The notion of time and place brings me back to my original point – making a record that resonates is not always so much about quality, its often more about beating everyone else to the punch (see: Hard-Fi’s Stars of CCTV). Holding this theory to the fire, Fractured Life easily would have blown people away in, say, 2002 or 2003. Times being what they are, a lot of Fractured Life instead sounds like an exercise in exploiting the few threads that remain of the Brit-pop soundscape. In Air Traffic’s defense, this is 100 per cent better than having to hear yet another band ape The Killers.
All things being equal, and ignoring the context of the tunes, Air Traffic prove themselves to be a quite talented group, if perhaps in need of a small dose of originality. Singer/songwriter Chris Wall, a self-taught pianist and guitarist as well as sax and flute player, announces his lyrics with passion and precision concurrently. The pinnacle of Fractured Life is undeniably “Shooting Star,” a beautiful example of atmospheric, mid-tempo pop perfection – poptastic if you will.
This track has huge written all over it. Wall’s voice sails woundedly over waves of choppy guitars and keyboards, creating a true feeling missing from most contemporary pop. Another high-mark is the painfully melancholy “Empty Space,” written by Wall as a reaction to a sudden death that took place near him. “Empty Space” perfectly captures the unfairness humans are apt to feel when someone close is taken without warning.
It makes you feel and succeeds wildly. And, as noted earlier, the hidden track found about 20 minutes into final track, “Your Fractured Life,” is also transcendent when placed against the overall. I’ve been pondering what Fractured Life would have sounded like if this was the blueprint they followed throughout the album as a whole.
As a debut record, Fractured Life is ultimately respectable. That it drops now, in 2008, is unfortunate. The possibilities are there, but what comes next is not nearly as important as what could have been in the grand scheme of things. Just ask Athlete.
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