Welcome to New Perspective, a new monthly column by Roman Duda, where the former police officer-turned-writer reviews everything humanly possible in exchange for good recognition for his desperate need for validation. There’s no shortage of content out there right now, but which ones are worth caring about? Roman’s here to find out.

Welcome to Abington, where grades will ruin you, and Christmas will break your heart. Not much has changed since we met Flying Yogurt member Harrison James. But since I’ve written my review a while back, his account went private, and I have since left things alone. Yet, I must find a way out. Thankfully for the two of us, this will fit almost perfectly.

The Beatles have been popular since God knows how long. So popular, in fact, that I’ve been lucky enough to be alive for an all-new song from them: their last one, “Now and Then”, which was released in 2023.

Thankfully for me, there is an all-female Beatles band in a certain space of Abington that I thought was a riot grrrl group that wanted to talk about how all men are bad and should rot in “heck”. Or as I call it: “reverse misogyny music that slaps”. Le Tigre, Bratmobile, Bikini Kill, all of these bands show an example of a medium which I now realize is sadly long gone, especially considering what happened to Janet Weiss with Sleater-Kinney, thanks, Carrie and Corin!

Fear not, everybody, girls like us loved riot grrrl back in the day, and now it’s time to go for Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief, Beatles-level TikTok music that’ll be on a sped-up songs YouTube channel and then clipped for random happy or sad moments. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Traffic Jam. Named in particular because, according to lead guitarist Darcy Moore, “you need more than one person to have a Traffic Jam”. To which I say, I guess.

Inspired by the music of the Beatles, Moore, Michelle Eliza, Kayla Tuttle, and Sarah Ford bring good vibes through writing random riffs and talking about love, happiness, pride, and what Frank Ocean would call “pleasure over matter”, or something. Revisiting the work of artists tied to past conflicts involving them and myself can complicate a review. Still, the premise here is simple: music stands on its own terms. If a song can override context, if harmony can temporarily dissolve tension, then it deserves to be heard that way. Empathy, at least in theory, allows for that possibility. Let’s begin.

• UNTITLED SONG 1

Okay, Colbie Caillat! The Alex G riff is doing numbers, but aren’t we all in this day and age? A sad girl anthem about breaking away and helping the one you love. At least that’s how I imagine it.

• SWISS CHEESE

Who’s Margot? What is this 2010s-2020s indie fusion song about wanting to see somebody’s abs? I love it so much, I learned about how they claimed to stalk someone’s mom and become part of their family. Sounds kinda creepy, but okay! To quote Pops: “Jolly good show!”

• SILK CHIFFON

The riff reminds me of a Sixpence None the Richer song, and I appreciate that. The song “Kiss Me” has a similar riff to this. I tend to lean more towards that song, but this is fine too. I don’t mind it, and I don’t think I will for a long time.

• UNTITLED SONG 4

The song that solidifies this band as more of a Beatles-meets-Boygenius-type band. It’s a really good song; it isn’t fully aligned with my taste, but it’s clearly crafted with intention and will likely resonate with listeners who enjoy melodic indie pop. As I’ll reiterate in the last post, if you like it, heck yeah. If you don’t, that’s your life; I, however, have spoken.

-Roman Duda