Atticus Roness Reinvents ‘70s Soundscapes
Photos by Zayne Isom
In April of this year, Atticus Roness hit up Pleaser on the verge of announcing his third studio album Rock N’ Roll Hit Parade. He drove the 4-ish hours from Atlanta to Nashville and met us outside of our beloved part-record-store-part-bar, Vinyl Tap, to talk more about his creative artistry and the record he’d been working on over the past year. We’ve been sitting on the interview since, waiting for the release of the indie, almost Brit-adjacent album to hit streaming platforms.
In between moments of shared Atlanta nostalgia and the unanimous agreement that Little 5 Points Pizza is probably the dopest place to get a slice since Jack’s closed down, Roness and I dove deep into his latest project, a Beatles-inspired rock record that’s just as vulnerable as it is catchy. Roness’ records have been recorded, almost exclusively, off of a sonic vibe. His first solo album Square One, released in 2023, leaned more into an acoustic soundscape, while his second Power Pop World Domination fell into a pop-esque sound sequence complete with shimmery guitar and fervent vocal harmonics. Now, with the recent release of Rock ‘N’ Roll Hit Parade, Roness is taking a more honest approach to Rock ‘N’ Roll.
A lot of these songs were written during a time when I was drinking heavier, and I think what I found is there’s a realness here. My filter was lowered, and I was saying things I wanted to say,” Roness told Pleaser, talking over an old wooden picnic bench outside Vinyl Tap. “I get deeper on this record. Not dark, but more real. Singing these songs from a sober perspective is really cool. It’s like I’m the champion, championing my feelings and then overcoming them, or being confident in what I’m working through.”
In an emotional whirlwind of important moments written through guitar-heavy retro rock sounds, Rock ‘N’ Roll Hit Parade moves through emotion in the way that any good record does. Songs like the ‘60s acoustic rock ballad “Satisfied” preserve meaning to Roness, as it was written about his girlfriend when he’d first met her a couple of years prior.
“I would say ‘Satisfied' is my favorite, because it’s the most different on the record,” Roness said. “I wrote it right as I was in the talking phase with my girlfriend. It was kind of almost foretelling what I thought our story would be like. I wanted to stop dating around, and I was ready for something real. And then she came around, almost like divine timing. I see that song as a symbol of progress for how far I’ve come, and that I deserve that kind of love.”
Throughout the 13 song LP, Roness takes massive inspiration from artists like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, without dipping so far into the massive popularity that it becomes overwashed by the classification of these majorly known artists. Through songs like “I’ll Have Fun,” Roness toys with funky soundscape taking the shape of a song crafted in the ‘70s, with a groovy baseline serving as a sturdy foundation to build a song that leans into a smooth, fun, almost psychedelic-rock leaning sound.
Throughout his time as an independent artist, Roness’ experimental approach to music production and energetic, off-the-wall performances have put him on the map as an artist to watch around the Athens and Atlanta area — but he’s just getting started. He’s stoked to finally have released Rock ‘N’ Roll Hit Parader into the world, and he’s hoping to continue to tour, play live music and stretch his mind as a creative.
