4th Street Traffic

Welsh rockers 4th Street Traffic have returned to release their latest single, ‘Long Way Round’, and let me be the first to warn you: it’s a loud one. From the first lingering chord, the band make it clear that they are not making concessions: they have produced a rock anthem which oozes nostalgia in every note, longing for the days when Lady Gaga was more interested in colouring in than acting like a pretentious berk.

‘Long Way Round’ was forged in the valleys of South Wales, and by the sounds of it, many a hiker must have had their peace disturbed. The song is an anthemic serenade to the likes of Bon Jovi, intended to be played live and loud. Fusing palm muted build-ups with a pounding back line, the song opens up to reveal an infectious chorus with more passion than a drunken snog in Paris.

The more misanthropic listeners might accuse the band of standing in the way of progression, sticking with a style of music which was discontinued around the same time as pink spandex and glam rock perms. However, the nostalgia is one of the key charms of 4th Street Traffic: The band blast out an in-your-face breed of old school rock riffs, packed with distortion and turned up to eleven, as it were. ‘Long Way Round’ is a prime example of a song which was written for the love of performance, and it comes across in the recording.

However, there are some chinks in 4th Street Traffic’s rose-tinted musical vision. Lyrically, with the constant “he said...she said...he said...she said..”, the song sounds (at points) more like an Eastenders monologue than an emotional outpouring. Some listeners may also find the odd metaphor tiring (“she said I tried to pull the knife from his back”), but that is, in a way, the point of it: there is undoubtedly a charm to the song which gives the finger (musically) to the self-proclaimed righteousness of modern lyricists. ‘Long Way Round’ is a track written for the smoky, booze-riddled pubs of the past, demanding fans to raise another glass rather than going home to write poetry on their blogs.

‘Long Way Round’ is released on 29th November. - www.stereoboard.com

would decree it was always 4th Street Traffic’s destiny to support Stereophonics. With a band name directly influenced by the Welsh superstars’ song titles and a singer who is a self-confessed ’Phonics nut, the future, it appears, was already written for the outfit from Gelligaer in the Rhymney Valley.

Lucky then that their worlds collided thanks to Kelly Jones and his crew putting out an appeal for bands to fill the final support slot at Stereophonics’ Cardiff City Stadium homecoming show tomorrow. Local bands were offered a shot at showcasing their talents in front of the biggest audience of their lives via a Myspace competition.

More than 300 submitted entries in the hope of sharing the same stage as their heroes. The video of a 4th Street Traffic live performance, shot by some of their fans, was judged the stand-out entry and the four-piece now find themselves faced with the biggest gig of their eight-year history.

Frontman Alastair Britton said the news still hadn’t sunk in for him and the rest of the band – Andrew Eddy, Darryl ‘Ryl’ Robertson and Garry Dauncey.

“It was a bit of a fill-up moment when we found out,” Alastair explains. “It’s been my dream to support the Stereophonics since I was about 13 or 14. When we had the call to say we’d won, I had to make them swear on their lives that it wasn’t a joke. I’ve actually had dreams about supporting them, so this is just mental.”

Alastair reveals 4th Street Traffic wouldn’t exist at all without the Cwmaman rockers’ influence, citing them as his only inspiration. It’s in their visceral rock sound and also in their monicker.

“The band is named after two Stereophonics songs,” explains Alastair. “Traffic from their debut album Word Gets Around and Positively 4th Street, a Bob Dylan cover which featured as an extra track on Stereophonics’ 1999 single Pick A Part That’s New.”

- South Wales Echo

winner of the competition to fill the opening slot at their Cardiff City Stadium on June 5th.

Bargoed indie rockers 4th Street Traffic will be charged with warming up the crowd on a bill that also includes Kids In Glass Houses and Doves.

The band, who have been staples of the club scene over the last few years, are currently in the middle of a Welsh tour and are known to be huge fans of the headliners.

In fact the band name is a combination of the Britpop stars' hit single and the Bob Dylan song Positively 4th Street, a track the Stereophonics covered for an obscure B-side way back in the mists of time.

Manager, Paul Evans said that nearly 24 hours on the band still couldn't believe they'd been chosen.

"At quarter to six last night I thought we'd blown it. When we got the phone call to say we'd won Alastair (the band's lead singer and guitarist) burst into tears."

After recovering from the shock the vocalist said, "I'm still in awe and will be all week.

"This has been my dream since I saw the Phonics in 1996 at the Big Noise Festival in Cardiff Bay.

"I must have been 13 or 14years old. I've only missed one of their home gigs from that day and that was because it sold out so fast!

"Words cannot describe this feeling, it's like winnng the lottery I guess. Next Saturday is gonna be mental."

The competition was run in partnership with Myspace, Red Dragon radio and the South Wales Echo.

4th Street Traffic will now play the opening slot at the concert - setting the stage for Kids in Glass Houses, Doves and Stereophonics themselves.

- Rhymney Valley Express

‘Kick The Habit’ released 23rd May 09...“This is a ballsy piece of hard indie rock n’ roll that’s has very little comparison. 4th street give it to you so straight and to the point that the sharp end cuts into your skin and draws blood. I was lucky enough to see these guys play live on a stage otherwise occupied by dance routine focused drivel singing to backing tapes, and to say they blew everyone else apart with their performance is an understatement. That was three years ago and one of the reasons why I wanted to start a magazine to talk about some over looked great welsh talent” You need these 7 tracks in your life now! - Darren Warner - Plugged in Magazine

ROCKERS Fourth Street Traffic have been keeping some tough company in the past few weeks.

Not only are they one of the supporting artists on former world heavyweight champion Iron Mike Tyson’s UK question-and- answer tour but they’re now mixing in boxing circles a little bit closer to home.

