When Travis released their previous album “The Man Who” I got caught up in the hype. This band had whom no-one had really heard of before had released an album which refused to leave the top ten of the album charts for months. I first thought this album was superb as it sounded very original, but that was until I chanced across a confession of their singer/songwriter Fran Healy.
For all of their rock and roll swagger Oasis’ finest moment probably lies with their track “Wonderwall”. A simple love song played on an acoustic guitar about Noel Gallagher’s (now ex) wife. Fran Healy admitted that the songs on the album were basically “Wonderwall” re-writes. For me this tarnished the album as it lost its originality, it was still a great album with some very well written songs – and the public loved it.
That was two years ago in 1999, now 2001 sees the band releasing their follow-up, “The Invisible Band”. So what were Travis going to treat us to this time? A rock opera like “Bohemian Rhapsody” or had they followed Radiohead’s adventurous side and come up with their own “Kid A”?
Well no unfortunately: as the saying goes “If it ain’t broke – don’t fix it” and the band seemed to have
stuck with the same winning formula.
The first things I noticed when I got this album was that the cover and booklet included the same type of lush photography as found on “The Man Who”. The CD also has CD Text – a feature your CD player may have which allows it to display the artist and track title instead of the track number and time. Considering this is quite a simple addition and many CD players have this facility – very few albums have this information available – why?
Anyway I digress. The first track on this album is “Sing” which has already been released. Arrgh!! And disaster at the first hurdle! It has already been commented on within these reviews that this sing is very similar to the opener on “The Man Who” – “Writing To Reach You”. This seems to be a bad case of song writing by numbers as the chorus of “Turn, Turn, Turn” has been replaced by “Sing, Sing, Sing”. Not very inspiring although the use of a banjo gives the song a catchy edge.
“Dear Diary” is up next and this is a much slower song. The title gives away the obvious idea behind the song and it has been well executed with its mournful lyrics and minimalist use of backing music.
“Side” is by far and away the best song on the album and probably the band’s best offering to date. It is one of their more up tempo tracks and the chorus is absolutely sublime. If the band release this it will be the tune for the summer – especially at the festivals.
“Pipe Dreams” is another example of Fran Healy’s excellent writing skills. The lyrics are of a philosophical nature but the music is pretty standard Travis fare, which perhaps spoils the track a bit for me.
The fifth song sees another catchy tune in the form of “Flowers In The Windows”. It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to work out the song is about having children (the flowers). I have to admit that this song is growing on me as its deceptively beautiful.
“The Cage” is a return to the lament of a lost love. It is quite a slow song although short in length, the album’s best offering in the slow song department.
“Safe” sees the return of song-writing by numbers again. This time “Turn, Turn, Turn” has become “Safe, so safe, so safe”. Apparently Travis have had this song kicking around for a while now, and its pretty clear why. Although the lyrics (apart from the chorus) are better than good the tune is dull as it sounds as though it’s stuck in second gear, pity it could have been a lot better.
“Follow The Light” is another catchy song and like the previous track “Side” the chorus stands out. Another up-tempo offering which should prove a big hit at the festivals.
“Last Train” sees the band entering uncharted territory with extremely dark words, but the tune is damned monotonous – next!
“Afterglow” is another song written by Fran for about love but it’s another average track and could easily be mistaken as being from the previous album.
“Indefinitely” is another well-written song and is one of slower tracks present. The final track is the wonderfully titled “The Humpty Dumpty Love Song”. The idea of starting the song with the words of a well-known nursery rhyme for a track about love gone awry. I quite like this track and it ends the album pretty well.
The problem with “The Invisible Band” is that it should have really been titled “The Man Who Part II”. If you really liked their previous album then I guarantee you will think this is brilliant too. Fran is obviously an excellent song-writer as “Side”, “Follow The Light” and “Flowers in the Window” bear testament – unfortunately “Afterglow” and “Last Train” are poor in comparision. This isn’t my main gripe about this album – it’s the way it sounds. Travis still sound as though they are imitating “Wonderwall”. There is no sign of any experimentation with different instruments and styles which is a big shame. For me this album appears to be too similar to the last – compounded by the repeated choruses I have mentioned.
This is a real disappointment as I have seen them live and I thought they were brilliant. Sorry guys but the hidden gems
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I feel sorry for Travis i really feel for them how long have they been around and have been striving for commercial success but they get nowhere as noone seems to apreciate them, i mean as far as Indie goes travis are a very good band The man who was easily one of the best albums of the 90's this album is fab. shame the second side is dire and the first amazing sos i have it on tape but Sing ahhhh amazingly catchy boy i bought that single and never stoped playin it, great review man(-:
cherub3001 27.09.2001 14:01
I own Travis' first album and if this second one is anything like The Man Who then its bound to be good!
Another good op! x*Rach*x
Nameless 22.09.2001 00:17
Personally I think its better than The Man Who, but that was a great op. Cheers, Martin :o)
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 14th, 2001
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