The Man Who

*shrug* I had a nice time.

radiohead leftovers. I think this is the first album we've done where I both don't understand its inclusion and it felt like a waste of time

I do genuinely find something interesting in these sorts of failed sonic syntheses. Not even really giving credit to Travis, but it's like clearly intentioned and crafted in a way to strive for some sort of combination of influences that I just do not care about. Tries to do The Bends + OK Computer and ends up as 2000s U2 but much worse.

very post-radiohead but not in a way that i particularly liked

Wanna hear someone moan for almost 50 minutes straight? No, me neither.

a tom yorke wannabe?? no bueno

Really putting me to sleep here, but an okay album

Its alright...tonally there is not much variety, and it sounds very much of its time (both in good ways and bad). There are a couple of moments, but the musical and lyrical sameness of it all feels repetitive.

MacRadiohead

Very nostalgic listening. Its kinda just the end of the 90s britpop era in quite a nice way. I think Travis are quite an underrated band generally, even with this album being really big at the time. Can see where Coldplay got their ideas from...and then tried to do the same thing but shittier and more boring.

this album helped me answer a quiz question +1

The fact that someone thinks this album is must listen should disqualify the rest of the list. Lame attempts to sound like Radiohead and i don't like Radiohead! What is this inoffensive boring drivel. Nominated for British album of 30 years?! Skunk Anansie exists and every album washes this. Amongst albums from Britain it is one of them. Highest praise I can give it.

An ok album. Some great pop songs, some filler. Evens out to a slightly above average album that was an enjoyable revisit.

There is a lot of sadness in this album. Album's only 47 minutes but it felt MUCH longer. Realized that the last song is 10 minutes long - that probably slowed things down A LOT

Been a while since I had an album as boring as this one suggested. There's really just not much there to engage me as a listener. Yeah, it's fine, but really never gets better than that. I found it hard to keep focused on the music without zoning out. Occasionally there was a nice guitar line or something interesting that would pop up, just not frequent enough to make this a better listen. Between the music and the voice, the sound itself was somewhat familiar. At times it felt like Radiohead, at others like Goo Goo Dolls, and a few times like Blur or Oasis. Think of a late 90s/early 2000s adult soft rock band and you could probably hear something similar. In any of those comparisons, I'd be pretty confident that Travis/The Man Who would come out on the worse side. Unfortunately, the most interesting thing about this album is the mystery of the title. The Man Who... what, exactly? Wiki says it's taken from The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat. So I guess that's not that interesting, either. Overall: 2/5

The bridge between U2 and Coldplay, and that is not really meant as a compliment. Many of the songs are boring with questionable vaguely sad lyrics that get the job done but not much else. Travis really don't excel at anything besides being good for when you're taking a walking along city streets and are kind of sad. At least in my experience. Other than that, fine but nothing spectacular or overall noteworthy. Not bad, but not worth your time. Highlight (kind of) is Driftwood.

Soft elevator music. Nothing special about this.

More whiney hipster indy rock schlock. I guess this is on this list because it came out in 99, and every indie rock band for the next 10 years sounds like this. Not sure we should celebrate that though. 1/5

A few good licks

The opener is nice, but everything else is incredibly blend and just blends/melds together into a whole lot of nothing. Far too soft, like music you'd see in a mediocre rom-com during a montage of a character being melancholic over difficulties with their partner... Or, like, a movie parodying such tropes. Too soft, too sauceless.

first album from this that I have no idea who the band or the album is or any of the songs on it 2 tracks in this album sounds like my dream wife would be deliberating whether this was her favorite album or something from oasis or like, something from blur, britpop in general getting a bit of (midwest?) emo from this too ngl uh is there gonna be music in this outro? - oh there is and the hidden outro is the best part of the record Immediately after this I went into The Invisible Band and that one just impressed me more, sorry but this is meh

Ok

This sounds like Radiohead lite. I really disliked it for the same reasons I dislike Radiohead.

Easy listen but no stand outs for me.

Good

Not one of my favourite acts from the era, to be honest. There's something a bit self-congratulatory about them, a bit smug - it's pleasant enough sounding indie-pop but it is nowhere near as clever or as profound as you get the impression they think it is themselves. Melodic and well-meaning, but ultimately a fairly shallow experience so far as I am concerned.

I'm a 19 year old white girl so I'm a sucker for shit like this

An intensely "late 90s alt-rock" sound. Which, of course, was all the craze way back when. The singer has that clear, bell-like, boyish vocal quality you hear all over the place, from Muse to Green Day to everyone in between (or at least those who started making music around 1999). Everything is produced in a way that solidly resembles some of the 60s/70s stereo mixes. One big negative is that the "breakdowns", when they show up, are extremely tempered to the point of being underwhelming. And once you notice this, you're left craving *any* semblance of harshness, of grit, of distortion. Travis's stuff, at least in 199, is too gentle to compete with the likes of Kid A and Californication and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The songs Luv and Slide Show are complete misses for that reason. She's So Strange comes close to missing too. The album opens with Writing To Reach You, an optimistic tune with a fairly memorable melody. Then there's the more introspective, moody tune The Fear. This track has some solid drumming in the left ear and two interwoven guitar parts in the right. I'm uncertain about the validity of the extremely harsh cut-transition into As You Are – unlike I Want You (She's So Heavy) / Here Comes The Sun, Travis's music hasn't really earned the right to this yet. Fortunately, As You Are is a cute mellow track (if very slightly dull) with a nice vocal buildup partway through. Where the album really picks up steam, though, is the bright, sparkly tune Driftwood. To be clear, I have no idea what the lyrics of this song are about. Something about drifting under bridges and having mild relationship regrets. The main appeal is the singing, guitar, and weirdly psychedelic instrumentals that break up the verses/choruses. The Last Of The Laughter is fine but suffers heavily from the problem I mentioned above. By track 5 of 10, we're looking for something that seriously pushes boundaries, and Indian instruments with a mild-temperament vocal won't quite do that. The following track, Turn, is better – indeed, one of the strongest so far. Great poppy guitar lines in that one. The hit single Why Does It Always Rain On Me? upholds the cliché that if exactly one track has strings, that track is the hit single. And, I mean, this song could've done without the strings and it would have been just as solid. 3/5 Key tracks: Driftwood, Turn, Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

