” with “chilling atmospheric beauty.” CTindie says singer Kelly L’Heureux is “a reminder of why we should all be thankful.”
EAR MIGHT: CHECK OUT ATRINA // Dan Barry, CT.com {05.27.10}
Lately I’ve been cranking some tunes by Atrina, the nom de band for Kelly L’Heureux’s long-running alt rock project. (Was it chintzy of me to say “nom de band” in reference to a person who has, like, the most French name ever? Would you like some hors d’oeuvres wif dat?) P. J. Harvey is probably the closest touchstone—think dark, driven, angular, sensual. L’Heureux seems like a devoted bedroom artist. Atrina has gone through several phases and lineup changes (the most recent featuring members of the Vultures and recently-deceased Bloarzeyd), but the cool thing is that she’s been at the creative helm since at least 1996. That’s a hell of a tenure! I know this because I just discovered this archive of Atrina tunes on L’Heureux’s website. Go to http://www.kelly-lheureux.com/atrinamusic/sounds.html to check out a bunch of her music, collected in little chunks from year to year. Lately, L’Heureux’s been putting in time behind the bass geet with M. T. Bearington, whose indie rock is wildly popular but a little too salty for my taste. Noteworthy fact: Kelly is a 3 time cancer survivor, which officially puts her in league with Clint Eastwood and Samuel L. Jackson on the Badass Polls. She donates a portion of her proceeds from her latest record to cancer research. So you should buy one if you like what you hear on the demos!
TEAR ME TO SHREDS: ATRINA’S HARROWING PERFORMANCE STRIPS THE CROWD BARE // Dan Barry, CT.com {03.11.09}
I haven’t quite fully put myself back together after the sound ass-whooping Atrina delivered at Two Boots in Bridgeport last Friday. Their set left me with the same delicious stabbed-in-the-guts feeling that vintage P. J. Harvey evokes. Atrina are in good company: they fit into a noteworthy and largely unsung company of female-fronted grunge rockers from dilapidated Connecticut towns, including bands like Farewood and Eula. Atrina looks nothing like their music. Bandleader Kelly L’Heureux’s dress and hair and cheeky cheeks all hint more toward indie than alternative. Aside from drummer Dave Parmelee’s Godflesh T-shirt (and even that band is eclipsed by its newer, more hipster-friendly incarnation, Jesu), there’s not a hint of recognizable scenester iconography on stage. What’s more, I left the show thinking that Atrina’s two axmen looked familiar, and some Google-fu confirmed my suspicions. Bassist Will Iannuzi also mans the low end for trashy punkabilly scumbags the Vultures; and the tall guy who kept his back to the audience the whole time was none other than Phil Law, who transforms into a bass-pawing math-metal lunatic when playing in Bloarzeyd. Shit, dude, even the band’s pedigree makes them impossible to pigeonhole. But it’s nice to be disarmed. Atrina force you to meet them with openness and wonderment, rather than superficial expectations based on their clothes or equipment. And it ultimately pans out, since the feel of their music is iconic. Their set was marked by turbulent riffs in angular time signatures. L’Heureux’s vocals were relentless, plaintive; she wasn’t yelling or screaming, and yet her lyrics seemed to evacuate her voice before they ever reached the audience, leaving us with just the sound itself, a husk of something communicated. Chilling, morbid, and delicious.
CLOSE TO HOME, CLOSE TO PERFECTION / DASHING THROUGH THE DISCS: A LOOK BACK AT SOME STANDOUT CDs FROM CONNECTICUT BANDS IN 2008 // Brian Larue, New Haven Advocate {12.18.08}
Atrina, {beautiful evidence}: The moody, heavy, minor-key, mid-tempo, post-punk guitar rock on this disc sounds like a unified piece. It’s hazy and a little foreboding, but the reasons aren’t easily identifiable. Something sinister is hanging in the ambiance, and the uncertainty of what it is produces great effect.
RIFFS ARE UNIVERSAL - Interview // Jason Devon, CTIndie.com {10.07.08}
Kelly L’Heureux recently talked with CT Indie about the band’s new form, older songs growing into newer songs, the new self-released EP {beautiful evidence}, and Kelly’s own renewed sense of self.
CD REVIEW: "BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE" {EP} // Brian Larue, New Haven Advocate {09.24.08}
Atrina sounds like they mean it, with an earnestness matched by technical expertise and solid songwriting. This record is high-stakes. It bears the superficial markers of earnestness — deep, heavy riffing, a brooding and moody sensibility, haunted-sounding vocals and songs exclusively in minor keys — but it transcends superficiality. Singer Kelly L’Hereux sounds impassioned and entirely straightforward, her voice positioned low enough in the mix to create a compelling push-and-pull between vocals and band. This dark stuff is thoroughly rocking, spooky, tuneful and direct, a collection of mid-tempo post-punk tunes from the depths that delivers. New Haven rocker boys, take note — L’Hereux’s not joking around, and she’s helping to trash the local scene’s in-joke-isms and to bring us in touch with something more universal in the process.
