CANADA Dry

Canadian Indie pop band,Two Hours Traffic,recently performed at the capital.

Canadian Indie pop band,Two Hours Traffic,recently performed at the capital.

They write songs like Heroes of the sidewalk,with lyrics like Fill our bags up with booty,they wont know what to think about us cutie,well be the heroes of the sidewalks in our town; they recreate a club scene in the woods for the video of their track Nighthawks and everybody is hooked. Thinking out of the box is not the only thing Canadian Indie pop band,Two Hours Traffic THT,is known for they have also appeared on American teen dramas like Gossip Girl,The OC and One Tree Hill. Winners of the 2008 Independent Music Awards,the band recently performed at Delhis Hard Rock Café in Saket for the first time.

Many of our favourite authors are of Indian descent, says Alec OHanley,one of the founders of the four-member band,adding that they had spent a good part of time bargaining in Old Delhi,as well as encountering the famous Delhi monkeys,according to their Twitter updates. Ask OHanley about their music and he says,Perhaps its a cliché for a band at this point to say this,but we try to resist categorisation. That said,were a pop band at heart,so were unlikely to release a death metal song in the near future.

The four members,Liam Corcoran lead vocals and guitar,Alec OHanley guitar and vocals,Andrew MacDonald bass and Derek Ellis drums,came together in 2002 and have released three albums and two EP records in the last nine years. The bands name,however,had no musical origin; it is inspired by William Shakespeares the two hours traffic of our stage in Romeo and Juliet. The words left the band members,then impressionable 16-year-olds,awestruck and the name stayed. In their mid-20s now,the four THT members speak of romantic rejection as an artistic catalyst in lyrical compositions. Brit-American rock band Fleetwood Mac and the Beetles are other sources of inspiration.

Having experienced the struggle for recognition as an indie band,they clearly understand the value of exposure from TV placements. Weve never been ones to shy from teenage melodrama,says OHanley. So whenever we hear that one of our songs is going to be on a TV show or movie,were quite amused and grateful. THT admits their knowledge of Indian music is limited to sitarist Anoushka Shankar,but they are holding their breath for a Bollywood placement.

Their last album,Territory,spoke of alcohol misuse,grey areas of religious belief and confusion in relationships. Were of the evolve-or-die persuasion, says O Hanley. So whatever we write,we try to make it new.