At the tail end of a nine-hour drive, arriving back in his home state was a bit of a shock for Dan Nigro, vocalist/guitarist of Long Island’s ethereal rock band As Tall As Lions. “Man, its freezing here,” Nigro tells me. “It’s like 30 degrees (F) colder than it was in Virginia. We’re stuck wearing flip flops and shorts, freezing our asses off.”

In New York for the Bamboozle Festival, ATAL are scheduled to hit the stage both days, playing full band and acoustic sets. Showcasing songs from their digitally released EP Into The Flood, debut Lafcadio and their latest album, the self titled As Tall As Lions, the band’s popularity grows as their discography does.

They can now add one more country to their list as the new record is distributed as the band’s first release in Australia. Licensed through Taperjean Records and 18 months after their American release date, the four-piece’s sophomore offering finally hit our shelves on March 15th.

Part of the line-up of both Soundwave ‘07 and ‘08, ATAL has toured the country twice prior to audiences being able to easily access their material. “It’s a relief to finally get it out in Australia. It was frustrating touring with Soundwave [2008]. The album was supposed to be out that week but it didn’t get pressed in time. That was a bummer.”

Unfortunately, though, this was not the only bummer of the tour. During Brisbane Soundwave, where they performed acoustically, ATAL were the victims of poor planning. Billed between Incubus and The Offspring, the band didn’t stand a chance book-ended between the headliners. An impatient crowd threw bottles and hurtled abuse during their entire set.

“Soundwave was generally a positive experience, except for Brisbane,” Nigro admits. “It was the first time something like that has happened but I mean, I guess it made us stronger. Since then I haven’t been nervous once before going on stage.”

Off the back of successful debut Lafcadio, ATAL headed into the studio in 2005 without any new material and with little direction in mind. “We had some loose guide lines for the album. We wanted rhythmic drums. The last album was very guitar driven and we wanted the self-titled to be more bass and drum heavy. But once we got into the studio we found that the record was lacking direction, so we took some time off. A few weeks break. When we got back we knew what we wanted.”

The result is an album that seems to resonate a little more with every play. More ambient that their last offering, self titled takes you on a soulful journey that is marked by key moments. Songs like Kicking Myself or Stab City, which Nigro credits with “bringing the album together” stand beside anthem Love, Love, Love (Love, Love), which has gained both critical and popular acclaim.

“It wasn’t until months after [ Love ] was written that we thought it was something special,” Nigro concedes. “Saen, our guitarist, wrote the original ideas, but we worked on it together. We took another song I had written and mashed the two together to give it that big ending. It’s such a delicate song that it could have been done wrong.”

The album is such that even a first listen almost two years after it was released still sounds fresh and refuses to pigeonhole the band into any one particular genre. “We spent a lot of time on the record. It’s something that we’re proud of. We wanted to write something that was relevant. You always look back and there are things you want to change but we’re really proud of this album.”

In the studio at the moment recording a follow up to self titled, Nigro promises we won’t have to wait another 18 months to get our greedy little paws on this one. “We’re looking at a February ‘09 release. It still seems like a long time off, but we’re taking our time. We want to make sure it’s right.”

And is there the possibility of another Australian tour? He says it’s probable in the band’s future. “We’re working on an Australian tour late this year, but it’s not certain. But hey; if you keep spreading the love, we’ll get out there.”