Today, we’re going to discuss a little band called Two Hours Traffic, on a label I’ve never heard of before now, Bumstead Records. Little Jabs is the band’s second album, a joyful collection of pop rocks that burst open in your mouth with delicious hooks and melodies. There’s some cool power chord pop on song like “Heatseeker” and “Nighthawks,” as well as some ’70s style folk pop like “Heroes of the Sidewalk,” with it’s catchy chorus (“You’re my idea of a lady, hold on to my bootstraps baby, and drag me around by your pony tail”). Lyrically, all of the songs are simply written — which is the only weakness on the album. The words can become simple to the point of being trite. But that’s not a problem on every song, for sure, and the music more than makes up for it. It’s got that distinctive Canada indie rock sound (particularly “Whenever We Finish”), marked by other bands like Detective Kalita. Very little bass, gentle harmonies. . . Really excellent stuff. I’ve been enjoying listening to this album over and over again. In fact, it’s so good I’m loathe to finish writing this review because I don’t want to turn it off.
