Travis

Review By Andy Argyrakis

For a band with ten million album sales under its belt alongside a string of smash singles (“Sing,” “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” “Turn,” “Side”), the move to an indie label could appear to be a risky measure for Glasgow-bred British rockers Travis. But then again, with the group’s dedicated following on both sides of the Atlantic and continuous presence on the road, the Fran Healy-led foursome probably doesn’t have all that much to fear.
“I think being on a major label is good and bad,” reasons the singer/songwriter, phoning in from the band’s new home in Berlin. “They press a button on your band and everyone pays attention. But the other thing is sometimes the majors go through staff very quickly, and they’re always changing, which makes it hard in the long-term to develop artists and build trust [between them and the staff].”

After its contracts with Epic in America and Independiente overseas expired, the guys decided to make the brand new Ode To J. Smith on their own dime following a creative resurgence that stemmed from 2007’s tour behind The Boy With No Name.
“When we came off that tour, we were kind of in a corner, but there was so much confidence coming off the road that we had to make an album,” he says about this release on the band’s own label Red Telephone Box. “Our bassist Dougie [Payne] was going to have a baby, but if we all took time off, we wouldn’t be able to get back into the studio until after the baby was born. So we spent five weeks writing and two weeks recording. Within a week, we had two or three key songs, which is when we came up with the idea, for lack of a better term, of this concept record.”

Though that description is most readily associated with epic classic rock masterpieces like the Who’s Tommy or Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Ode To J. Smith reads more like a concise narrative that shifts from Healy’s autobiographical songwriting towards an assessment of that main characters’ emotions and observations. Travis also transitioned its style on the sonic plane, recording in a vulnerable 16-track setting (which practically had the players pounding out these new tracks live to tape), resulting in its edgiest album to date.

“By the end of it when we delivered it to ourselves, it didn’t feel like we’d really done anything because it went so fast,” Healy recalls. “I don’t know where it stands in the Travis cannon at all, but I’d say it’s kind of like indie pop with heart and a lot of joyfulness to it that will come across when you see it live.”

The group is once again loading up its tour buses, but promises that in addition to new material, they’ll be plenty of time for all the obligatory oldies fans have come to expect. Considering the band’s been in business since 1995 and Ode To J. Smith marks its sixth studio disc, there’s certainly plenty of music from which to choose.

“There’s something special about [the live experience] and I don’t know what it is,” Healy ponders. “I think it connects beyond the songs, though you can still expect to hear all the hits performed faithfully and not in some jam. I’m not into the whole Dylan way of doing a different version; we like to give people what they heard on the record and I just try to sing in tune.”

When asked about Travis’ legacy, Healy seems humble and almost a bit shy, suggesting there’s still plenty of life left in the band, despite its veteran status. Even when taking a moment to reflect on the band’s breakthrough album in America (2000’s The Man Who), he insists the players have always kept the import hype and escalating fame in perspective.