Last night I saw Two Hours Traffic (Website / MySpace) at the Grad Club in Kingston, Ontario. This was the second time I had seen them there and their audience had doubled since the first, but it still wasn’t that large. So I think to myself “Where’s the justice?”. This is my favourite east coast band of the moment (they’re from Charlottetown, PEI, but now they live in Toronto), but since their 2003 debut The April Storm EP, they havent gotten the recognition they deserve. Last night, they were opening for the east coast sensations In Flight Safety (Website / MySpace). And even though Safety had won as many East Coast Music Awards as established artists as Sarah Harmer and Joel Plaskett this year, all I could think at the end of their set was how awesome Two Hours Traffic was.
They’ve released three records: 2003’s The April Storm EP, 2005’s Two Hours Traffic LP, 2006’s Isolator EP, which are jam-packed with pure-pop fun. They show their roots playing the same Big Star/Cheap Trick/Cars-inspired Power Pop that gave popularity to Sloan and the Super Friendz a decade earlier. But these guys are no imitators, they cross that with a folky/alt-country sound familiar to Joel Plaskett, who produced their debut album.
So I’m still waiting for the day when these guys take home their East Coast Music Award (which seems to be the last award show which recognizes and promotes good music over popular music). Last night they mentioned that they were going to start recording their next record in Toronto today, but until then, here are some mp3s provided by their offical website:
“Jezebel” from Isolator EP (2006) 
Two Hours Traffic - Jezebel
“Stuck for the Summer” from Isolator EP (2006)
Two Hours Traffic - Stuck for the Summer
“Better Sorry Than Safe” from Two Hours Traffic (2005)
Two Hours Traffic - Better Sorry Than Safe
“Heroes of the Sidewalk” from Two Hours Traffic (2005)
Two Hours Traffic - Heroes of the Sidewalk
“Think More Often Than I Should” from The April Storm EP (2003)
Two Hours Traffic - Think More Often Than I Should
2 Comments so far...
Here’s a pretty cool interview with the band at Chart Attack
Comment by Daniel on 07-03-07Leave a comment
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i love two hours traffic. can’t wait till they come back.
Comment by Abby on 04-03-07