Not usually into this style, but this is a surprisingly solid collection of songs.

First time hearing the full album (although I know and love the singles). I know it's not pushing the boundaries of music but I really like it. (I've added an extra star for nostalgia.)

Better than I remember (back when). I've always downgraded Travis (I compare them unfairly to contemporary musicians I liked better...). Better than 3 stars, not up to classic...4 appreciative stars.

One of those bands who deserve more recognition. Pure talent

Very close to rating this a 4, truly a solid listen

my high school me would have loved this!

Whiny, soft-ass, U2-wannabe garbage. Sorry, not sorry, Travis. 2

It was fine, nothing too interesting Standout song: Driftwood

My buddy told me this inspired coldplay. I see it. Enjoyable but relatively boring.

Enjoyed it

Britpop som er lidt mere introspekt og følsomt end Oasis, Blur osv. det er ikke ligeså macho. Første tanke er at det igen lyder meget som Radiohead ligesom sea change og hushjælpende om det ikke er samme producer også. Det har bare sådan en reverb klang og rund lyd hvis man kan sige det sådan. Og det er som om vokalen også minder om thom Yorke på en eller anden måde. Af de tekster jeg læste synes jeg ikke der var noget specielt åbenbart. Men jeg synes lyden er virkelig virkelig god så den får alligevel 4.

Okay!

It’s like a one ok rock

Some catchy hooks but I did not need to listen to this before I died.

I used to be an aspiring musician. It's albums and artists like this that made me quit. Realistically, this album is far better than anything I could have ever done. Good production, good musicianship, good vocals, etc. And yet it's just so blah. Why would I bother making music that isn't even as good as this not very good music?

The leap that took place from yhe previous album Good Feeling to this is remarkable. Good Feeling was just that upbeat songs of youthfulness, whereas The Man Who is the sound of a band that has matured and found their groove. In my view this is one of the great albums of the nineties. Yes the singles are highlights (especially Writing to Reach You), but that should not detract from the other tracks that hold their own. I love how Slide Sliw cites other great travks of the time. And hidden tracks dont get much better than Blue Flashing Lights. They subsequently suffered from the Coldplay comparisons, but Travis and in particular this and The Invisible Band deserve far more recognition.

I remember when this album came out, as my mum used to play “Why Does It Always…” like the song would cease to exist if she didn’t. I didn’t overly rate it then and, listening now, it doesn’t do much more for me. However, the “hits” are truly majestic - “Turn”, in particular. I had forgotten how beautiful the chorus is. The rest of the album is just all that indie guitar music that never really does much for me.

I really enjoyed this. So many classic singles (including my favourite, Turn) and the album tracks are good too. I have always liked Fran Healy's voice just never listened to a full album. I don't really have a lot to say about the record though. They write an excellent pop-rock hook and as a result these sings are very catchy. I imagine they have also attracted a lot of complaints from non-Brits about "more shitty britpop on the generator" despite this not being Britpop. If so, it's their loss. 4/5

Un clásico de principio a fin. Una banda que, como Keane o Doves, cae bien y cuyas canciones son tan sencillas como tarareables en cualquier momento, salvo la oculta "Blue Flashing Light". "Writing to Reach You", "Driftwood", "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" y sobre todo "Turn". Este es mejor que The Invisible Band pero los dos son igual de disfrutables. El agotamiento (y el terrible accidente de Primrose en la piscina) pusieron en duda la continuidad de la banda, pero a día de hoy siguen publicando discos estupendos.

Pretty decent soft rock album.

I thought I remembered all of this album, but apparently not!

++: As You Are, She's So Strange +: The Fear, Why Does It Always Rain on Me?, Slide Show / Blue Flashing Light +-: Writing to Reach You, The Last Laugh of the Laughter, Luv -: Driftwood, Turn 4,2/10

Well the first half of the album wasn't that bad but the 2nd half is something I hate.

Its like.. worse Oasis.

Just…no.

It's perfectly fine, but gives me a whole "yes, we have Radiohead at home" vibes

It was fine. Some good songs, nice mellow vibe, many songs forgettable but all sounding pretty solid.

So nice. Seems weird that I’ve never listened to this before.

Really good though not memorable, will revisit 3.8

This feels like what I imagine Radiohead would sound like if they were forced to fit a pop mold. Less edgy and interesting.

Plääh ⭐️⭐️

Solid tunes

Less depressed Radiohead.

