Few songs can appropriately capture a feeling within a minute or less, but Zachary Campos manages to pull it off with his latest track, Traffic.
It’s an indie rock anthem for bored suburbanites who find themselves tired of the repetive task of commuting everywhere and finding themselves stuck in, well… in traffic.
Hailing from San Jose, California, lyricist and MC Zachary Campos blends 80’s hip hop with 70’s punk and modern indie rock to create his unique soundscape.
Traffic, in particular, seems to sit somewhere between Dead or Alive, Blink 182 and Flock of Seagulls and given it’s short, sweet and steady duration, it almost feels like it in itself should be sitting bumper to bumper between two other tracks.
It ends rather abruptly as though the engine has given out while waiting for the bottleneck to clear on the I-880 which is about as disappointing as the begrudging feeling of idling on the freeway, because just as you start to groove into the track – it’s over and you’re stuck.
Inspired in part by James Taylor’s Traffic Jam, Campos explains, “I have to drive on
the highway pretty much every day to get to my gigs. I see the worst drivers cutting people off left and right. I thought it would be awesome to write a song about my frustration with drivingon the highway and with other drivers.”
He embraces the tedious chore by listening to other music which he touches on in the straightforward lyrics; We can all certainly relate.
Traffic makes me lose my mind
Zachary Campos – Traffic (Official Lyrics)
Other drivers not so kind
They’re in a rush to get home
Other drivers leave me alone
I drive my car on the highway
That’s what I did today
Music helps to calm me down
With some nice surround sound
Driving where I need to go
Driving to get to the show
Because of the productions intentional simplicity there isn’t a whole ton of movement throughout, but the way the drums have been tightly fixed and the moderate distortion on the vocals adequately ease this track into a very 80’s-era indie-pop scene in a way that’s pleasantly nostalgic.
Listen to Traffic everywhere you stream (find your provider on songwhip!) and keep up with Zachary Campos on their social media channels.
Looking for a little more? Here are some recommendations from the CF Team
Crooked Forest 