CD REVIEW: "BEAUTIFUL EVIDENCE" {EP} // Craig Gilbert, PLAY Magazine {09.03.08}
About five years ago this band just kind of went away which was a dang shame ’cause they were a great, moody-without-being-mopey, sorta arty group that worked well. This here is a “return” recording with a sorta new line-up. And it’s better than the old stuff. For real. Five songs, pleasantly shadow-y (if Siouxsie sang some pop tunes through the Melvins gear) and spot-on solid. Chilling atmospheric beauty, just enough distortion, delicate vocals offset the dirge-ous bits, all good. Holy crap! Seriously now. This is really good. Standout Track: Just get the disc, okay? And don’t worry about it.
ATRINA WALKS INTO A BAR // Brian Larue, New Haven Advocate {07.18.08}
For what feels like, in retrospect, a glorious yet brief moment earlier this decade, Atrina was one of the most promising rock bands in town. Powerful and confident, they struck a balance between rock history and hipness, a kind of zeigeist-capturing cool. With a lineup of four vets of the regional rock scene, a muscular and moody sound that could be described as some sort of post-punk art-garage rock, and a handful of cracking songs, the band gigged around New Haven in support of the gritty and thoroughly rocking EP “Searching for a Better Way”, then… seemed to disappear. Atrina’s last gig was at Toad’s Place at the end of July 2003. But now, five years later, they’re back, playing a show at BAR this Sunday, toting an advance CD-R (the disc is currently being mastered in Chicago) of the new EP, {beautiful evidence}. The disc, and the band’s current incarnation (which includes Vultures/Goose Lane drummer Dave Parmelee, Bloarzeyd/Humanoid bassist Phil Law, both new Atrina members, and longtime bassist Will Ianuzzi, also of The Vultures), represents “a continuation of the next natural step of the band,” singer/guitarist Kelly L’Heureux said in a recent phone conversation. The band’s working in, she says, “a similar style, different feeling. Especially when you bring two people in who were audience members before, they absorb it in a new way. Every song is kind of just a mood. Everything that fits that mood is right.” In a recent e-mail, L’Heureux explains that while Atrina “kind of fell apart” in 2003, after which she “dropped out of the scene for awhile,” she long viewed the band as an unfinished project. Atrina’s show at BAR, playing with Californian neo-psych band Film School, features the films of Ancient Domain, the nom de film of a college friend of L’Heureux’s. Sales of Atrina’s CD-R will be funneled directly into pledging for L’Heureux’s bike ride for the Connecticut Challenge in support of cancer survivors. Once the EP comes out in earnest, a dollar of each sale will continue to go toward the Connecticut Challenge.
BLOG LOVE // confluence.za.net {07.04.05}
Something about these songs just grabbed me as soon as I heard them, although the quality of some of the recordings isn’t very good. The music is weirdly atonal in places, and uses chords which nobody else seems to use – which is possibly why I like it so much. Recommendations: Memento, Eviscerate, Polaroid, Sulu, Seven Ways, Spy, Witness, Sci-Fi #2.
CD REVIEW: SEARCHING FOR A BETTER WAY... EP // Annie Tomlin, Punk Planet {May/June 2003}
Noisy, down-and-dirty, metal-tinged rock. Singer Kelly nails that wail/sigh vocals that meld smoothly with fuzzy guitars. Although there’s an apparent Slint influence, these kids are best when they drop the arty songs (promising but ill-fitting) and stick with the rock ‘n’ roll, hoochie koo.
CD REVIEW: SEARCHING FOR A BETTER WAY... EP // Jeff Breeze, Northeast Performer {June 2003}
If you’re looking for music that has certain antecedents, all you have to do is determine what influences you’re looking for and then be prepared to find the answers in the strangest locations. Anymore it seems that if you’re looking around in the big cities of the Northeast, what you’re going to find are bands that have refined their specialty to the point that they can accomplish the style they seek to attain with severe precision, but if you knock them out of their box, you’re left with someone who flounders. Atrina is a band that combines the aggression of a Dischord band with the angular guitar wails of people reared on the sounds of Sonic Youth, and all of that is churning away beneath the impassioned wail of vocalist Kelly. “Sulu” is the opening track and it rambles around looking for a center but ultimately decides that bulldozing through the middle is the best track of all. It’s the deliberate drumming that defies you not to start clapping along at the beginning of “Memento.” Then suddenly, all of the elements that made you enjoy listening to the array of female-fronted Alternative bands in the ’90s comes crashing headlong in a big wave. The song has the rhythmic insistence of Elastica, and the exuberance of the Breeders, and the pure pop of Veruca Salt all wrapped in one. Just when you expected this band had hit its limits, “Sci-Fi #2” heads off in a drifty, floaty direction that draws tight comparisons to My Bloody Valentine. “Eviscerate” takes elements from the three preceding tracks and sticks them all into a 7+ minute opus. Ultimately, the way that Atrina pulls it all together is similar to Eyes Like Knives. The band isn’t afraid to use force to get its points across, but similarly knows that it can lull you into a spot that will make knocking you from your headphones all the more satisfying.