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Following a brief break, Travis have returned with their third offering. ‘The Invisible band’ arrives on the back of much anticipation and expectation. Travis entered the publics consciousness with the beautiful melody and sounds of their single ‘Driftwood’ somewhere in the middle of 1999. Since then Travis have gone from strength to strength, their single ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ securing them a place as one of the shining lights of early 21st century popular music.
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Travis have taken an outspoken, populist and consequently risky approach to promoting their music. Despite being credible songwriters and musicians in their own right, they have not been afraid to heap praise on the likes of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys for producing what they consider to be near perfect pop.
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How their music came about isn’t a concern, it’s the end product that matters. Travis have idealised the art of creating popular music, and this is their aim more than anything. Fran Healey, Travis’s lead singer and songwriter has said that each time he writes a song he tries to create three minutes of pop perfection that the ordinary person in the street will die to hear. This honesty is refreshing in a world where being credible is often valued more than the quality of the finished goods.
So Travis have returned using very much the same formula as before. The album opens with the already huge single ‘Sing’. The song, apparently a plea to Fran Healey’s fiancé to try to express herself more, is an understated but beautiful tune which doesn’t quite hit you in the face, but enters you consciousness over time and is ultimately difficult to forget. If ‘Sing’, was a big hit, then there is surely music in here which will be huge.
It is on songs like ‘Safe’ that Travis’s emotional honesty comes to the fore. One of the things I really like about this band is that, just as they are prepared to admit to liking Britney and the Backstreet Boys, as men they are also prepared to sing about the joy of feeling safe for a while. It’s refreshing to hear a couple of guys say that they sometimes find the pressures of the world a little much, and that they appreciate having somewhere safe to retreat to. On ‘Safe’, Fran sounds better than ever, the clarity and tone in his voice allowing his vocals to soar on a gorgeous piece of music.
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Other stand out tracks on the album include the jangly ‘Afterglow’, which again delivers the melodic appeal which fans of ‘The Man Who’ will be craving. |
‘Grass is Greener’, is an upbeat guitar driven song, that warns against craving things that you don’t want, and has hit single written all over it. The ‘Humpty Dumpty song” is an intelligent take on the old nursery rhyme, but instead of the breaking of an egg, we hear about the breaking of a heart.
Despite being an excellent album, there is a lingering feeling that Travis haven’t moved enough in their development with this album. There is a risk that the album comes across as boring and unoriginal. If it’s cutting edge avant-garde music you want then you’ve got to look elsewhere. However, if beautiful guitar driven melody, with honest and emotional lyrics is what you’re after then this album is for you.
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