The band, who hail from Bargoed, Gelligaer and Penpedairheol, have lent the music from their latest album Kick the Habit to Wales undefeated world champ Joe Calzaghe’s fly-on-the-wall documentary series.

The Calzaghe Clan began on BBC One Wales this week and follows the legendary boxer and his trainer father Enzo over the course of a year.

The band’s manager Paul Evans has followed the Strictly Come Dancing star all over the world to watch him fight and has collected every programme.

A copy of the band’s album was passed to the landlord of the Masons Arms in Blackwood – also a friend of the Calzaghe family – following a gig there.

Now virtually the whole album provides a backdrop to the four-part series.

And the band’s profile will get a lift thanks to being credited at the end.

Lead singer Alastair Britton said: “I watched it on Monday and it was really good.

“We’ve done a couple of things for Joe Calzaghe in the past and we just blagged the series from there!

“I think we might also be in the third or fourth episode because they came to film us at a gig in Crumlin.

“We’re chuffed to bits to be involved.”

The band will embark on the Mike Tyson tour from November 4, but you can catch them in the meantime at Ystrad Mynach Non-Political Club from 8pm tomorrow (Friday, October 9)

For further Fourth Street Traffic gigs, visit www.myspace/4thstreettraffic

The next episode of the Calzaghe Clan will be on BBC One Wales on Monday, October 12, at 10.35pm.
- Ian Caleb, Rhymney Valley Express

A BIG gig is coming up for Bargoed band 4th Street Traffic, as they support Welsh alternative rockers The Alarm at the Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, on November 25.

Stuart Cable’s Killing For Company are also on the bill. For tickets call 02920 230130.
- Correspondent, Rhymney Valley Express

A BIG gig is coming up for Bargoed band 4th Street Traffic, as they support Welsh alternative rockers The Alarm at the Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, on November 25.

Stuart Cable’s Killing For Company are also on the bill. For tickets call 02920 230130.
- Correspondent, Rhymney Valley Express

RHYMNEY Valley rockers 4th Street Traffic have been described as “a high-quality Welsh rock band” on a par with Manic Street Preachers by the organiser of a major music festival.

The Bargoed boys could attract significant record label interest following their date at Moonfest, John Green told the Express, as he prepares to host them at the end of August in Wiltshire.

Alastair, Andrew, Darryl and Dauncey sent Mr Green their demo when they found out about the festival, which is expected to attract 15,000 people over three days.

Confirmed acts include Pete Doherty’s band Babyshambles, who will be one of the opening acts on Friday, August 29.

4th Street Traffic will now play the Saturday night with Stone Gods, who formed out of the split of The Darkness, and the world-famous Australian band Pink Floyd, and Mr Green said he sees great things for the band.

“We were playing the CD all week,” he said.

“We loved it, we all thought it was amazing. They impressed us.”

While hell-raising Pete and his band are known for their no-shows and erratic performances, unsigned act 4th Street Traffic have a reputation for tireless touring after a string of dates in and around their home town and at international festivals in a bid to attract the attention of a record label.

They have often been compared with Cwmaman megastars Stereophonics, but Mr Green said the boys reminded him more of an act closer to home – Blackwood exports Manic Street Preachers.

“They remind me a lot of the Manics,” he said.

“Their quality of music is fantastic, their enthusiasm very impressive, and we’ve already talked to them about working with them on projects in the future. I think there’ll be a lot of record company interest – they’re a high-quality Welsh rock band.”
- Claire Rees, Rhymney Valley Express

The front cover of 4th Street Traffic’s EP shouts ‘Stadium Rock’ at deafening volume, and the music does much the same but there’s more to this band than that suggests. Soaring choruses, gargantuan riffs and spacious guitar solos abound, but the production is less grandiose than the vision and that makes for a more wholesome listen. That’s coming from someone who gains an exhilarating rush from a Deep Purple Live album but would be one of the last in line for tickets to Aerosmith at Wembley Arena.

Opener ‘She’s Got’ and third track ‘Here for Tomorrow’ could be lifted from one of any given Ultimate Driving Anthems CD and that’s no bad thing. Vocalist Alastair has an impressively full-bodied bellow and succeeds in sounding convincing, which is most of the battle with any casual listener. The guitar sound is gratifyingly authentic and the drumming is the polar opposite of pedestrian. My personal favourite track is the atmospheric ‘Giving It Up’, on which the band take their collective foot off the accelerator and cruise along to take in the mountain vista that surrounds them. During the verses chords are allowed to ring out and float delicately out of view, and some captivating guitar licks add flavour.

Final track ‘White Lies’ was recorded live, and as a result sounds more organic than anything else on offer. This is a strength; for some reason the harmonies are more noticeable than on the other tracks, and it proves that these guys are an impressively tight unit. In fact I have it on good authority that this CD doesn’t do them justice. Apparently they played for almost three hours at Wiltshire’s Moonfest this summer when a certain Justin Hawkins was increasingly late for his scheduled appearance. This not only goes further towards enhancing their stadium rock credentials but shows how much they love playing music, which is always an agreeable characteristic and instantly adds kudos for any band.

If I was to level a criticism it would merely be that 4th Street Traffic can’t really be said to have a sound all of their own. As impressed as I was by what I heard there’s not a great deal to make them really stand out on the strength of this CD. With some bands though it’s all about the live performance, and judging by the aforementioned good authority on which I have a commendation for them, it would seem that this is where their strength lies. I’m not sure if this would be the best music to be stuck in traffic to, but if your drive to work is at such an ungodly hour as to be uninhibited by the impediment of other road users then a blast of this CD may well be a healthier option than a cup of coffee for the morning drive.


www.myspace.com/4thstreettraffic - By Dave Urwin