It has been nearly five years since Travis reinvented
themselves with their sixth album “Ode To J Smith”. Since then the band’s lead
singer Fran Healy released his first solo album ‘Wreckorder’ in 2010, but there
has not been much news from the band. That is until recently when word began to
emerge of their latest album – set to be released in August later this year. In
anticipation of this, the band recently released one of the tracks from the album
entitled ‘Another Guy’ which I was not crazy about. It was only okay, slightly
too repetitive and sounding musically like a slower, more downbeat version of
Stereophonics’ ‘Dakota’. I don’t mean to sound malicious here, as I am a big
fan of Travis, but I was hoping for something a bit more exciting from them.
Enter the latest single!
‘Where You Stand’ (which, incidentally is also the title of
the upcoming album) is a beautiful song about devotion towards one’s partner, which
showcases the band’s progressive sound, whilst also containing enough
familiarity through Healy’s warm and recognisable voice. The lyrics are the
most striking thing about this song, and seem to embody the band’s newer approach
towards song writing, as opposed to their previous penchant for simple four-line
structured verses containing familiar expressions and clichés (something they
always did much better than any other group). There is still some of that here,
but it has been cleverly restructured – most notably in the transition from the
chorus into the bridge where the expression ‘stand and deliver’ is integrated
into the overlap: “...where you stand/ I will deliver...” Little subtleties
like this show that the band has evolved lyrically, but still been able to maintain
their signature charm and likability.
Even though I had my reservations about ‘Another Guy’ I was
still likely to buy the album when it is released. I am now certain that is
going to be the case, and hearing this track has lead me to re-listen to “Ode
To J. Smith” which has some real gems on it, which may have gone unnoticed or
have been forgotten during the band’s absence. Travis are back, and I am
excited to hear what else they have to offer based on the strength of this
latest single.
I'm on board with you with this review, although I'm not sure it'll be enough to restore the Scotsmen to anything like their former popularity. The single is a bit ornate and certainly beautiful, but the cliche-driven material you allude to might be more hit-worthy. Most of all, I hope Fran brings back the poetic and creative subject matter that characterized their two most popular albums: songs like "Driftwood" and "Turn." Also a touch of the gentle quirkiness: "Indefinitely." (There were some quirky touches on "Wreckorder," but "Buttercups" - Fran can do better.) Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply. At this stage in their career I'm not sure whether Travis are attempting to regain their former popularity, especially since they started releasing albums on their own label. When they released "Closer" as the first single from The Boy With No Name, following on from 12 Memories, it was certainly a return to their more familiar (and radio-friendly) sound. "Where You Stand" doesn't have the same feel to it as "Closer" did, so perhaps they are moving past those types of song. The latest single "Moving" (which I've reviewed) also seems to indicate this. I'll be reviewing the album when it is released, and so will be able to make a more fully-rounded analysis.
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