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Singer Chris Wall from Air Traffic | | One might ask how Air Traffic differs from current indie bands such as
the Kooks and The View – the answer being their mood and effortless
style. Their album, Fractured Life consists of 11 tracks, each with
it’s own refined melody and deep meaning. Singer/songwriter Chris
Wall’s roots lie in Ireland, explaining where the subtle Celtic-folk
influence creeps in - something which caught the attention of drummer
David Jordan and guitarist Tom Pritchard in the early stages. After
recruiting bassist Jim Maddock, the band saw their career ascend in
London as their demo led to a major label bidding war – EMI imprint
‘Tiny Consumer’ winning the battle.
The boys have recently
played a few live sets at the Bournemouth branch of HMV, offering their
fans the opportunity to have their albums signed and to meet them
before they hit the big-time, and their live performance at the Opera
House (which recently underwent a £2m refurbishment in order to become
a multipurpose entertainment venue) caused a great deal of excitement
in the boy’s hometown.
Jacob Golden played an acoustic set, including a track that featured on popular American teen-drama ‘The OC’.
He
was followed by The Hoosiers, who have recently been holding a lot of
air-time on BBC Radio1.They played tracks such as Worst Case Senario,
current hit Worried About Ray and their next single Goodbye Mr A, an
extremely trippy track performed with boundless energy. Their set
included a fantastic cover of Andrew Gold’s Lonely Boy, and they served
as a great warm-up to their headliners. Lucky Hoosiers fan Chris Edney
became the proud owner of the dustbin lid used at the beginning of the
set to represent the second ‘o’ in the Hoosiers entrance display.
After
an interlude of recorded music by bands such as The Zutons, Kaiser
Chiefs and the Fratellis, Air Traffic sent the crowd crazy as they
entered to what sounded like a heartbeat and pulsing lights. They
opened with the first track from their album, Just Abuse Me. The crowd
went wild as the foursome played their popular hit Charlotte, and
singer Chris Wall suggested that the girl in question “might even be
here tonight” too which he added, “that would be weird”.
They
went on to play an array of songs from their album; the powerful
Shooting Star looks at taking chances for love, Time Goes By tells the
story of longing for someone you know you’ve lost and the darker, more
edgy Get In Line makes you wonder if Wall’s a lot less well-behaved
than he makes out.
The encore began with Empty Space, with Wall
revealing it was the first time he had performed the ballad live. It
was written as a response to a fatal car crash involving a close friend
of his girlfriend, and the live performance saw the poignant lyrics
send a chill down the crowd’s spine, conveying the heartache that
developed as the result of the tragedy. However, it brought the last
night of their tour to a fantastic end, proving how talented the
foursome really are. It looks as though the future could hold a lot of
promise for Air Traffic, as long as they ensure they’re not dazzled by
the lights and remember those who helped them soar.
Allana Cutter | |