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The Man Who
Travis
1999
Wikipedia
Reviews
Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!À mon humble avis, la suite manquante du groupe de mots désignant cet album n'est certainement pas "speaks french". J'en veux pour preuve le morceau The Last Laugh of the Laughter au cours duquel le chanteur croit duper son audience avec un baragouinage qui ne fera plaisir qu'aux non-francophones : "It's the last laugh of the laughter Sur la dernier page do chapitre On the last day of the year Ma vie Tout ma vie When the spotlight fade away" dit-il selon la retranscription qu'en fait Google. Bien évidemment, le chanteur ne fait, dans la chanson, pas une seule de ces fautes à l'oral et prononce d'ailleurs admirablement bien les passages en français. Mais peu importe. En resumé : un projet ni fait ni à faire.
The answer to the question, "What if Keane had a Bends-era Radiohead phase and did very little to hide it?"
Attractive voice with quiet acoustic guitar motifs. A bit boring, but still enjoyable to listen to.
just kinda soft rock stuff, kinda catchy background music and nowhere near as gay as coldplay. 3/5
A weak attempt at a Beatles facsimile, which I found was not uncommon in the 90's. Oasis did similar productions, and I would argue they did it with more passion and balls. Nothing flat offensive about the album, it was just relentlessly forgettable.
Tasteful, gentle, soporific. I was expecting proto-indie-filler, with completely forgettable tunes, and it was marginally better than that. But I never need to hear this album again in my life. The production is a little bit edgier and interesting than I expected (thanks, Nigel Goodrich), but at best, at its most hard-rockin', this comes across as OK Computer Lite. Actually, I'm just listening to the coda of As You Are, and this is the worst case of Thom Yorke wannabe-ism I have ever heard. I don't hate this, as it is custom made to be un-hatable, but it has no grit at all.
Amazing album all the way through. Tons of great tracks with big sound. "Turn" especially. Sounds of the 90s which were refined from their first album. Secret song is also a surprising but great addition to the album
Perfect in every way. Used to listen to this constantly in the first few months of our marriage.
Keimzelle eines Gefühls des richtigen Ankommens in Köln, so jung, noch so viel übrig, das danach trachtete, versaut zu werden. This album was the soundtrack on the journey of ‚the man who‘ I was about to become. Forever 5.0
I like the beginning of this one. It has an alternative sound, which is my jam. I really liked this album and would look up more of this band. I’m surprised I didn’t hear more of it when it was new.
Best song is the hidden track "blue flashing light", perhaps because it has not been overplayed; the drumming is unusual at points, but not in a bad way; Fran can really sing, this is especially obvious on "as you are"; not sure why there is a song half in French?!?
I'm surprised I'm not familiar with this band or album, because the sound/style is pretty similar to some of my favorites. Good find.
A deserved classic from the 1990's. Beautiful songs, an album that's worth another listen time and time again
A timeless sombre soft indie collection made for miserable Scots by miserable Scots. Love it. Almost every track is a stand out including miserable secret track.
Best song is the hidden track "blue flashing light", perhaps because it has not been overplayed; the drumming is unusual at points, but not in a bad way; Fran can really sing, this is especially obvious on "as you are"; not sure why there is a song half in French?!? Extra point for being Scottish!
What a gorgeous album. I hadn't heard this album before and really enjoyed it, every single song was beautiful. Will revisit this multiple times in the future.
A classic from the end of the 90s. Sombre and melancholy at times. This is one for a cold winter's night, wrapped up in front of the fire. Such a brilliant album that I listened to a lot, back in 1999.
A thoroughly enjoyable album from front to back. Fran Healy's airy vocals are the perfect complement to the low-key, often acoustic-driven musical arrangements. A great example of what the late 90's/early 2000's 'Britpop' genre had to offer.
I had never heard this one but really like this album. It is like a mix of Wilco and Muse.
Vielleicht die letzte Band der 90er Jahre. Schöne Lieder voller Zweifel und Taumel und Verlorenheit, vielleicht auch wegen der Zeitenwende. Was nun wohl kommen mag? Naja, ich sag mal so: the rain kept raining down on you, und Klimawandel hin oder her, weniger wurde er bestimmt nicht. 3,8. Letzte macht’s Licht a
I never realized how much '90s Travis sounds like a Radiohead / Oasis lovechild. A bit precious, a bit tranquil, more enjoyable than I had expected. Also, do you remember when bands used to hide a bonus track on the final track of their CD just by adding a bunch of empty space in the middle of the track? I was startled when, after a few minutes of silence and thinking the album was over, some music kicked in.
