Air Traffic
July 2, 2007
EMI Music
Just Abuse Me
With the energetic, and also catchy Just Abuse Me, Air Traffic is off to a good start on this album. It’s one of their coolest songs to shout along to during a live show, as the energy spats right out of the song and the playful, rich melody combined with the good riffs and tight rhythm are just setting the stage.
Charlotte
Single candidate Charlotte is one of the few songs where the piano takes a less prominent role. This indie rock&roll song has a great riff that gets stuck in your head and that you can’t help but move along to. The song reminds of The Kooks quite a bit, though a bit more hyper and passionate even, I’d say.
Shooting Star
Shooting Star is one of the strongest tracks on the album and probably the band’s breakthrough single. With relatable lyrics and a good piano-based indie rocker melody, this is a song that fits right in today’s radio climate. People can easily sing along to it and take in the song. The passionate vocals and enthusiasm in the instruments are simply asking for someone to listen to it.
No More Running Away
The Coldplay-influenced No More Running Away is one of the tracks that shows the strength of frontman and main vocalist Chris Wall. His passionate falsetto vocals carry this song, which might not be as polished as a Coldplay song, but in essence is no less of quality. One of the stronger tracks on this debut album.
Empty Space
The mid-tempo ‘ballad-like’ Empty Space is probably the strongest track musically, and though it might not be the band’s best effort lyrically, the music is simply wonderful and the vocals soar full of emotion throughout the whole song.
Time Goes By
Time Goes By is a pretty nice song, with a decent build-up. Nothing too spectacular, but the song’s set up quite well. It’s one of those songs you don’t skip while listening to the album, but you can easily forget it when you try to think of all the song on the album.
I Like That
The more infectious I Like That starts off really cool with a great guitar riff and plenty of energy but the song kinda stays in that and doesn’t really evolve. It’s one of the lesser songs on this album.
Never Even Told Me Her Name
Never Even Told Me Her Name, however, is one of the best tracks on the album, with a good interaction between the different instruments and powerful vocals. The song has a good drive and tempo, which adds energy to the already well-written tune. The catchy song is capable of doing quite well on radio and makes a great live song too.
Get In Line
The Feeder-like Get In Line is a good alternative rock song with a lot of energy and drive. Walls vocals are very reminiscent of The Kooks and so are some of the riffs. It’s a pretty good song, but it’s a song like there have been released many in the past couple of years. So I’m afraid it doesn’t stand out as much as some of the other songs.
I Don’t Understand
The epic I Don’t Understand has a Radiohead-like quality, though maybe not lyrically. With a piano melody that has hints to Radiohead/Beatles (well, RH was heavily influenced by the Beatles) and amazing vocals, this song deserves a mention of honor in this review. It’s probably my favorite song on this album.
Your Fractured Life
The final track has some brilliant touches to it and is a good ender with a rich and fresh sound. The epic ending of the song is very inspiring too. And for the patient listener there’s some bonus material too. I’m not sure if it’s worth the 15m wait though.
With songs like Shooting Star, No More Running Away, & Never Even Told Me Her Name this band shows they are a musical force that is worth the attention. With mostly infectious indie-piano rock and melodically and harmonically well-composed songs, this band strings together a good number of potential radio hits. Lyrically they can definitely grow but there musicality, enthusiasm, energy and talent makes up for that big time. “Fractured Life” is a great start for a band who can have a long and successful career.