No. 112 just kinda soft rock stuff, kinda catchy background music.

Right up my alley. Really enjoyed this one!

Not particularly not worthy to my mind.

Hipster with some really dumb lyrics. 2.2.

Overall Rating - 3.30/5 (6.60/10). Very Oasis like sound. Solid album.

One of my favorites of the nineties, early 2000's

Sentimental yet curiously familiar

Didn't enjoy it first time and no better now. Not even saved by the Ealing connections

I used to really like this album but maybe more for when it was in my life than the album itself. A few really good tracks but quite a lot not.

Prefer my melancholy to be of the intimate, rather than stadium, variety. But not a bad outing. An average 3*

There shouldn't be a Travis album on the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. That's just a fact. But its not terrible. Just forgettable. 2.6/5

Eh, it was OK, but nothing special

Pretty melodies. Unfortunately this album came during a string of lukewarm albums. Ready for more energy. There is good fodder here for livelier covers though.

Wants to be Radiohead

Enjoyed it.

Not bad, but again, not a mind scrambler.

A lesser version of Coldplay

2,9 Highlights: Turn, Why Does It Always Rain On Me

I wanted to like it, but in the end felt it was just ok. I liked Luv and Driftwood, but otherwise I thought the vibe was a little too "flower petals in the wind". Unfortunately a little too low energy and milk toast for me over all :/

radiohead meets keane and they sound great

Starts off great - but really tails off about halfway through

Not really my vibe, way too long to listen to the whole thing

Was fine but sounded similar to a lot of the other albums on here

Fine I guess lol

gives radiohead vibe

I really liked Why Does It Always Rain On Me! Other than that, it was meh.

Not necessarily something I needed to know about, let alone listen to

to put it plainly... ass and a half

Well done but too beatlesque for me. Not really pushing new ground.

I can’t help but love this album. I listened to it many times in my teens and it feels like a warm hug from an old friend.

It’s like somebody asked Radiohead to do Coldplay songs. Can’t say I’m digging the result.

Better second time around. Too sleepy for morning listen.

Dull.

I liked it. The hidden track at the end was my favourite 👍

sounds like autumn. and i dont like autumn

Another fun gem. When the album went into the long quiet period followed by the "hidden song" I was like "This has to be around 2000 and it was ... oh those sneaky turn of the century artist

Not bad, good songs. Listenable. Little slow and melancholy at times.

One of the most mind-numbingly boring britpop albums I’ve heard so far. They all souns almost exactly the same

Good

Not great

A fine sounding album. It sound a few years ahead of its time, and I probably would like it more if there weren’t 1000’s of albums that sound like it made over the next 15 years. Why Does It Always Rain On Me sounds like a classic tune though, and is the highlight here.

Really cool album! I'm not familiar with their other work, so maybe I'm not biased. The songs are very lucid and the album flows nicely. Might go up in the future, but a solid:

ähm das isch sochli poppigers radiohead da isch jo super?!! as you are zb suuuuper song, s tönt alles irgendwie chalt aber warm? ich han nöd würklich chöne notize mache aber bin hert positiv überrascht ha nonie ghört vo dene und sie sind huere guet, meega schöni songs! ok sie hend mi chli verlore. glaub mues es vieri geh wellsmer würkli gfalle het.

d gitarre het chli oasis vibes? ok aber sehr vill weniger oompf oke jz erinnerets mich chli ah radiohead ohni di weirde element finds bis jz sehr schön und sanft aber halt glichzitig auchli seicht puuh why does it always rain on me isch ja so DE song und de refrain isch na cute aber alles andere reeecht langwilig han jz no d live performance gluegt vo glastonbury und han ghofft, dass ich d emotione meh chan nahempfinde aber🤷‍♂️ aber er chan gueet singe live! gääääähhhnnn NÄÄIII nöd na die schnulzig lagerfür-schnurregiige😭😭😭das isch ja fast scho e parodie vo so ballade luv isch gad echt e einzigi tortur gsi natürlich nomal churz schnurregiige und en fade-out😍 ja jaaa ich bin gemein hahahah de hidden track isch na easy gsi aber puuh das isch en tough listen gsi ich find die allgemein atmosphäre echt na herzig und schön aber als album hanis immer langwiliger gfunde writing to reach you isch echt na cool zB! ahfangs es 4i, kämpft das arme album jz um es 3...entscheidmi morn

Very good album will come back

Travis was always nice-listening pop music for the background and so is this album. I do enjoy it, but I'll most likely forget about it soon.

- ihan hyvää mussiikkia, mutta nää on varmaan jäänyt ampaisematta aivan mielettömään suosioon siks et meillä on parempia samantyylisiä bändejä

radiohead-lite. for when the bleeps and blips are just too much for the MOR inclined. it's fine. it’s for high schoolers.

Weak-ass shit made me angry.

Idc

Inoffensive, not memorable

“So I’m sorry that you turned to driftwood But you’ve been drifting for a long long time” “The Man Who” is a super easy listening chilled out post-Britpop album. There isn’t a huge amount of thematic depth or musicality to sink your teeth into but I didn’t really dislike any of it. It is a tad dreary and morose throughout but if that’s the vibe you want to sit in for 40 minutes or so without thinking too hard about it then this does the job nicely. “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” is a pretty great pop song but is also the only thing that really hooked me in any meaningful way. Can’t knock it particularly but I’m unlikely to revisit the album as a whole.