I love this album so much! It has lots of memories of teenaged anxt and a glorious summer. I haven't listened to it for years, but was instantly transported back and knew all the words :)
Veoma zanimljiv album. Nisam baš upoznat sabritanskim bendoviam 90-tih, ali ovo je sjajno. FAV TRACKS: Writing To Reach You The Fear Driftwood Turn Luv Slide show Why does it have to rain on me
Some great tracks on this - front of the album probably slightly stronger than the back, but an enjoyable listen.
A little slow and ballad heavy for my tastes, but there were some really great tracks on this one. Reminded me of Oasis.
One of the better picks so far. Real indie feel to it. Definitely want to give it another listen!
Great band with killer melodies. I've taught Why Does It... for many years, so very familiar with this band. Songwriter Fran Healy has a great way with wordplay, and a knack for a memorable melody. Favourite tracks are Why Does..., Turn, Writing to Reach You, and Driftwood.
I liked this more than I was expecting to. Reminded me of Radiohead, only more accessible, and maybe a little of Rufus Wainwright, but less maudlin. It was mellow but still held my interest. 3.5 stars, rounding to 4.
8/10. Feels quite enjoyable on a first listen, but I am not sure if it is something that will start to bug me if I relisten, or if I'll grow to like it more. Always fun when the 5th song on an album spontaneously decides to be half in French-as-a-second-language. Hidden tracks don't work well on Spotify at all.
J'ai beaucoup apprecié cet album, je regrette cependant deux points que je vais énoncer ci-dessous, mais avant je voudrais vous partager le score de mes trois derniers entrainements au Grand Quiz du Generateur: 11/20 - 9/20 - 13.5/20 Des resultats en dents de scie qu'il va falloir veiller a stabiliser pour esperer une victoire sous les yeux de Jarry et Arnaud Ducret. - le passage en français était une horreur absolue, et je sais de quoi je parle parlant moi-même la langue de Molière avec une aisance toute particulière, propre aux ressortissants français dont je fais partie - y en a marre des artistes qui croient berner leur monde en laissant 2mn de vide avant un son caché, de 1 on s'en branle que tu rajoutes un son ou non, de 2 quand on voit 10mn de bande sur le dernier son et qu'il n'y a plus de bruit après 3mn on se dit que soit tu es completement abruti et tu as oublié de couper l'enregistreur (ce qui est deja arrivé, cf The Doors), soit tu nous a dissimulé un son.
I find this surprisingly enjoyable, a solid sense of millennial doom throughout. Definitely reminiscent of some other sounds around the late 90s, but I think I just liked this particular flavor.
Classic, late 1990s Brit Pop. Will have to give it a deeper listend beyond "why does it always rain on me"
Very much in the Britpop vein from the drum sounds to the chord changes. I can also hear a fair bit of Neil Young and Radiohead influence as well. This album features memorable melodies as would be expected and some interesting instrumental bits. The last song with its period of silence was a bit annoying but overall, a good album and great exploration into the influence of Britpop
wasn't sure about this at first, but eventually, it grew on me, occasional moments of brilliance on this album but plenty of mediocrity as well, overall above average but nothing special
I thought I was going to hate this, "Oh God, not Travis!" Maybe the catalogue of middle of the road 70's whining had lowered my expectations. Maybe Travis have some good riffs, with lovely mellow bits and unexpected angry bits, lyrically sound too.
So this album sits in a box with so many other Uni bought CD's, memories of 4am plays, and melancholic regrets about girlfriends I never had. Musically, hasn't aged that badly, it's full of lovely, well written catchy tunes.
Upon second listen I loved it much more than at first. I went on to listen to a lot of Travis' discography and really loved it. I think the band has better music on other albums, but this one was still great.
Surprised I hadn't heard this before, it sounds like something I would like, and I do like it. Reminds me if bands I was listening to in the mid 00's - Guster, Keane, Radiohead (The Bends specifically). At times it got too sappy for me, at other moments the grooves were just euphoric. Interested in learning more about these fellas.
