Do you really need to know anything about me? It's not as if we'll ever meet. It's pretty obvious ...
Do you really need to know anything about me? It's not as if we'll ever meet. It's pretty obvious what I like if you read my reviews, so what's the pint in me telling you here?
Member since:13.12.2000
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Remember those moments of glorious pop music such as Tied To The 90’s and Why Does It Always Rain On Me? Well they will have to remain as memories for the foreseeable future because, Travis have gotten decidedly darker with their new album, The Invisible Band. It’s not a radical departure, of course, but it is an evolution that the fiercest and woolly-eared music critics have failed to spot. This will not be enough to put off the millions who bought The Man Who in 1999, but may slightly annoy the early fans who yearn for the band to plug their guitars back in.
You know how it begins, it’s the bastard child of Writing To Reach You and Turn, now christened as Sing. The darker Travis arrives in the first line, "Lately you’ve been going so crazy / Lately nothing seems to be going right". This song is achingly beautiful and effectively is a better go at an REM song than REM are doing these days. But be warned, if you don’t like Sing, you will not like this album, or even will you have liked its direct predecessor.
Excuse me for a bit of a cop-out here, because I only have this album off Napster and tracks two and four seem to have not been available. Therefore excuse me if I exclude reviewing those particular songs until I buy the album on Monday. I don’t have a clue about how either song goes, so erm…sorry!
You will be hearing track three, Side on your radio, probably all summer. This is typical Travis, a sing-along anthem set to be sung with out Fran Healy’s help at festivals. "We all live under the same
sky / We all will live / We all will die", a universal theme to suit the populous that this song is firmly aimed at. But it is not cynical marketing designed to sell records, Healy just enjoys the fact that millions can connect with his music. This is almost the closest Travis get to the rockier sounds of their debut, Good Feeling, so old fans may like it too.
Track five is called Flowers In The Window, a song about having kids, again it isn’t complex in either lyrical or musical terms. But this is irresistibly catchy to all but the hardest of observers, dreary Radiohead fans and Goths etc. "It’s such a lovely day", Frany declares in the wonderful chorus. The banjo heard in Sing makes a welcome return for what surely must be a future single. I dare you not to like this song, even after a million radio plays.
What about that darker side I mentioned? The Cage is an excellent example of this sound. "You broke my soul dear". Again the lyrics are not superbly complex, but they enhance the dreamy, melancholic sound of the song. A word for Nigel Godrich, the producer, now, because it on the darker tracks such as this that he excels with his strange effects and noises.
Note too the beginning of Safe, one of the band’s oldest songs, but perhaps unsurprisingly it easily fits on The Invisible Band. I think that Godrick’s best work on the album is on this track, the subtle little sounds he offers in his trademark style. Andy Dunlop’s guitar work is again subtle and understated. This song had been lost for years until recently and thank God the band found it because it is one of the best tracks on the album. The fact that it has the same old repetition in the chorus might not appeal to Travis sceptics. Follow The Light is pure pop. Catchier than the E-bola virus and so full of summer it will warm up even the coldest, drabbest December evenings in Glasgow. "It’s alright / Just follow the light / And don’t be afraid of the dark" are the words which millions will be singing soon enough. Again, it’s not exactly WB Yeats in action, but who cares when the music is this enticing?
But now we have the darkest Travis song ever and I mean it. This is the complete opposite of songs like Flowers In The Window, which it even name-checks to confirm my theory. It also alludes to Why Does It Always Rain On Me? and She’s So Strange. The lyrics, for once are very interesting above a level where you just want to find them out so you can sing them. It reminds me a lot of the darker moments in A-Ha’s career. On this track we are given a sign of the side to Fran Healy that searches the internet for sick websites. He sings "I’m going to write a song / I’m going to mail it to everyone" like he has secretly put a letter bomb in their two and the line "I’m gonna but a gun / Gonna shoot everything, everyone" is the darkest he’s ever written. A clear highlight.
Afterglow is not a Small faces cover, although it sounds suspiciously like Not Up To You from way back when Stereophonics were not complete tossers. This was once going to be the title track of the album, but the band decided against it. This song is obviously about Healy’s beloved Nora and she should be damn proud of that, because it is as strong as album tracks can get, although it would be a dubious choice for a single. Having said that I was surprised when they decided to release Why Does It always Rain On Me? Therefore proving why I don’t work for a big fancy record company.
Indefinitely is another of those darker tracks ("Every day / In every way / I’m falling"). The drums have the trademark way in which Godrich records them, but the song is mostly a sparser affair until the synth strings kick in. This track reminds me a little of The Fear from The Man Who and is another song of striking beauty, subtle, yet still capable of inspiring.
The Humpty Dumpty Love Song may rip off a well-known nursery rhyme, but sadness of the rhyme (remember that Humpty is left broken in pieces) is enhanced by the music and the way Healy twists the words. The song builds up in true closing track fashion. The synth strings return, the guitars are dark and the drums are thumping. It has the dreamy qualities that are seen in other Godrich produced tracks such as Eye Of The Needle by The Divine Comedy or How to Disappear Completely by Radiohead. This is definitely a better album closer than both Funny thing and Slide Show.
The Invisible Band is the most coherent the band have produced. Good Feeling mixed the extremes of happiness of sadness but not completely coherently, lumping the slow songs at the end. The Man Who had more than one producer, hence the striking difference between a track like Why Does… and As You Are. This album is fluent and it also enjoys a more experienced band with a producer they are comfortable with and Fran Healy has improved as a songwriter. This album is populist, but not in all the songs. There are two disputable faults. One is that Andy Dunlup is not allowed to unleash his guitar skills and the second is that it may be too mainstream for some tastes. But I’m just nit-picking, so everyone in unison "Every day I wake up and it’s Sunday..."
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An great informative op but you gave it 5 stars to many in my opinion (yes, other people are allowed those believe it or not). Biggest pile of overhyped tripe I have ever heard. the album that is...
thegrinder2k 20.06.2001 20:29
Nice one - good to see you back. I too have basically waved Ciao bye-bye as, frankly, it's not actually that much fun. Anyways, another great op to add to your sizeable collection. Cya.
kfingleton 11.06.2001 11:28
Don't be waiting up for me. You probably won't read much more.
The Invisible Bandmarks no major change in direction for Travis but this is no bad thing. ... more
That Travis are the most simplistic of the post-Radiohead groups may not sound like the heartiest of compliments but it undoubtedly accounts for their massive app...
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The Invisible Band marks no major change in direction for Travis but this is no bad thing. ... more
That Travis are the most simplistic of the post-Radiohead groups may not sound like the heartiest of compliments but it undoubtedly accounts for their massive ap...
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Advantages: Great sound of and tunes written by Fran Healy. Includes the excellent releases such as 'Turn,' Writing to Reach You,' and 'Why Does It Always Rain on Me?' Disadvantages: ?
Jun 9th, 2001
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