Most
great rock bands consist of a core of charismatic lead singer
and a lead guitarist. Think Bono and The Edge, Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards or Freddie Mercury and Brian May. Trying to remember
the name of the guitarist in Travis is like trying to name a
member of Coldplay that's not shagging Gwyneth Paltrow. Difficult.
Hence the title of their last album ‘The Invisible Band’
which wasn’t a bad album but was a little bit smug and
pleased with itself, maybe just a touch too nice.
Which brings
us to Travis’s latest album, '12 Memories'. So what's
new this time around? Well Fran Healy has kept his knack of
writing a pleasing tune but this time there's added bite, anger,
darkness and, as Ben Elton used to say, a little bit of politics.
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Lead
single ‘Re-offender’ is vintage Travis with a twist of
Radiohead but tackles the issue of domestic violence head on. It has
a sweet, almost haunting, melody but the lyrics offer the first hint
that a new darker Travis is waiting in the wings. When Fran sings
"You’re fooling yourself, ‘Cause you say you love
me, And then you do it again" you can almost see the bruises.
Two
tracks: ‘The Beautiful Occupation’ and ‘Peace The
Fuck Out’ are directed at the government and their intervention
in Iraq. 'Don't just stand there watching it happening’ being
the message of the former to the listener, and ‘I don't know
what you're talking about, There's too much shit pouring out of your
mouth’ directed at Tony Blair and his cronies on the latter.
Both could be potential hit singles... Although perhaps ‘Peace
The Fuck Out’ may not get much air play!
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The album's
dark centre is ‘Paperclips’ perhaps as dark a tune
as Travis have ever committed to record... The tune is sparse
and in the background you can hear dogs whining and yelping.
Its not easy listening but does help throw the lighter moments
into contrast. The album starts to pick up again and ‘Love
Will Come Through’ is perhaps one of my favourite Travis
songs ever. Fran's songwriting has progressed so that he can
write a song about love without it being cloying. Even though
the melody is lovely and though the message of the song is positive
it still has a dark outline.
The album
closes with two standout tracks. ‘Happy To Hang Around’
starts with almost the exact same drum tattoo as Coldplay's
‘In My Place’ but goes on to become a fantastic
song in it's own right, with another excellent angry guitar
solo. Final listed track ‘Wandering Down The Hill’
is perhaps as experimental as Travis get. It could almost be
Fran's vocal featured on a Moby soundtrack, and features some
beautiful keyboards and a refrained vocal. |
Any
flies in the ointment? Well the spelling of ‘Mid-Life Krysis’
isn’t big or clever and neither is calling the album '12 Memories'
and ‘hiding’ the 12th track as a secret one. Otherwise
this is a complete and satisfying album from Travis. If the guitarist
keeps up the good work we may even know his name by the time they
release the next one.
4
out of 5
Alex Pegg