Very nice electric acoustic. "Driftwood" is an excellent song, which is why this is 4 and not a 3
It's not too much my vibe these days but this was an album I listened to a lot growing up, so nostalgia.
Great Album that combines the best elements of early 2000s alternative rock and Brit Pop
Quite a beautiful sound and a few songs definitely stood out. While I would have loved a bit more in dynamics, its a great album with a great production and runtime.
Judging by the cover I thought this would be generic late-90s pop-rock but I enjoyed this album more than I expected.
I bought this album in 1999 along with another 3,000,000 folk. I love the melancholy of it all.If you have never listened to this album in entirety then give it a try you may be suprised.There is a heavy gloom that lingers over the songs, which gives the soft melodies and sympathetic performances some real weight. These songs will sink into your heart and find a home in your head.
Love it. As if Keane discovered guitars, combined forces with Elbow, and channeled the smoothest of early Radiohead. This one grabs me right away - first song, first verse. The melodies are fantastic, love the vocals, and is a excellent mix. Revolutionary? Nah. Doesn't matter - sometimes a group of fairly basic pop-rock songs can just be great on its own. Honestly no dogs on the entire album - "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" was the hit; "Writing to Reach You" "The Fear" and "Slide Show" are others I love. Well-produced, judicious instrumentation, nothing overplayed. A keeper. 8/10 4 stars.
I really enjoyed this. Very much of its time and era - feels understatedly influential
I enjoy this album more now than when it came out. At the time, it felt like Travis would be another Radiohead but more radio-savvy. It would be a saturated market and overwhelm all music. Instead, the future has been more diverse and this niche has moved out of the mainstream. That left more room for this album. Happy to put it in the usual rotation.
Surprisingly devastating, and got steadily more so as it played. I'm surprised that reviews seem to focus on the front end of the record as the strong part: My experience is exactly the opposite. Granted, there are hints of more interesting sonics in those first few songs. Between that and the hidden track, it's hard to escape the thought that the band was capable of much more. The end result is fully enjoyable, if not quite satisfying.
One of those pop/post-pop albums that's pleasant enough to listen to, but ten minutes later, you can't really recall anything about it or what it sounds like. A bit generic for this list. Best track: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
Actually quite good. I like this guy’s vocals better than Rufus Wainwright, but not as much as Tim Booth’s, both of whom he sounds like.
Guilty pleasure. Love a bit of Travis. It's nothing groundbreaking though is it Me: "Mum can we listen to some Coldplay" Mum: "No we have Coldplay at home" Coldplay at home:
What if radiohead was mediocre and generally uninteresting? Travis. She's So Strange and Rain On Me are strong, but the album doesn't carry enough passion and interest to raise it into a 4 or 5.
I think I enjoyed this quite a bit, but I didn’t take any notes and I don’t quite remember what I liked. I guess not quite memorable enough for a 4 but deserves a relisten.
The man who what, Travis? The man who what? It's been 22 years and we still don't fucking know, damn it.
Melancholische Britpop die mij wel kan bekoren voor een nummertje of 2, maar een heel album is te veel van het goeie.
A very nice album. Good choruses and nice voice, kinda sounds like a memory, if that makes any sense. Longer than it should be - I'll never get the "let's make 4 minutes of this song straight just complete silence" but oh well Saved: Writing To Reach You, Driftwood
Not bad at all, pretty nice background music. A good 3.5 but rounded down because it's completely unmemorable and I already forgot what it sounded like.
Tenía olvidado varias canciones de ellos. A pesar de tener buenas, no es un gran álbum, pero lo disfruté. Nota: 3.5 PD: No seleccione "Why Does Is Always Is Rain On Me?" porque todavía no supero su saturación en las radios.
Glad to be introduced to this band and this album. Some really great stuff on this one. Musically interesting, good lyrics, nice mix of styles. I like that the influences seem to be eclectic (at least they are to my ear). And I LOVED reading this from the Wiki entry on the band: "The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson (played by Harry Dean Stanton) from the film Paris, Texas (1984)." Great actor creating a great character in a great film. That is wicked cool.
