TWO HOURS TRAFFIC RELEASE FIRST NEW SET OF SONGS IN A DECADE
I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE EP - OUT TODAY
BUY / STREAM I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE HERE
LISTEN / SHARE “ANDY MAGOFFIN” HERE
ONTARIO TOUR DATES BEGIN MAY 28 - FULL DATES LISTED BELOW
Photo Credit : Robert Georgeoff // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, Two Hours Traffic releases their first collection of new music in a decade, I Never See You Anymore. While the band took their final bow in 2013, a quiet reunion some years later saw the Charlottetown group, comprised of Liam Corcoran, Andy MacDonald, Nick Doneff, and Derek Ellis, soon finding themselves playing together again, first occasionally, then more often, until new songs began to emerge naturally. Now, twelve years since their last release, Two Hours Traffic make an unexpected but welcome return with their new EP, I Never See You Anymore.
To celebrate the occasion, the band are sharing “Andy Magoffin”, the song that sparked the EP’s title. “We wrote ‘Andy Magoffin’ after the EP was essentially finished and liked it so much that we recorded it quickly in our hometown and finished it just in time for the release,” says MacDonald. “It also gave us the title for our EP, I Never See You Anymore, which applies to our friend (and hero) Andy Magoffin, as well as so many other amazing people and places we don’t see anymore, since we stopped touring full-time.”
“Back in the early days of the band, we randomly caught a Two Minute Miracles video on MUCH’s The Wedge one Friday night,” explains Corcoran. “The song was called ‘Rayon Queen in a Nylon Dream’ and it just hit us like a ton of bricks. In less than 3 minutes, we were presented with a roadmap to what we wanted to sound like: a simple song structure that was giddily catchy/poppy, but with a unique lyrical voice that wasn’t concerned with making obvious sense to anyone. We started to cover ‘Rayon Queen’ shortly after hearing it, and we started listening to their albums on repeat.
“Then one night in Kingston we were on a bill with Miracles’ mastermind Andy Magoffin who was playing solo that night. We surprised him by playing ‘Rayon Queen’. I think it meant a lot to him to see these green kids from PEI covering his song. We’ve been friends ever since that night.
“When our Andy, MacDonald, came to us with the idea for this song it made a lot of sense to us to look back and pay homage to the old days of our band on this new EP. In the second verse we move on to Sackville New Brunswick - to the now closed George’s Roadhouse. We played there loads of times in our early years, and we’d also drive over to see bands occasionally. In the song, we reference a particularly legendary Constantines show that was an end-of-semester night advertised to the students at Mount Allison University. It feels appropriate to end the song with the honest refrain of ‘I Never See You Anymore’ - this applies to so many wonderful people who we got to know on the road. Hopefully we see at least a few of them again in the years ahead.”
LISTEN / SHARE “ANDY MAGOFFIN” HERE
BUY / STREAM I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE HERE
MORE ABOUT TWO HOURS TRAFFIC + I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE
I Never See You Anymore follows the Polaris Music Prize shortlisted Little Jabs (2007) which was included on some of the most iconic TV show soundtracks of the era (The Office and The O.C.). This new six-song EP blends the experiences and influences of their early years with the maturity and clarity of a band shaped by another decade of life. The title, I Never See You Anymore, is reflective of encountering the bittersweet realities of no longer being a touring band, as bassist and producer Andy MacDonald explains. “Every time we made our way across Canada, and even on our trips to Europe, Australia, and the US, we’d run into friends and musicians we couldn’t wait to see,” he recalls. “Once we split up, it slowly dawned on us that we wouldn’t be seeing most of these people regularly again.”
WATCH / SHARE “LEAVE TONIGHT” HERE
Recording the EP was a collaborative and organic process that unfolded naturally throughout 2024. Sessions took place at various friends’ studios on PEI, as well as at Fang Recording, Joel Plaskett’s studio, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. “Writing and recording this EP was such a pleasure because we weren’t beholden to any timelines,” MacDonald reflects. “We were able to slowly pick away at the songs and refine them.”
“It takes a village to make a Two Hours Traffic record,” says Corcoran, referring to a village seemingly populated by some of Eastern Canada’s most acclaimed musicians. The process began with sessions at Greg Alsop’s (Tokyo Police Club) studio in Charlottetown. From there, bass and guitar were tracked at Plaskett’s studio in Dartmouth, followed by vocal recording in Hope River, PEI, at Mark Geddes’ studio, The Hold. Outside of these sessions, longtime collaborator Dan Griffin contributed synths and keys that subtly tied the songs together.
WATCH / SHARE “ON THE SPOT” HERE
The newest member of the band, Nick Doneff, played a key role in the process, adding layers, working on rough mixes, and keeping things organized. “When we decided to record the sixth song, ‘Andy Magoffin’, Nick was in the engineer’s chair,” Corcoran notes. Reflecting on the band’s democratic approach, Corcoran praises MacDonald for stepping up to produce the project and guide them through the long and winding process. “Andy took on the task of making the executive decisions, ensuring that we retained our identity while also creating something fresh,” Corcoran says.
The new songs seem to embrace the ethos that first brought them together: direct, melody-driven songwriting with an emotional core, but now with a refined maturity. While I Never See You Anymore carries echoes of Little Jabs’ infectious hooks and Foolish Blood’s polished confidence, it also leans into a warmer, more dynamic sound shaped by the band’s years apart. There’s a looseness in the arrangements, a sense of ease that comes from playing without expectation. Lead single, “Keep It Coming”, reflects this spirit. Written during a challenging year, the song became a mantra about staying present and trusting in resilience. “A reminder not to worry about every little thing in the future,” says MacDonald.
WATCH / SHARE “KEEP IT COMING” HERE
For Two Hours Traffic, “the old days” seemed to be a time of constant evolution, navigating lineup changes and shifting priorities, both creatively and personally. Their 2009 album Territory saw them stepping into a more expansive, textured sound, pushing beyond the bright immediacy of Little Jabs. By 2013’s Foolish Blood, they had refined their songwriting even further, balancing their knack for hooks with a newfound confidence. Those years that followed were full of all the growing pains, joys, and struggles that come naturally to a young band under a spotlight. Reflecting on that time, Corcoran says, “I get the feeling that we were still trying to prove ourselves.”
Now, with I Never See You Anymore, Two Hours Traffic are less focused on proving themselves and more on staying connected to the music they love. As MacDonald puts it, “Everyone in the band is ultimately in love with the process of writing and recording music. It’s been a part of our lives since we were teenagers, and we’re all still at it. Whether it’s Two Hours Traffic, Liam and Nick’s solo work, or Golden Cinema, we’re all still picking away. I don’t see it stopping anytime soon. We’re hooked.”
BUY / STREAM NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE HERE
TOUR DATES // TICKETS HERE
May 28 | Toronto, ON – The Rivoli (w/ Rockford)
May 29 | Hamilton, ON – Mills Hardware (w/ MOONRIIVR)
May 30 | London, ON – Rum Runners (w/ Pro Wrestling The Band)
May 31 | Guelph, ON – Sonic Hall (w/ MOONRIIVR)
I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE TRACKLIST
01 Keep It Coming
02 Leave Tonight
03 On The Spot
04 Moon Baby
05 Not A Day Goes By
06 Andy Magoffin
