Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Little Jabs

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Released
  
July 24, 2007

Artist
  
Two Hours Traffic

Producer
  
Joel Plaskett

Genres
  
Indie rock, Power pop

Little Jabs (2007)
  
Territory (2009)

Release date
  
24 July 2007

Label
  
Bumstead Records

Recorded
  
The Sonic Temple, Halifax Richmond Street Rehearsal Rm 108, Toronto

Similar
  
Down at the Khyber, Reunion Tour, In Our Bedroom After the, Two Hours Traffic, The Reminder

Little Jabs is the second full-length studio album by Canadian indie rock band Two Hours Traffic, released on Bumstead Records on July 24, 2007. The album was produced by Joel Plaskett, and recorded in Halifax and Toronto.

Contents

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 critical reception has been positive. Music critic Iain Ilich of the Edmonton Journal wrote that it was the best album he has heard so far this year. Other critics have compared the band favorably to Joel Plaskett'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 in 2008, and Eye Weekly 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 is nominated for Recording of the Year, Pop Recording of the Year, and Video of the Year ("Jezebel", directed by Ron Mann) at the 2008 East Coast Music Awards.

The album was a nominee for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize.

Promotion

The videos for "Stuck for the Summer" and "Jezebel" are receiving airplay on MuchMusic. Songs from the album have appeared in American television shows Gossip Girl, Smallville, Ghost Whisperer, Happy Endings, Castle, and The O.C.

Track listing

All songs were written by Two Hours Traffic.

  1. "Nighthawks"
  2. "No Advances"
  3. "Stuck for the Summer"
  4. "Heroes of the Sidewalk"
  5. "Jezebel"
  6. "Backseat Sweetheart"
  7. "Whenever We Finish"
  8. "Stolen Earrings"
  9. "Sure Can Start"
  10. "Heatseeker"
  11. "Arms Akimbo"

Credits

  • Two Hours Traffic:
  • Liam Corcoran – lead vocals, guitar
  • Alec O'Hanley – guitars, keys, vocals
  • Derek Ellis – drums
  • Andrew MacDonald – bass, vocals
  • Guests:
  • Rose Cousins – vocals, chatter
  • Jenn Grant – vocals, chatter
  • Ian McGettigan – tambourine
  • Dale Murray – pedal steel
  • Joel Plaskett – guitars, vocals, tambourine
  • Songs

    1Nighthawks3:15
    2No Advances3:16
    3Stuck for the Summer3:07

    References

    Little Jabs Wikipedia