Easy to listen to instrumentals. Was ok on vocals. Listened to an extra cut and liked it better
-I liked when "As You Are" got intense and there was a nice scream. And then there was some nice guitar solo-bridgey stuff. -"Driftwood" was pleasant -Why is "Slideshow" silent for like a huge gap in the middle??? I like the second half but I'm not gonna wait for like 3 minutes mid song??? -Why are the bonus tracks way better so far? "Green Behind The Ears" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" are actually good -Nice Cover of "Be My Baby" -Idk it was just boring
Chill, James style tunes with lots of ghost strokes and great production. Good music for reading
Interesting sound, but didn't do much to grab me after the first couple of tracks. Need to listen again though
Generic brit-pop with trite lyrics. It had a nice atmosphere and the vocal performance was pretty solid, but overall this was a fairly bland album that probably only british people love. 5/10
Takes me back. Some nice nostalgia, few decent songs I hadn't heard. Haven't really heard of these guys since this album.
The band that paved the way for Coldplay is not exactly a selling point in my book! However, I gave this album a couple of listens to give it a fair shake, and deemed it not bad but also not very exciting. A couple songs are better than the rest such as Writing To Reach You, Driftwood, and Why Does It Always Rain on Me. Not sure I could go above a 3 on this one.
Given my obsession with NME and Q magazine during my Australian high school tenure, I was familiar with a few of the singles from this album so I would have been surprised if I was surprised by the overall tone of this album and… I was not surprised. I enjoyed listening to this album a few times over the past 24 hours and could easily see myself putting it on if we need some chill music in the lounge room. I didn’t make the time to sink my teeth into the history of the album so that my be a bit of my downfall as well. Great songwriting, melodies and overall musicianship.
Production on this is superb. Aiming for a more downtempo and laid-back sound, it is immensely good at utilizing reverb, delay, and mixing to bring out these feelings with the songwriting. You can hear influence from Radiohead especially, which had released the monumental OK Computer just two years earlier. This is for the best, though, as it never fully feels like it's trying to copy or attempt to become Radiohead, but dialing Travis' own sound through this new alt rock lens. It is worth noting that it slightly more pop-y, though more in structure than sound. I quite enjoyed this one overall. Nice and relaxing record with the stylings of the day that I like. Can be compared to Radiohead, Coldplay, and Muse without explicitly being any one of them.
It's a pretty good sadboy album like something from Elliott Smith. I don't particularly like it over a lot of other albums, but I think it is at least worthy of being on this list. I also enjoy the addition of the secret track, even though with streaming services the idea of a secret track is dead. I may come back to this one because the vocalist has a nice voice and a pretty good range as well. The instrumentation is pretty complex and compliments the vocals well. Highlights: 1, and 4.
very alt british sound. kind of an oasis clone but i think a little more nuanced. Luv is a good track.
This is just generic rock. Not really special at all and as average as it comes. 6/10.
ну прям реально конец 90 по ощущениям музыкальным лично у меня. Почему-то напомнило севедж гарден и такие вот группы расцвета того же периода
Seemed like pretty bog standard light alterna-pop. Competent but too soft to have much impact. A group like Kings of Convenience shows how this kind of thing can be done to better effect.
Redelijk standaard popmuziek. Gewoon erg toegankelijke liedjes, maar ook weer niks bijzonders. De stem van de zanger kan wel gaan vervelen als je een heel album moet luisteren. Mijn favoriet is "Driftwood" en "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?". ***
The last track turned me off, with its language and dead air, but I liked multiple songs on this album, like Driftwood, and it was pretty good ambient music for coloring. It gave me a proto-Muse/Coldplay vibe.
Just a middle of the road good album. Nothing really to complain about. Maybe the last song being 10 minutes long and having to wait for like 4 or 5 minutes of silence? Was kind of annoying to me lol.
A sad and angsty little album that has some good moments but just doesn't do enough differently to rate any better than "yeah, that was good, I guess".
Pretty good, a little boring. Needed to give it a second listen to really appreciate it.
Easy-listening soft-rock. Good production and has some things going for it to make it slightly less generic, but not enough for me to really want to listen to it.
I would have loved this in HS or college, but now it is a bit one dimensional in terms of its alt-rock sentimentality. Nothing bad but not a whole lot of depth here either. Some tracks better than others.
