It's usually a bad sign when a frontman parts company with everyone else in his band. When the lead singer/songwriter is not only the group's creative center, but is also tied into the band's identity (and/or the genre zeitgeist) on a more or less iconic level, it can work -- see Mark E. Smith, Andrew Eldritch, etc. But far more often, such a large-scale split means curtains for the band.
The Stereo hasn't been around long enough, or gained enough popularity, for frontman Jamie Woolford to have gained icon status. However, it's safe to say that the departure of Rory Phillips, Woolford's original songwriting partner, hasn't adversely affected the band's sound. No Traffic shows logical (if minimal) creative growth from the group's 1999 debut, Three Hundred, which makes for another satisfying pop record.
The thing I like most about The Stereo is that they sound like a mildly-punked-up version of eighties schlock-pop stalwarts Journey. I never liked Journey, but their "best" songs made use of essential, nigh-irresistible pop elements: crunchy guitar riffs, soaring melodies, powerful drumming and a strong vocalist. Woolford takes these elements and runs them through a sort of punk rock filter, adding a healthy dose of Replacements-style attitude, a pinch of Squeeze-y vocal cleverness and a modicum of modern-day emo angst. The results are tasty -- the big pop sound of a bygone era given lean new form.
Sometimes the influences are blatant. Listen to "New Tokyo is Calling" (released last year as the lead track of a similarly-named EP) and try to deny the Journey influence in the guitar melody and drumming style. Go ahead, try. If you wanted to prove the Stereo/Journey connection in court, "New Tokyo" would be Exhibit A. Fortunately, Woolford's performance style is distinctive enough to allow the song to succeed on its own merits. And it's important to note that "New Tokyo" is fairly old material; most of the rest of No Traffic has toned down the high-power-pop riffs and placed greater focus on the interplay between lyrics and syncopated rhythms.
"Unordinary" offers a good look at The Stereo circa 2001. This is what the Foo Fighters would sound like if they drained their songs of self-importance, learned how to write proper hooks and, most crucial of all, stopped sucking. "Things to Consider" ups the punk rock quotient by making the riffs a little more jagged and frenetic and the drums a little punchier, but it's still a toe-tapper. On the other end of the spectrum, "I Confess to All This Mess" is too rhyme-laden for its own good; the titular lyrics grow annoyingly sing-song, and seem unnecessarily childish compared to the rest of No Traffic's fare.
Also of particular note is the opener, "Get Set For Sound", which uses its keyboards as percussive reinforcement for some seriously chunky guitar riffs. Everthing clicks here; there's even a point when the song sounds like the bigger, tougher brother of Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star", though I sincerely doubt that this was intentional. "Get Set For Sound" proves that Woolford is a songwriter in his own right, rather than just a skillful assembler of well-executed pop-cultural references.
Ultimately, talk of influences and songcraft obscures the more fundamental issue of whether an album will give you listening pleasure. No Traffic will provide ample listening pleasure. You'll want to keep it around for when you get off work early on a beautiful Friday afternoon -- it's simple, straightforward and it sounds great turned up LOUD.
