Someone should hang a sign in the main concourse of Heathrow Airport reading, “Welcome to England: The New Home of Anthemic Guitar/Piano Rock.” At first blush, Air Traffic would seem to be the next in line to claim their place on the Coldplay money-go-round but detailed listening to their debut album, Fractured Life, proves them to be way more interesting than that. Frontman Chris Wall sports a vocal shimmer that suggests a poppier Robert Smith and divides his time between dramatic and haunting piano passages and unhinged guitar invention (although second guitarist Jim Pritchard likely contributes a good deal of that himself). “Charlotte” is a good example of the latter, as Wall croons and wails from his well of souls while ringing pop/punk guitar hooks careen through the song with Strokes-like intensity and swagger and all in not-a-note-wasted 2:23. Every bit as striking is “Just Abuse Me,” a swinging electric dancehall mash-up of Ray Davies and Supergrass, a raucous counterpoint to the quieter moments like the piano/organ pop hymn of “No More Running Away” and the heartbreaking melancholy of “Empty Spaces.” On “Time Goes By,” the quartet finds a way to combine the power of their swelling guitar riffage with hushed piano delicacy, and on the majestic “I Can’t Understand,” they soar with the ethereal cruise control of Chris Martin covering “A Day in the Life.” Flecks of the Beatles and T. Rex and David Bowie swirl through Air Traffic’s manic constructions and reverent reflections, not with the direct impact of influence but with the ephemeral sound of a passing car radio, ultimately making Fractured Life a rare combination of rock power and pop subtlety.
--Brian Baker