Fine, pleasant, subdued. I imagine this is one of those records that was huge overseas but never really got as big in the states. I liked some songs, but I'm a little hesitant to say this belongs on this list. Favorite tracks: "Writing to Reach You", "Turn"
Get a Coldplay/Snow Patrol vibe from this. Just not as good as them in my opinion. Favourite song is the hidden track after "Slide Show".
I'm not convinced that Travis really does anything noteworthy enough to elevate them above their peers to the point of being included in this list, but I will say that I enjoyed this more than I expected based on my prior experience with them. The songs here are very pleasant if somewhat meat and potatoes alt-rock.
Writing to Reach You remains the best song Travis have recorded. Album is fine but was never one of my favourite britpop albums of this period
This was a fun album. I enjoyed the mellow, soothing vocals. Very solid accompanying music that didn’t interfere, but was perfectly complimentary.
Eine britische Band…Das Album setzt sich, obschon kurz nach dem battle of britpop aufgenommen, erfreulich davon ab und vermeidet dessen unerträgliche Plattheiten. Noch nicht ganz 4 Sterne.
One of the better post-britpop bands, but tries to sound too much like Thom Yorke. On the first few listens, everything blends in. But with beautiful melodies that test their boundaries, it's dynamic enough to maintain interest without coming off as annoying. I believe with a more engaging vocalist, the songs would reach closer to their potential. But I really like it, if not for anything other than a pretty melancholy that juxtaposes the abrasive and monotonous alt rock, pop punk, and nu metal so prevalent in the US.
1st Song Soft Rock Similar vibes throughout. Not bad, easy listen. Definitely need to be in a certain mood to listen to this album, but it's alright.
I actually really enjoyed this one. I can see myself giving it a listen again, or possibly exploring more of their catalog. I wish I could give this three and a half stars. It’s not a 4, and I don’t think it’s a 3 either…
A pretty good album that sounds kind of derivative. The melodies are generally pretty and memorable. The arrangements a little pedestrian and the vocals are generally beautifully rendered in the same vein as Thom Yorke but without the depth. I found myself often reminded of Andrew Bird. A little too one-trick to rise above a rating of mediocre. 3 🌟
i really liked this album. there were about two songs that were not up my alley but other than that i enjoyed the singing and the music overall.
What if Coldplay were a little... well... warmer? What if Radiohead were a little more accessible? These are the incredibly deep questions that Travis asks, and then unceremoniously answers: It would be fine!
I hear SO much Radiohead crossover here, which I guess ties in to the late 90's era, and I'm not mad about it. It just feels a little more... soft? If we're going for angsty 90s rock I kind of want it to punch me in the face sometimes. There's definitely a lot of Beatles influence, especially in "As you are"... jai guru deva om, amirite?
Really solid album here - strong songwriting and gorgeous production. Hard to complain. I hear a Beatles influence in a lot of the songs (“As You Are” sounds a lot like “Across the Universe”). Even more so, a lot of these songs sound like The Bends-era Radiohead, which makes sense because Radiohead’s producer, Nigel Godrich, produced this album. Still, I don’t see Travis as a knockoff as much as I see them carrying the mantle of 90’s British guitar rock that Radiohead mostly abandoned by the time this album came out. (Technically these guys are Scottish but, you know.) This album is excellent, melodic mood music. I don’t think it’s quite in classic territory but I like it!
It's a "Pop"-Version of a Radiohead album. Little bit trivia. (5/10) FT: Why Does It Always Rain On Me
I used to play the hell out of this back in 1999 when it came out - produced by Nigel Godrich, famous for producing Radiohead, and you could see the influence he had on their sound. The NME at the time accused them of going Dad Rock after their rockier debut but it certainly worked for them, especially after the heaven's opened during their Glastonbury performance of 'Why does It Always Rain On Me'. This was their commercial peak and some of it does still stand up - Writing to Reach You nicked the Wonderwall chord sequence as made it sound like something from The Bends. Driftwood is still a pleasant listen - Turn was overplayed at the time and a one word chorus (replicated in later songs Sing, Side and probably others) is lazy. The Fear and As You Are are the best of the album tracks, as well as hidden track Blue Flashing Light (probably the best thing on here) which deals with domestic abuse and sounds a lot more raw, more akin to their first album. It was quite nice to revisit this album and remember being 17 again - I'll certainly stick a few tracks in future playlists. Best thing about this album, along with Coldplay, Muse etc was pushing Radiohead to freak out and make Kid A!