Mind-numbing. I don't even like Radiohead that much, but at least they had the decency to experiment. These guys have kept Thom Yorke's deeply annoying voice, but none of his creativity that makes it somewhat justifiable

I enjoyed this.

Reminds me of a lot of other music, some of which came before this and some of which came after. Maybe it’s derivative, maybe it’s innovative, maybe it’s just another navel-gazing alt-rock album. I especially hear Radiohead; their influence is all over this. I suppose that happens when you share a producer with ‘OK Computer’. I didn’t outright dislike it. I liked the melody for “Driftwood” a lot, and I can see why “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” was a hit. It’s immaculately mixed and produced. The lead vocal performance is strong. It just didn’t move me and sometimes elicited a type of annoyance, like when you hear someone being loud and wrong in a bar but you have no reason to correct them.

Worthy but dull.

nice safe album with a couple of hits on it

Travis is not resonating with me 1/10 songs added

Feels like this 😿

actually quite peak peak peak 5 / 10

3.5

5.5/10 Coldplay did it better

Sounds a little bit like Oasis, sounds a little bit like Keane, sounds a little bit like nothing. Not very surprised I haven't hear of this band before, but it's not unpleasant. Actually, the further I get, the blander this sounds. I am still listening through, but I've already forgotten it. Why is it here? I guess it doesn't offend my ears.

This album could survive a nuclear bomb, that's how safe it is. Musical equivalent of sorting your colours and your whites. -100 points for giving "people whose favourite game is FIFA" plenty of ammo to sing at karaoke.

Didn't do anything for me. Just felt kind of average indi that's interchangable sound

I thought this was a pretty solid album to listen straight through. My favorite song was Driftwood and Shes So Strange. This wasnt my favorite album from Travis (12 memories) but it was still pretty good nonetheless.

After yesterday I thought I would have to start reconsidering my 90s music dislike. No I'm still correct. GOD I'm so bored. (Why Does It Always Rain On Me slaps, and I quite liked Slide Show)

Another Scottish band I havent heard from previously! This was an decent album- captured a lot of the pre-indie softer rock vibes of the lates 90s. A little reminiscent of Goo Goo Dolls with more of a brit sound. Overall- a good listen

Well, they're definitely Radiohead fans. To bad they can't write good lyrics.

Not bad, but also not a super exciting record.

Meh... It's definitely from the UK

niet mijn smaak, niet afgeluisterd oeps

Muy bueno

It was okay, sounds very 1999 if that makes sense. Sorry Travis.

Bit samey, but some enjoyably melancholy vibes

Ok, nothing standout, nothing offensive. The album cover kinda gives me vibes of those bands that you know their name but aren’t sure which songs they sing like Arctic Monkeys or Imagine Dragons. The songs are very low-key, like Coldplay but no anthems. Good for background music. My one issue is the last song has a “hidden track” which is accomplished by just having like a 3 minute silence before another song starts. I think that’s silly and annoying, so it takes it down a peg

Fine. A little boring. Made me want to listen to James instead to see if I still liked them.

There’s nothing wrong with this album but there’s nothing much to it. It just kind of is. Like a window or a mannequin.

It was fine.

Poor man's OK Computer

A one star rating, for me, means that I actively could not wait for the album to be over, and I'm honestly surprised an album this boring and seemingly harmless can even rise to that level. This one exists in the same uncanny valley as would a bad AI attempt to create a song out of the worst, most quintessentially 90's qualities of Radiohead, U2, Coldplay, Oasis, and the like; the elements are there, but without even a modicum of human creativity. Instead of fading into the background, the beigeness of it all somehow managed to make me increasingly anxious and irritated as it dragged on. We get it already—the author listened to a lot of albums in Britain in the 90s/2000s, and apparently enjoyed the experience.

I had to check that OK Computer came out before this (it did, 1997) otherwise I would have been wholly convinced Radiohead was stealing music. This came out two years after? Hmm… The band also doesn’t list Radiohead as a source of inspiration which I almost find more suspicious. Just deflecting that the sound is so similar. “Is it?? What a coincidence!" It’s not bad though. 2 stars only bc it’s not unique and I hate white UK boys who love Radiohead.

Nice Oasis reference for a post-Oasis band. This is totally innocuous. It feels like the soundtrack to Dawson's Creek. The French lyrics are as stupid as the title of The Last Laugh of the Laughter. It always rains on you because you're a whiny bitch. Luv has a Radiohead quality to it that I like but it still feels a little bit like a kid dressing up as daddy. This band feels like they heard Fiona Apple's cover of Across the Universe and decided to write some songs. Thank god for some car noises. Now a reference to Beck and another Wonderwall reference is not a good reflection on their songwriting. And it ends with car noises. A ten and a half minute ending track with found sound and a long gap between the first part of the song and the second is going to drop this album a full star. The song gap is a very 90s thing.

Very pleasant

I can’t believe this album is one I have to listen to before I die. Dull and soporific, I almost drove the car into a ditch.

