''Little Jabs'' is the second full-length studio album by Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Two Hours Traffic Two Hours Traffic is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are named after a line in the prologue to Shakespeare’s ''Romeo and Juliet''. Critics have drawn comparisons to 1970s power pop band Big Star (b ...

, released on

Bumstead Records Bumstead Records was a small record label in Edmonton, Alberta, founded by Larry Wanagas in 1979 and run primarily out of the Edmonton recording studio Homestead Recorders. Wanagas launched k.d. lang's career and continued for 15 years as her la ...

on July 24, 2007. The album was produced by

Joel Plaskett William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of gen ...

, and recorded in Halifax and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Guitarist Alec O'Hanley explained the ''Little Jabs'' reference: "The title is meant to be about that point in a relationship where you’re more and more curt with one another... And in song, it’s meant to be little blasts—jabs—in these three-minute pop songs."

Reception

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Iain Ilich of the ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'' wrote that it was the best album he has heard so far this year. Other critics have compared the band favorably to

's own releases, and place the band in the tradition of great Canadian pop, citing the "catchy hooks". One critic correctly predicted in July 2007 that the album would be nominated for a

Polaris Music Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize. The prize was inc ...

in 2008, and ''

Eye Weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The followin ...

'' named it one of the top 20 albums of 2007. The album reached the top ten of ''Chart'' magazine's Canadian College Radio Top 50 Chart. ''Little Jabs'' was named Alternative Rock Recording of the Year at the 2007 Music P.E.I. Awards, as Two Hours Traffic also received the award for Group of the Year. The album was nominated for Recording of the Year, Pop Recording of the Year, and Video of the Year ("Jezebel", directed by

Ron Mann Ronald Mann (born June 13, 1958) is a Canadians, Canadian documentary film film director, director. His work includes the films ''Imagine the Sound'' (1981); ''Comic Book Confidential'' (1988); ''Grass (1999 film), Grass'' (1999) and ''Go Furt ...

) at the 2008

East Coast Music Award The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a non-profit association purposed towards supporting the Music of Canada's Maritimes, music industry in the Canada, Canadian east coast, i.e., Atlantic Canada. The ECMA hosts the annual East Coast Music ...

s. It won Pop Recording of the Year. The album was a nominee for the

2008 Polaris Music Prize The 2008 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 30, 2008, at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. The prize was won by Caribou for his album ''Andorra''. Unlike in prior years, the Polaris Prize committee did ...

Promotion

The videos for "Stuck for the Summer" and "Jezebel" are receiving airplay on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. Songs from the album have appeared in American television shows ''

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'', ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', and ''

The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on Fox in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, with a total of four seasons consisting of 92 episodes. The serie ...

''Van Evra, Jennifer.
Two Hours Traffic Talks Success, Upcoming Tour And Carlos From Mexico
,

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

, 2008-01-24. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.

Track listing

All songs were written by Two Hours Traffic. # "Nighthawks" # "No Advances" # "Stuck for the Summer" # "Heroes of the Sidewalk" # "Jezebel" # "Backseat Sweetheart" # "Whenever We Finish" # "Stolen Earrings" # "Sure Can Start" # "Heatseeker" # "Arms Akimbo"

Credits

* Two Hours Traffic: ** Liam Corcoran –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

** Alec O'Hanley – guitars,

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

, vocals ** Derek Ellis –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s ** Andrew MacDonald –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, vocals * Guests: **

Rose Cousins Rosanne Millicent "Rose" Cousins (born April 21, 1977) is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Prince Edward Island, she is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career Cousins released two EPs prior to her full-length ...

– vocals, chatter **

Jenn Grant Jenn Grant (born August 20, 1980) is a Canadian folk pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career Grant performed as a musician for a time in her early teens, but stopped due to a bout of stage fright. She did not return to pe ...

– vocals, chatter ** Ian McGettigan –

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

Dale Murray Dale Albert Murray (born February 2, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Career Montreal Expos He was drafted by the Montreal Expos out of Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, in the eighteenth round of the 1970 Major Leagu ...

–

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

– guitars, vocals, tambourine

Notes

References

External links

Streaming album at TwoHoursTraffic.com
{{Authority control 2007 albums Two Hours Traffic albums