Melodic, melancholic balladry, a few good songs here and there. Nothing special, nothing to hate. Standout Tracks: Writing to Reach You, Driftwood, Why Does It Always Rain on Me?
Boring. So boring. “Why Does It Always Rain On Me” and “Slide Show” were pretty great though.
I liked this when it came out but there's not much to it. Nice enough for a watered down Radiohead
Travis is possibly my least favorite band name, sounds so whiny. This album is soft and generic. It’s what I imagine Dawes sounds like. A less indy Sun Kill Moon/Coldplay combo, it’s like that band Karen Heath liked that ripped off Elliott Smith, it feels like a ripoff of Bends era Radiohead, it’s U2 and Keen and every other 90s band. They took the vocal crescendos of Radiohead, the backing band of Coldplay and played folk with it. I do have to admit, some good melodies, nice voice, spans a few genres but nothing stands out, it’s flat and generic.
I doubt this album would appear on any 1001 list from outside the UK. Post-The Bends. Pre-Coldplay. Peak "Britrock". It's almost as if each song was inspired by a different 5 second clip of High & Dry, and then built up from there. I mean that as a compliment. This album sounds great - the arrangements and production make the simple songs sound fantastic. I loved this stuff 20 years ago. Not for me now. But AER in 1999 doesn't have a drivers license and needs big chorus, big strings, big Yorke-voice to feel like he's feeling whatever he imagines people are feeling when they are having deep feelings. AER in 1999 gives this a A-. AER in 2021 gives this a C+ and recommends Gentle Stream by The Amazing instead.
Als puberteit gepaard gaat met baard in de keel, is Travis de Benjamin Button van de muziekindustrie
Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Writing To Reach You Cutting Edge: Driftwood Overall Notes: This is what Coldplay would sound like if they wrote exclusively wrote songs for mid-2000s 58% Rotten Tomatoes scoring rom-coms. It's mid Keane. "Something Only We Know" and "Everything's Changing" are better versions of anything and everything on this album.
Slower than I remember, which is Probably why it always rains on him, takes too long to get indoors. And also Scotland. I feel harsh low ranking it cos it's not shite, I just didn't enjoy that trip down memory lane.
Soporific but not unpleasant. Good background music. Played it while working and it didn't interrupt my concentration at all. Feel like I'd heard all the songs before, even though I definitely haven't, they are just oddly familiar.
Not bad but sounded like pretty generic Brit pop to me. Made me realize I didn’t rate Air high enough.
Like I suspected, I went in with prejudice and left the same way. Just not my type of rock or soft rock or whatever. Will not return.
I didn't like this album very much. It mainly came down to how much the lyrics were repeated and how the harmonies or sound wasn't very interesting. It felt very stiff and unchanging throughout each song. Favorite track: Driftwood
When I was in grad school and had to work as a teaching assistant, I had a student who really wanted to share his favorite music with me and burned a CD-R of a different record from Travis. (12 Memories) I liked that record. Not so much this one. Not a whole lot of variety going on from song to song and I sense a much bigger Thom Yorke influence on the vocals here than I did on the other. Are we keeping a tally of how many British artists are on this list?? I’ve lost count.
I know people who love the hell out of this band and they don't come off as posers or anything, but this stuff just slid right on by me, like plain oatmeal. Production sounds great, the band doesn't seem to be faking it. But man, I could not get into this. It always seems ready to tip over into some of my favorite Radiohead stuff? Maybe that's the block for me.
Really didn’t like the singers’ voice and the album was a bit overstuffed. The guitar-playing is captivating.
Tired and overplayed. When this album was released, I was working at Blockbuster Video, it was played constantly for a couple of weeks, drove me to boredom. Aside from standout tracks; Writing To Reach You, Driftwood and Why Does It Always Rain On Me? the rest of the album is dull and dated.
Music equivalent of watching paint dry. "Why does it always rain on me...cos you're a dull twat."
