12 Memories (Explicit Version) - Travis

Advantages: some good tracks
Disadvantages: not the Travis some people would expect

Generally I'm an r & b girl when it comes to my choice of music (which may be obvious from the albums I generally choose to review). But I have always had a soft spot for Travis (who are quite patently NOT r & b, I think you will agree!), since they are effectively the local band around here. So I thought I'd take a break from my normal genre and review their album "12 Memories" instead. Now, first of all, I have to point out that this album, their ...
...ones. Most people are used to Travis producing cheery, jaunty singalong type tunes, like "Sing" or "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" But this album has a much darker side to it, as you probably could see from the first single release from the album "Re-Offender" and I would go as far as to say it can even be a bit depressing at times. So if you are expecting a happy Travis, you're going to be a little disappointed. The fact of the matter is this ... Read review

Advantages: thought provoking lyrics, beautiful songs
Disadvantages: some weak songs

...(not including their singles collection) 12 memories did not have the same success as their two previous albums the Man Who and The Invisible band. It is a shame as I quite like this album and would rate it higher than The Invisible Band and perhaps even the Man Who (I still think their first album Good Feeling is my favourite). I like the CD cover. The black and white photos within photos of the band members works really well and makes me want to ...
...11 tracks listed so why 12 Memories. There had to be a hidden track) The CD starts off with Quicksand. I am not sure if this would be one I would have started with, as it is one of the weaker songs on the album. It's a mid tempo song that makes use of a cello to great effect. I am a lover of strings within pop music. On this album Travis have got up onto their soapboxes and written songs about "Issues". There are a number of songs that are serious ... Read review

Advantages: Pass
Disadvantages: Unmemorable, not many stand-out tracks

For those of you who don’t know, the Saturday before Christmas I went to see Travis and the Kings of Leon in concert at the Alexandra Palace. It was an excellent concert, and by the time Christmas was over, I had gone and purchased the two most recent albums by Travis and the debut by Kings of Leon. Now I was going to review the Kings, but Andy.mack has already written a superb one, so it’s not really worth my while trying to top him! This meant ...
...(I already had one before my shopping spree) – “The Man Who” and “The Invisible Band” have both been covered numerous times, so my only option left was the album “12 Memories”, and here we are. This is my first music opinion, so please be gentle. -=The Band=- Fran Healy – Vocals, Guitar, Piano Neil Primrose – Drums Andy Dunlop - Guitar Doug Payne - Bass -=12 Memories=- The first song on the album is “Quicksand”. Not be honest, this is not ... Read review

Advantages: A reasonable enough record
Disadvantages: Not up to their usual standard; protected from conversion to MP3

...have changed. Travis’s fourth record, 12 Memories, while still high on the acoustic guitars, is an altogether more melancholy affair. Think music from the bottom of the ocean: it’s dark, it’s heavy, it’s lumbering in places, and it’s certainly not easy to get to grips with. Where once Fran Healy penned light, breezy tunes about Driftwood and catchy classics like Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, he’s now developed an angry side. It’s still raining ...
...– the angriest track on 12 Memories, and also the best – encompasses this rage into one big ball of anger and then explodes. It’s acoustic armageddon. Single Re-Offender – that murky Travis tune that was omnipresent on the air waves in the run up to this album’s release – is equally as sinister, a solemn story of domestic violence. “You say your sorrys, and then you do it again,” Healy howls, reprising the general theme from Blue Flashing Light ... Read review

Advantages: Mature, interesting and far from dull
Disadvantages: Not the Travis some may expect.

...mood and fascinating production made 12 Memories the band's least commercial album to date. Of course, the tunes here at still beautiful pop songs at heart. Somewhere Else is as touching as the best of the band's ballads, although the raw, bluesy bridge adds a bitter twist to the otherwise sweet song. Third single Love Will Come Through is melancholy but lyrically optimistic, and the jangly guitars match those of the band's previous two albums. ...
...so dark, spiteful and adventurous as 12 Memories, and actually managed to pull it off well. Here's hoping they haven't taken the poor sales and chart positions of the album and its singles to heart and that they expand on some of the ideas explored here with the next record. ... Read review