Hair Traffic Control – Let’s Do Lunch EP

Following reasonably hot on the heels of last year’s thoroughly enjoyable ‘These Are The Dogs In My Life’ EP, spiky Norwich trio Hair Traffic Control return with another helping of angular guitar pop. You could be forgiven for switching off at the sight of all those earlier adjectives – British indie rock is creaking under the weight of similar bands after all – but, as it happens, Hair Traffic Control have enough in their armoury to make them a worthwhile addition to an overstocked genre.

The effervescent opener ‘The Hobo Gauntlet’ picks up where the band’s last EP left off and is packed with rambunctious math-pop thrills, the band seemingly on a mission to cram as many ideas into just under three minutes as possible. It works, though; Edward Wells drums as if he’s falling down the stairs, whilst Daniel Harvey’s impassioned vocals fight for prominence over his own hyperactive guitar work.

Importantly, ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ doesn’t sacrifice tunes and charm for self-indulgent musicianship. The jokey beatbox intro to ‘Boots and Cats’ is an endearing touch, and the song itself is another winner – the formula here is much the same as the previous song, but when the energy is this relentless and the melodic hooks come so thick and fast, it’s hard not to be swept along.

The only minor misstep here is the instrumental ‘These Are the Dogs in My Life Part 2’ which, although pleasant enough, feels a little like filler. It’s just as well, then, that it’s immediately followed by the EP’s highlight, the ambitious ‘The Last Man in Irkutsk’. Clocking in at just shy of seven minutes, it evolves from a frantic stomper to a wistful, jangly waltz reminiscent of all that classic indiemo (Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, Christie Front Drive etc) you ought to know and love, before taking a quick detour into devilish guitar noise at its close. It’s perhaps their best song to date, and suggests the best may yet be to come.

All in all, ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ is another good effort from a band well worth keeping tabs on in future, with enough inspiration to carve out their own niche in amongst a veritable legion of bands aiming for similar sorts of things. Math-rock nerds (like myself) who are always on the lookout for a fix would do well to investigate.