A bit of undemanding nostalgia. Pleasant enough but can understand I haven’t listened to it in 15 years
U2 meets Oasis and it's not as inspired as either of the parts. What's with this list and high-pitched vocals? Highlight Tracks: 3, 4, 7
Sounds like some mainstream pop rockers trying their damnedest to sound like Radiohead (and mostly succeeding due to Nigel Godrich's production). Still, a pale imitation which seems to lack depth.
It is not that good of an album. None of the songs are memorable. It is not the worst album but I don't know why this made the list. No need to listen to it.
The sound is softer rock to me. Fran Healy’s voice doesn’t work with the sound for the most part. Some lines his voice sounds good and then the next line it’s back to not quite working. I think his voice would work fine in a band with a heavier sound, but here it gets exposed on full display too often. I think it also comes down to the register for the song because his voice works for Slide Show, pre-hidden track. But also the hidden track on Slide Show is a heavier sound which covers up the problems with his voice and it sounds fine. As You Are has one of the most boring guitar solos I’ve ever heard. I think it got somewhat interesting later on but I had already forgotten what was happening. Supposedly the band performed Why Does It Always Rain On Me? At the Glastonbury Festival and it started raining just as the first line was sung. Apparently this coincidence was all over the news the next day and significantly elevated Travis’s popularity. So much so that they headlined the Glastonbury Festival a couple years later. First of all, Why Does It Always Rain On Me? is a good song. It’s one where Fran Healy’s voice works well for the whole song. I’d definitely enjoy this song on a playlist somewhere. However, this story sounds too good to be true. It rains often in southwestern England. Why was this viewed as some sort of divine sign? Even if it’s true, a minor coincidence does not a good band make. If is it true, my takeaway is that musical popularity is too arbitrary.
I could 'sing, sing, sing' about how much I don't like this Travis, but the truth is that I've never listened to much of them until now. That being said, this album met my expectations. The singer is flagrantly dramatic and can't help but feel like he's the male version Gweneth Paltrow. Vagina candle, anyone?
The colour palette on the album cover describes the music within very well, bland like oatmeal. And boy do they ever sound like a MOR knock off of Radiohead. I think I would still live a fruitful and rewarding life if I died without hearing this record too.
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to start looking up the lyrics. After the Pixies, these guys aren't quite as surreal or deep : If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn Turn, turn, turn If we turn, turn, turn, turn, turn Then we might learn, learn, learn _________ The singer sounds like Thom Yorke on the ballads. There isn't anything specific I don't like about this.
I liked Driftwood, but I'm struggling to find anything to say about the album as a whole. It's pleasant enough.
The fact that Spotify calls out this artist or songs from this album are featured on One Tree Hill and Everwood soundtracks from the era speaks volumes. Bland pop rock that could be played at the poignant moments of some low-brow teen drama is exactly what this seems written for.
Pros: - Opener is a great track. Love the chord progression in the chorus. I can't put a finger on it but the line "I might never reach you" has some great Beatles-y chords under the vocals. - Second track, "The Fear" is like a more modern Neil Young track. Very cool sound. It even has some Radiohead type sounds underneath the vocals too. - SO many chordal mood shifts. I'm hearing a lot of major chords getting moved to minor over the course of a chorus or phrase. - "As You Are" is even more radiohead-y! Cons: - Some songs come across as being pretty like.. medium? I find it hard to describe but there's a very "agreeable" sound to this record. "Inoffensive". I tend to gravitate towards some kind of offending going on in music. Not so much of a knock against them because they do have a great sound and this is very listenable. Misc: - This is pretty new to me, maybe I heard it on the radio as a ~9 year old but I don't recall this album or band name at all. - Great sound! I'm impressed with this a lot. - While it's a nice album, in the context of 1001 albums you need to hear, it is a questionable decision. IMO it lacks memorability.
My ex bought this album and played it quite a lot. One of the best things about our split was this record leaving the house forever.
Tries to hit the sweet spot between nascent '00s-indie (think Guster/Keane) and Radiohead-esque grunge roc,k but lands more in the doldrums reserved for forgettable contemporary radio you hear while waiting in the doctor's office.