The Man Who listens to Scottish rock music while drinking scotch on the rocks might be named Travis. This is a solid sophomore effort, lively with a slightly melancholy bent. I enjoyed the original enough to continue on and listen to the 20th Anniversary Edition, which was better than the original. The band, like a scotch improved with age. Best song was the second part (after the long pause) of Slide Show. (3.6*s) Will check out their singles album before the completion of this project

Never heard of him but Travis is the man who slowed down. This is a crawler of an album but it's decent. I get some early Radiohead vibes but not quite on the same level. "WDIAROM" is a nice but dreary tune. The record would be good one to throw on if the weather outside is not ideal and you need a nap. I do like a little secret song, total 90s. I'll probably forget this one ever exists when done with the list...1.84 stars.

Wasn't overly impressed with The Man Who. In a vacuum I'm sure its a fine album but its a little too somber for my likings. I feel like these guys tried to take a page out of Radiohead's catalog but didn't quite stick the landing. Why Does It Always Rain On Me was probably the song I enjoyed the most. A couple others weren't bad but most of it fell kinda flat and didn't really move the needle. There may be a time and place for this, but I'm not sure I want to be there for the most part. I don't know Travis, not sure I want to get to know him. 1.82 stars

Meh

A Radiohead placebo, masked by Matchbox 20, pop styling.

The Man Who didn't want to listen to this album... Spoiler: It was me.

Some decent songs and my wife called it a 5/5 but too many misses and the gaps on the last song are pretty annoying

Its a good musician for sure. Nice album very balanced and a good mix of indie with rock. Reminded me of Radiohead and Muse on downers. Good lyrics good harmonies, good composong, great overall

Bisschen langweilig

Ugh. Weak, uninspiring, insipid indie nonsense. Look, it's fine as background music but this is not something you have to listen to. I wasn't a massive fan at the time and I've probably mellowed a bit since but I still wouldn't choose to listen to this.

Pretty mellow album à la Keane, Oasis. I like the smooth voice for this rainy day.

- I listened to Travis a lot when the first couple of albums came out, but it’s been a while. - I find the album less enjoyable than I did when it was fresh (I think I like the subsequent album more than this one), but the production is nice and clean, and I still think there are lovely melodies on here (the 4 hits & Slide Show, but unlike all the praise for it in the reviews, I don’t like the hidden track). The other tracks are considerably less interesting and bring this album down. I especially dislike Luv and She’s So Strange. - The really gentle singing can work, but it is a lot for a full album - I just wanted some more grit or energy. It’s super one-note (pun not intended, lol) and lacks variation or expression other than just kind of melancholy, weak, and whiny. - The filler and lack of variation brings it down to a 2.5, but I’m bumping it up to a 3 because of nostalgia and because it’s refreshing that the band seems like it’s probably made up of nice people.

I bought the Writing to Reach You single that preceded this album and still think it's the best thing here. The next two singles Driftwood and Why Does It Always Rain On Me? made them massive but didn't really do anything to persuade to rush out and buy the CD. Saw them live on the tour of the next album and they were great live but they faded out soon after and haven't really thought about them much since then. It feels like they were a stepping stone between Oasis and Coldplay at the turn of the millennium but they were at least an alternative to Robbie Williams. Also fun side note, yesterday the generator gave me Odelay by Beck and I had completely forgotten there's a lyric on here that says "There's no Devil's Haircut in your mind". Wonder if I can get some more satanic imagery for my next selection?

Sounds like if Radiohead, Muse and Oasis had a kid.

This was nostalgic for me, I owned this album as a 15 year old. I sang along to the melancholy tunes.

Surprisingly quite an enjoyable listen on a gloomy morning.

Typical melancholy 90’s sound. Good.

Painfully inoffensive. This can only be on this list as an example of the worst aspects of the brit pop hype.

I can't really figure out why you'd want to include this in such a list. It's pretty aggressively fine, couple of hits aside. Bargain bin Coldplay (I don't actually know who came first, not looking it up)

Snooze fest

Boring and sad

I really don't understand the appeal of putting minutes of dead air in the middle of your song. Who gets to that point and goes "ah thank you, I needed an intermission from this song". Was gonna rate this a 2 just based on the sad, boring, and whiny music itself, but I guess the "addition" of random pure silence gives me a good reason to go all the way to a 1.

easy to work to music but not really my preferred sound.

The 5est of 5s

Completely inoffensive. You could play this all day in Budgens without upsetting the shoppers. Yet another 1990s album that doesn’t merit attention.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

I expected this to be a dull listen based on the cover, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It is not an album I see myself revisiting often, but it never felt like a chore to sit through. The opening track, "Writing to Reach You", sets the tone perfectly and immediately pulls you in. "The Fear" follows it up nicely with another laid-back, soft rock vibe that works well. Not everything landed for me though. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me", despite being the album’s most popular track, just does nothing for me personally. Overall, "The Man Who" by Travis is a solid, relaxed listen that exceeded my expectations, even if it did not fully win me over. 8/10

# Album Name: The Man Who # Artist: Travis # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: Wow, this one has really aged. Took me back to the 90s straight away. 4 great tracks surrounded by very average stuff. Low 4 # Top Tunes: Writing to reach you / driftwood / turn / always rain on me # Would I listen to it again? yes

I probably could have died without hearing this, but it was alright *shrug*

indie rock triste e malinconico ma piacevole

Insipid.

