With strings, violins, mandolins atop a basic rock structure, Boston's Air Traffic Controller, named after lead singer Dave Munro's job before forming the band, are the modern rock Arcade Fire in waiting. This is less obvious on Nordo where the pop rock nuggets aren't heard but they don't have that big time noblesse oblige either.
Dave and pals commanded the stage with a half hour of instantly memorable tunes played with the ease that transforms to passion when they get into the heavily addicted choruses on ""Hurry Hurry" and "Pick Me up". A slave to the melody, the band bend to the songs hummability time after time and since, for most of the time, Munro has nailed a good one, it happens over and over again.
The violinist was wonderful and the chick in the hat a thing of beauty. Dave has a very tidy beard, to get with his very tidy melodies and this while his songs as such don't need much, his sound is one arrangement away from a big time breakthrough not really obvious on his sophomore effort. ATC are in in a weird place as they hover near breakthrough, they seem to be getting bigger and bigger, you can imagine ten people on stage for "Hurry Hurry" – and "The Work". Big choruses that deserve a big, rousing production. Amusingly on "Hurry Hurry" where we are hurrying to our graves, "I stop to smell the roses, my body decomposes".
More than that on the big time ending to "Bad Ax. MI", off ATC's first album, The One, about a rock band in the process of breaking up, a whooping singalong of "one more song" includes its own tribute and the band are eager to get there. When they do it is an eruption of energy and easy to go along with. Sounding more like the Killers than Aracde Fire and ATC than either, this is big time rock and roll.
Grade: B+