Two Hours Traffic - Territory

6 September 2010 by Max Easton

Hailing from Canada's Prince Edward Island, Polaris Music Prize nominated Two Hours Traffic are an act who are only just trying to find their way into Australia's hearts after three Canada-only releases. Produced by Canadian indie-pop staple, Joel Plaskett, Two Hours Traffic have put together an album set to crack the local mindspace.

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Two Hours Traffic are an act known in their Canadian homeland as the band that Joel Plaskett took under his wing, a moniker that's a little patronising to have hovering around, but with the release of third album, Territory, there's no doubt as to where the interest of the multi-Juno award winning folkie came from. Dabbling in a brand of rollicking power pop indie-rock, Two Hours Traffic deliver music with wide-reaching appeal of foot tapping, smile inducing consequence. With Joel Plaskett on board as producer (an odd move considering his struggle to put together a consistent album of the quality of his live show) the Charlottesville four-piece have managed to formulate a balanced record that's solid from start to finish, with great pop hooks and driving indie ballads proving that there's more to them than occupants of Joel Plaskett's underarm. 

Territory is an album which is about as aptly titled as you can get. Two Hours Traffic have walked the neighbourhood like a stray, cocking the leg on each corner of a neat square and stayed firmly within the region they've marked out for themselves. That's not necessarily a bad thing though...sure they don't stray outside of straight-forward pop-rock, but the territory they mark is well-defined and done especially well. In fact, I'd argue that it's pretty damn difficult not to enjoy this record. Tracks like the all-guns-blazing opener Noisemaker set a furious pace, while the swooning call and response vocals found in the chorus of the softly spoken Drop Alcohol dictate a venture into something a bit more gloomy. Wicked Side has Joel Plaskett written all over it,  while Weightless One is kind of a confusing outing that suffers from a refrain featuring muted guitars amongst what could have been a great acoustic-driven song. Lost Boys is one of the album's finest, recalling teenage hope amongst Territory's most melodic tracks. The album closer Sing a Little Hymn is a pretty minimalist piece let down by some questionable lyrics that will either strike you as charming in their simplicity, or subtly revolting. Case in point: 'I'm a free thinker who believes in god, when I get to feeling blue, I don't go to a pew, I just sing a little hymn, I don't know what I'd do without love.' Huh? 

It's quite a confusing album, because you genuinely enjoy it from start to finish, but you're never really moved by it. If anything, it comes across as a little absent-minded, but the thing about the absent minded is that they tend to have a pretty good time. This isn't really an album that touches on deep themes like the press release wants you to believe, but it's an album that does fun, rollicking pop-rock especially well. The bonus tracks included at the end of the record are a collection of four of their biggest singles from previous Canada-only releases, and they're, obviously, some of the better moments on the record demonstrating the height their abilities. However, I don't know how I feel about bonus tracks...so I might strike that from the record review. Boom tish.

There is absolutely no doubt that Two Hours Traffic are a very fine band. Territory is a bit of an incredulously enjoyable record, and while you'd probably have some kind of limb disorder if you didn't have any movement from a tapping extremity, it's unlikely that you'd walk away from this desperate for more. It's the type of good clean record you'd take home to your mum and point out how great of an influence it is before never being able to look it in the eye again after you got wasted with Nick Cave.  Then you'd break up and maybe bump into it incidentally at the supermarket once a month in the lolly aisle. You know...it's nice and all...but we uh, I dunno, just don't have that much in common. 

Territory by Two Hours Traffic is out now on ABC Music. 

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