I looked it up and there were twenty million or so antidepressant prescriptions filled in the UK in 1999. Maybe that number doesn't mean anything (obviously it's higher now) but it's the sort of thing you find yourself wondering about while listening to Fran Healy's laconic vocals - I can't tell whether his flat affect is a symptom of depression or a side effect of the meds. I can hear why this bummed-out collection resonated so much at the end of a century in which, to misquote Thatcher, the decline of a great nation was semi-successfully managed (the "No Surprises" glockenspiel rip on "As You Are" is a dead giveaway). And maybe I have no right to talk as an American watching my own country do more or less the same thing, only louder and stupider and on a slightly different timeline (as is our wont). But it's telling that it's only on the hidden track, "Blue Flashing Light" - a tale of drunkenness and domestic violence that spills out onto the lawn - that the boys sound like they give a shit.

Good album. Very mellow. No bad songs. They have a nice sound reminiscent of Radiohead.

"Everyday I wake up and it's Sunday". Good thing I'm listening on a Sunday. My favourites were Writing To Reach You and Why Does It Always Rain On Me? The hidden track was one of the best ones for me, too. Also, what's up with these guys and Wonderwall? It was mentioned three times during the album.

This is another album which you can guarantee will be on the CD racks of UK charity shops for sale cheap. An indication perhaps that it was once a popular album but owners quickly tired of it. Bit like me because I still have the CD. Back in 1999 when having relationship problems the track Why Does It Rain On Me? was adopted by me as a song I could really relate to. A fact not only still remembered by me but also some work mates who regularly remind me now in a jovial way. I haven’t played the complete CD since then until today. I now feel detached from it so it was like listening for the first time. Unlike a lot of others apparently, I won’t be donating the CD to charity as that track does still have some poignancy to me. 3/5 20/12/25

Pretty good, would listen to more

Well done Travis!

Tracks are an examination of melancholic disillusionment, the feeling is relatable, but the album is otherwise uninteresting.

Boring indie rock. 2/5

Decent

Lovely, but unremarkable.

i really liked this.

3 out of 5. Literally a middle of the road album for me.

A day after I commented that Fifth Dimension by The Byrds is edgeless, I get served up the absolute pinnacle of milquetoasity. This sounds like Rufus Wainwright without the ambition and creativity. Next to these guys Fifth Dimension sounds like a John Zorn/Captain Beefheart collaboration.

I only knew two Travis songs before listening to this album. At first I found it a bit bland but it grew on me (like the Byrds did years ago).

2.7 The phrase "old sad bastard music" from High Fidelity springs to mind. I actually remember this coming out, I absolutely loved Why Does it Always Rain On Me as a 10 year old for some reason and had the single on cassette tape. Quite a few other songs sound very familiar so I wonder if they were on the same single or if they were repeatedly played on Radio 1. Anyway, listening back 26 years later (jesus) I'm quite disappointed. At best it's the dreary side of Radiohead, at worst it's pretty inconsequential and forgetful music from yet another 90s Brit rock act that appears on this list.

*Not bad but nothing that got me overly excited. Became too slow and depressing towards the end.

Sounds like some dollar store radio head knockoff.

Another boring brit pop record. Could not think of a more boring sounding record that you can skip before dying. There are maybe one or two decent singles (Turn) that's dramatics are not enough to elevate this record at all

Totally fine. To me it was like it paint dried was an album. I guess that was the point of the album, but I don't know why it was on the list. Barely noticed it was playing. Barely noticed that it ended. 2/5

They're wannabe Radiohead right? Not list worthy, yet more UK bias on the list

Soothing

ein wunderbares album voller songs mit herzblut, melancholie und melodie. war höchste zeit wieder einmal Travis zu hören.

Und da taucht plötzlich ein Album aus meiner Sammlung auf und ich frage mich wieso es plötzlich auf mich niederregnet. Und warum dieses und nicht die anderen, besseren in dieser Sammlung landeten.

8.0/10

Quand tu lis "pop rock alternative independant", tu sais que tu vas écouter un truc globalement mou et très mid.

Wimpy

There’s a parallel world where Fran Healy marries Gwyneth Paltrow and ends up doing terrible pop songs with the Chainsmokers. Alas, there was only room for 1 on the beige megastar train. I will however defend Driftwood as pop-rock perfection.

This album was great... As a sleep aid. I had to turn it off in the car because I was falling asleep behind the wheel listening to it. I can't imagine a less interesting album. How was this even considered for the top album of the last 30 years in the UK? The music wasn't offensive or bad (which is why I gave it a two and not a one) Just really boring.

Slightly off-brand Radiohead. I don’t mind though. I feel like more powerful vocals could lift this to five stars.

Very listenable, but not particularly inspiring.

??? indie soft brit pop. c

I don't like this. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Safe ★★☆☆☆ (4/10)

this used to be very important to me at 17. I still listen to it. Musically it’s like a warm hug. Lyrics maybe more whiny than I remember. I am opder after all.

Yawn.. like a less interesting Coldplay or yellow card

Millennial music. 2/5

I hear bits of Radiohead mixed with some Rufus Wainwright, Blur, Oasis? 5/5

Cool, chill alt rock

Honestly wasn’t super pumped to listen to this one but came away pleasantly surprised. I somewhat recognized a couple of the songs probably cause of my Dad. Some of it sounded a little reminiscent of Radiohead which I liked. Some of it was a bit sugary and poppy for my taste but I like his voice and I like a lot of the melodies he chose. Definitely gonna go back to it.

