It's been 3 years since Zwevezele based (the small town, population ca. 5000, is situated in the West-Flanders province, and lays roughtly in the middle of Brugge and Kortrijk) Belgian quartet TrafficjaM self-released its debut full-length album Headstrong (review done by yours truly), and since then some interesting changes happened. First of all, a new member entered the fold in the form of bassist Hanz, whom turns out to be a perfect match/ complement to guitarist TJ's rawer lead vocals. Another positive thing, at least in my personal view, is that the band focused on enhancing the electronics part of their music (including not only the occasional extra beats, but also samples).
Although the music is still in the first place Hard (Alternative) Rock and Metal, there's now an even wider diversity in the undercurrents on the album (even though the band still typifies its music as “Alternative Hardness”!), going from freaky Industrial to Pop and Dance and EBM, with cross-contaminations to boot! The band worked no less than a year on the album, and for sure the lengthy process is evident in the songwriting which displays an even catchier attitude than the debut album! Definitely, the band has grown as songwriters, and the new album should therefore appeal to an even wider audience.
At the “Music” section of the band's own (www.) trafficjam.com, you'll find a possibility to play all songs on the new album. If you're into crossover kind of music, dó pay attention first to that wacky second track, “Webways”...then listen to the rest of the album! Great stuff...hard to believe these guys haven't broken out of Belgium in a big way yet! Gosh...a very short review for my doin', so don't start thinking that has anything to with the band's qualities! In fact...by the time you're reading this it's already early January 2014, and so we'll have to add Lonely Happy to that list of “Best Albums Of 2013” by retro-activity!