Where do I start with this dumpster fire? This is the type of music you listen to when you have no strong opinions about music. It's music for people whose idea of a bad day is that Starbucks got their mochacchino order wrong. Jangly, sad bastard shlock that desperately wants to be Radiohead. I hate that this band exists and if you enjoy this type of music, your taste in music sucks.
Favs: I guess "She's So Strange"? It has a kind of Blur vibe to it, lyrics-wise. Blur, if the music was crappy. Mehs: Annnd the rest. I hate Why Does It Always Rain On Me. Hate. It makes me feel like Mrs. White in Clue with the flames on the side of my face. I hate that my brain heard it again.
[Gordon Ramsay voice] "'Slide Show'? More like shit show." Seriously, after a night listening to the Dictators and Lightnin' Hopkins, this sounds like baby food music. At least that drab fucking album cover is fair warning of all the beige music one can expect to encounter on this platter. Avoid.
What the hell is this doing on the list? This is not a good album. Radio friendly Radiohead at best, simpering at worst. This one needs to get revised out.
Put simply, this is the kind of music I remember college dorm dudes playing from their lower bunks on acoustic guitars because of the misunderstanding that college girls liked sensitive guys. 'The Man Who' is sensitive guy music, lots of feelings expressed, sad feelings that we hope might make you girls want to hold us guys with our heads resting snugly between your breasts. ‘Everyday I wake up alone,’ singer Fran Healy laments (his go-to emotion) on ‘As You Are,’ ‘because I’m not like the other boys.’ Another song asks the musical question, ‘Why Does It Always Rain on Me?’ giving rise to yet another question: ‘Why don’t you just get out of it, moron?’ Besides, that’s simply your own delusion anyway, no doubt grounded in some repressed fear you’ve not yet successfully dealt with. 'The Man Who' dredges it all up, in all its weary pessimism, both lyrically and it's accompanying music. There was only one instrumental solo on the entire album, when at 2:40 on ‘As You Are’ Travis finally delivered a fairly decent, brief guitar solo that did rock, temporarily. So, it is down there in these boys, they just have to dig for it. Mostly, though, the melodies, overall tunes, instrumental accompaniments, tempo, etc are soft, slow, and sad. The popular 1970’s soft rock band, Bread, sung and played harder than these guys. The one exception was ‘Driftwood,’ a rare uptempo tune, and with some decent, Dylan-esque lyrics to boot: ‘You’re driftwood, hollow and of no use. Waterfalls will find you, bind you, grind you… So, I’m sorry that you turned into driftwood, but you’ve been drifting for a long, long time.’ Following that respite from relentless self pity, though, we returned right back to… well, the next song title says it all: ‘The Last Laugh of the Laughter.’ I must have missed the last laugh, or I guess it happened before the composition of the song. At any rate, no laughter transpired. Not even a grin, until the final and morbidly slow closer, ‘Slide Show,’ and the most restrained castanets performance I believe I’ve ever heard. It found myself whispering ‘Ole’ with the vigor of said college dude after a Valium and a couple of PBRs. This whole alt folk/rock genre often strikes me as contrived ‘cool.’ That’s not accusatory, I’m just tossing it out there for consideration. What I would like to expose for fact, though, is the unfortunate misunderstanding of the sensitive guy, playing these Travis tunes, ever attracting any girl reaction. Consider with whom, generally, are college girls actually having sex? The bad boy, that’s who! They might eventually marry the sensitive guy, but they’re fucking the bad boy. So, to whom this may concern, if you’re genuinely looking to get laid, then stop learning these self-pitying Travis songs, and cover some Van Halen ones instead.
Every song on this album is what i hear when i think of riding in the back of the car while my dad drives us home in late October of 2006 and its 4 pm, kinda dark and raining and the car doesn't have a aux so we have to listen to NRJ Radio and they are playing the 11th most played song of the week and i am listening and feeling miserable because i have to do my math-homework when i get home because i have a test tomorrow and all i can think of is that the song thats on the radio is so bland that it makes me anxious even though i don't even really have a music taste yet because i am 9 years old but what i do know is that this aint it
Pas mal dans mes écoutes les plus difficiles et inintéressantes. La basse après 2:15 est bien dans The Last Laugh Of The Laughter, mais c’est pas mal tout. Ça a beau être produit par Nigel Godrich, je n’ai aucunement envie de revenir à cet album.