Short for the man who wants everyone to see how mopey they are.

Så intressant att jag måste lyssna en gång till. Återkommer... vilka ackguror, det svävande soundet, och nästan radiohead-stämning i sången. Fantastiska! Femma

Sounds good for alt-pop-rock, but not my style

Quite nice, perfectly inoffensive, I kept getting distracted during it. The definition of a three.

the green album if rivers cuomo locked the fuck in

Very pleasant

It's like if Coldplay didn't suck.

Overall: 4/10 This is like if your friend Radiohead called you and said "I just had a baby with my boyfriend, Oasis!" so you go over to their house to meet the baby and you look at it and go ".....I mean, it KIND of looks like both of you, but its a bit ugly." Bland, boring and not worth your time. Fav Song: As You Are

This is a rock album… yeah it had some great moments throughout it but none of it is anything rememberable ? Nothing bad tho

This album screams like a fusion of Britpop and Radiohead, without having much redeeming value. It is such a drag, and really doesn't offer much.

Very good

Is it really that hard to not make rock boring as hell? Jesus fuck this album is pissing me off Oh wow now they're trying to be lolrandom just run me a bath man (in a nemzian sense) Oh? A Wonderwall reference? Shit begets shit I guess

Pretty good. Some standout moments but not really my cup of tea. I'd rather listen to Radiohead.

Great background music. Not great foreground music.

Paint drying

First listen I thought, this is some weak ass lameness. Second listen, wow, these are a lot of great songs. 4 is on faith that I'm going to continue growing in this one.

Scottish Oasis? Genuinely enjoyed this album, and it was funny that they mentioned " a wonderwall" in the track "Slide Show". Track picks for me are: "As You Are", "Driftwood", "Luv", and "Slide Show"

I really like what the instruments are doing on this album. The very beginning of The Fear has a cool synth(?) sound, the harmonica on Luv is sweet, and I like the contrast between the two sections of Slide Show. Honestly solid instrumentals on every song. The vocals don't feel super original/inspired (both in terms of vocal tone and lyrics) though, so this album isn't a home run for me, though I did enjoy it. Several of the songs remind me of Radiohead and Keane, two bands I'm a fan of, so I'm not mad about that. 7/10.

Cool album, I enjoyed the sound and cool to hear references to A Design For Life, Devil's Haircut, and Wonderwall in the chorus of Slide Show 7.5/10

Interesting getting this one right after the past 2 albums. These guys are also Scottish, but carry a totally different vibe from The Pogues, and have a very similar sound when compared with the Stone Roses, albeit this album coming 10 years afterwards. Very enjoyable easy listening pop rock, with that classic 2000s rock sound, with some standout songs such as The Last Laugh of Laughter, Luv, and Slide Show (with a cheeky little secret song after that long pause of silence). Kudos to Here4theSnacks for speaking out on secret songs, as I would usually just end it before letting the silence play out! Also fun fact, these guys named themselves after Travis Henderson. A character from the movie Paris, Texas, which I watched earlier this year back in Oakville with my roommates. Really, really great film. Would recommend if y'all are every looking for an oldie to watch with a great storyline, and superb cinematography. 3.5 stars rounded up, due to some of the songs really hitting for me. 7.5/10

Ah perfection! Wonderful album, wonderful band.

Generally a pretty solid album - I particularly enjoyed Driftwood and Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

My sister had this on CD when I was 13 or so. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I actually enjoyed this. I don't know that I've listened to it for 20+ years. Coldplay, but better, before Coldplay existed? 3 stars for the music, plus 1 for nostalgia value.

This a comfort album for me. Heartfelt jangly guitar pop. Yes, it's heavily indebted to Radiohead for its style and sound, but much less intense.

It’s not remarkable, but it’s not nearly as bad as the initial reviewers suggest. It’s like a real watered down Radiohead or Coldplay.

Album with microtone,must acknowledge that this album made a great and sadness atomsphere,still UK Rock style

Pointless and derivative, but thankfully not in a painful way.

Some good tracks but doesn’t really engage me

Really good 3/5 album probably the most 3/5 out there

This is like when you get in an Uber and try to orient yourself with the bad music that’s playing and you realize it’s weird Jesus Christian music. But actually this is worse because it sounds like that and it isn’t weird Jesus Christian music.

About as exciting as doing laundry, and sadly now spotify thinks I want more milquetoast with my breakfast

3.5

A very nice brit-pop band with chill alternative sound. The song "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" is very good and I've added it to my playlist. The album as a whole is good coffeeshop vibes. I disassociated through most of it while I worked but I don't have anything negative to say about it. It deserves a solid 6/10.

Very enjoyable smooth listen.

this album was painfully average for me. nothing bad about it at all, but nothing that particularly stands out either. i’ll likely revisit it every once in a while but to me it just sounds like a typical alternative record from the late 90’s/early 00’s. but sometimes that’s exactly what i need, so i guess mission accomplished?

Sounds good once you get past the one hit song. I like the hidden track

Sure it’s nicely produced, and the vocals are tremendous but this album wasn’t it for me.

