COIN Reminds Us to Stay Present with "You Are the Traffic"
By Cassidy Brohl
The iconic indie-pop alternative band from Nashville, Tennessee, COIN, is back at it with their newest single, “You Are the Traffic” (which debuted September 18 with an accompanying music video). The band—Chase Lawrence, Joe Memmel, and Ryan Winnen—spent their time during quarantine earlier this year writing songs, and this one was the first they wrote, defining their new era.
“You Are the Traffic” is the kind of song that makes you want to be with someone you love and spread the same joy and kindness the band reminisces on. It really blew me out of the water, lyrically and vocally: the reoccurring lyrics, “There’s no me without you” and “You are the problem / You are the traffic,” for example, really stuck out to me. Chase’s vocal range here (and throughout the track) is extraordinary and I think that made the lyrics all the more powerful.
Regarding the song’s content, Chase tweeted that being “the traffic” means that you’re aware of your larger purpose in life and of everything in your surroundings in the same context as everyone else. For example, on the bridge, Chase sings, “Oh, I get so eager that I lose sight of what’s in front of me.” The deeper meaning that they are trying to portray here is that, sometimes, you just need to take a step back, no matter how exciting or depressing life is, and absorb the feeling of living in the present, right then. I always find myself getting caught up in the moment and, now, this song reminds me that I need to pause for a minute and take in everything that life is offering me. Historically, COIN has shed a lot of light on this topic of living life one day at a time when it comes to their music and doing live shows.
A music video for “You Are the Traffic” was also released with the track. The video takes place in the evening at what appears to be a car lot or a junkyard, giving off nostalgic vibes. On the scenery, Chase tweeted that they wrote the song by “visualizing the band playing ‘Reeding & Leeds’ 1999” and the music video really pulled that idea together very well. It gives off a 1990s alternative vibe, as if it’s something that would’ve been played on the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown back in 1989.
Throughout the video, the boys are really just being themselves by performing their song with the same energy they have during their live shows. It’s one of my favorite videos they have ever filmed/produced—the band and their team did an outstanding job with putting the song into colorful, vintage visuals that they knew the fans would love. After watching it countless times, it made me want to go for a night drive with the people I love.
In general, “You Are the Traffic” is such a beautiful song that I completely recommend giving a listen. As a huge fan of theirs, I am super excited to see what they release next with this new era beginning! Thank you COIN for putting out an amazing record that we all have needed after a long and rough year like this.
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