The first few times I heard this album, I hated it. It was slow and mellow, pretty much a bore. Then I had a few days where I was completely down in the dumps. I sat down and was doing some work, so I popped in The Man Who. And Travis bettered my day. What is better than listening to someone else suffering while you are doing so as well?
Travis plays great songs. But without truly listening, you might not notice. The lyrics are touching and personal. The most obvious piece of the Travis puzzle is their satisfying melodies. Travis is folky without being blatant folk. The guitars are wonderfully bright and Fran Healy’s voice is just gorgeous.
“Writing To Reach You” is vibrant, the chorus twinkles. “As You Are” seems to pose as a Radiohead clone with a Beatle riff. The Radiohead comparisons don’t stop here. “Luv” is shooting along the same vein. I know it’s unfair to compare someone to Radiohead based solely on the fact that they sing high and seem quite melancholy, but when you have the same producer, Nigel Godrich, it seems more than a coincidence.
The one track that I despised the first time around was “Driftwood”. I mean, it’s really silly, but, then again, if you look at Simon & Garfunkel you will discover a lot of senseless songs. I don’t even know what in the hell they were singing about half of the time. Does it matter? Nope. It’s the beautiful melodies that we fall in love with, and if the lyrics are good then it’s a plus. “The Last Laugh Of The Laughter” also has that Simon & Garfunkel taste. Perhaps the best comes with “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” It’s simple and quite universal.
When the end comes, you’ll notice the album continues to track on with no sound. Ah, a hidden track. What do we find hidden in the corner? A rock track! It’s songs like these that make you toss your hands up and ask, “Will Travis ever make an effort at rocking instead of writing whiny ballads?” Seems like Travis wasn’t comfortable with this track. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hidden it. Perhaps I’m wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time. As much as I like this album, I only enjoy it on a rainy day or when it seems to be me against the world. On a day of bright sunshine when the world is knocking on my door and inviting me out for the day, it isn’t Travis I would bring along for the trip. Moody music is fine, but even the most manic have good days.
+ rae gun
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.