The title of Fractured life seems more apropos for a TV sitcom than a music CD.  Even at first listen, the music on the disk does not really seem to fit either.  It was not until the second listen through where I actually listen to the lyrics (yeah, I really do), that I can understand the meaning behind the title.  We each live our lives in the whole, but most of us affix ourselves on specific times, events and other memories that have had the greatest impact on us.  Air Traffic's music picks out pieces fractured from our daily lives and puts those moments into song and melody.

If one were to ask me what type of music does Air Traffic play on this album, I would probably classify it as modern rock.  It is livelier than the Nirvana grunge sound, but not really as raw as Bruce Springsteen - but it is rock, nonetheless.  The press release that came with the sampler calls it "mood music," but I think that that is all wrong.  To me (and my opinion is the only one that counts LOL!) mood music is like the tracks you hear being played on the Soundscapes stations with a lot of experimental instruments and heavy synthesizers. Pink Floyd is a "rock" band that might be considered to have some mood music, but Air Traffic sounds nothing like them.  Now that I think about it, they are like those bands that you see on TV or movies at some type of teen event.  They have just the right amount of oomph to give some power to their songs, but still be within the parameters of being too harsh for the ears of the families that may be watching.  Not that this is bad, but I just wanted to set you up with the type of music.

The album itself was not too shabby.  The music is very pleasing, and it has a good beat and nice vocals.  The lyrics are true to heart and worth listening to, instead of listening, but not really hearing the message of the songs.  However, sometimes the lyrics do get caught up in the instrumentals.  The mixing should have allowed the vocals to break through more, but maybe that was not the band's intention.  Also there seem to be some good instrumentals being played, but the music did not lend itself to the uniqueness of the individuals, there was too much blending of the music, instead of hearing each member's contribution to the whole.  To take an extreme example, the Beatles were a band whose music came together, but you can feel and hear the individual contributions to every song.

This is a good debut album from a band that is full of potential.  There are a few kinks to work out, but I look forward to hearing a second album when they do.