This was really, really pleasant to listen to -- but, I'm realizing that that's sort of the point. Sort of a more mass-appealing Radiohead vibe, which I guess is why I like it -- but, thinking about it more, I don't know if there's enough going on here to rate it much higher. Superb vocals, though. Fave tracks: - Writing To Reach You - The Fear - As You Are - Turn - Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Luv - She's So Strange Edit: actually screw all of you, I love this. I know this is kind of simple, but damn it tugs at my heartstrings and making something as totally beautiful and relistenable as this takes some freaking doing. A strong 4. And yes, I'm white. Whatever.

You know those house sales websites (RightMove, Zoople, Zillow, etc), and a majority of houses are in greige? That weird mix of grey and beige that is totally not offensive, but tried to avoid scare the buyers with the possibility of a colour that a viewer might hate. In everyone of those greige houses, Travis' "The Man Who" is playing. Same reason. Indifference and inoffensiveness turned up to up to 12.

Dit ging van slaapverwekkend over slaapverwekkender tot slaapverwekkendst

Partly really nice. And then simply holes in between.

Why Does It Always Rain On Me? //

Obligatory statement that this is very much one of the 600 or so albums that are on this list due to being released in the UK between 1995 and 2015 because Robert Dimery. I'm hearing the first track and I think to myself "They took just the first 3/4ths of Wonderwall here and then the audacity for the lyrics to say "what is a wonderwall anyway?". Then I hear the track 'As You Are' and am thinking about how this came out only two years after OK Computer. Come on now. Maybe it's a personal hangup that I expect bands on the list to occupy their own discrete space, like expectation that there is no redundancy since the real estate of 1001 is so limited. This album is very competently constructed and engineered but it just gives off vibes of 'We Have Radiohead At Home'

wow this one was absolutely ass. whoever even added this album to this list needs to be checked out. this feels like some kind of radiohead fan album but with way more embarrassing songwriting and worse production. if i absolutely was forced to give them credit for a single thing, i'd say that the actual production of the album can be pretty okay in some small bits, but that enjoyment is almost instantly sapped away the moment i hear any lyrics. standout tracks: 💀

Decent. Kinda bland.

The perfect album I’d recommend to a woman if I were a performative male/male manipulator. Overall, it’s a good alt album full of love songs.

gives radiohead vibes Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: maybe 3.4

Awesome!

i genuinely wonder how some of these albums are chosen. like are we fr ts is such a nothingburger slop snore bore fest. just listen to radiohead or coldplay or literally any other post-britpop band and theyll be more interesting. these dudes cant write a melody thats catchy or interesting for the life of them. the singer is doing his best thom yorke impression and failing. and there isnt even a single riff on this entire album?!!! whats the point of this, at least coldplay and radiohead know how to write smthn that sticks. this is slop!!!!!!!1 1.5/5

As a Scotsman, I perhaps have an innate sort of semi biased affinity for Travis. They are certainly not the type of band I would usually consider to my tastes. But there is just something so real, authentic and tender about their music. Its hard to put my finger on it. But I think the songs are legitimately catchy and well written. They are certainly impeccably produced. Ive heard Why Does It Always Rain On Me about 1000 times and it still hits every listen. A real singalong highlight. Same with Driftwood and Turn. Writing To Reach You feels melancholic and sort of profound in a cold early morning stroll sort of way. There's not a lot going on, the chords are simple enough, but the melodies are blissful and the tracks float slowly from one ear to the other and soothe the soul. Yes, there are a few slightly weaker tracks but i wouldnt go as far as to call them filler, each song does offer something. Favourite tracks- all of the aforementioned named ones. 9/10

Brit pop was really big when I was a kid. Every band took a different aspect of British life close to heart. With Oasis it was British Invasion rock and roll and Madchester drugs. For Blur it was sophisticated rock with pop sensibilities like Queen or Pink Floyd. Pulp sang danceable working class hymns and Suede went for androgynous repressed sexuality. Travis, I guess, decided to play out the grey boredom of English life. This is so dull. Even when they try and reach some emotional crescendo it’s done in the dullest of ways. Throw it in the bin.

Good. Listened to in background. Will listen again

It was fine

Britpop’s slow decline and eventual end left a huge vacuum for music fans of a certain kind. Meanwhile, Radiohead fans were so desperate for new material we would take seriously anything Nigel Godrich recorded, especially if it was a UK band. Enter these 4 well-meaning Glaswegians. With a sound that ranged from High and Dry to Fake Plastic Trees, Travis were one of several bands ready to be The Bends version of Radiohead. Melancholy, but not alienated, accessible, but not a cover band, they could even kinda rock live, briefly picking up the britpop banner Oasis turned into a mountain of cocaine. Anyone hoping to hear less about the internal workings of Thom Yorke’s mind, let alone the IMF, were richly rewarded with universal slice of life observations about how tough life can be when things don’t seem to go your way for a little bit. Exit the materialist angst and pre-millenium anxiety of neoliberal Great Britain drawn in the form of a natural facsimile, enter how when I feel sad, really sad, it’s like I’m a piece of wood washed up on a shore innit?

8/10

I just got done listening to this album and I already have no memory of it whatsoever.

Before Coldplay, Muse, Doves, Snow Patrol, Starsailor, Embrace, or Keane, Travis were the probably the first post-Radiohead band. Focusing on slower and more instrospective songs, with more emphasis on pianos and string arrangements, rather than riffs or solos. Definitely not the best of this genre of bands, but not the worst either. Some great songs here, particularly the genre-defining ballad "Turn". Key tracks: Driftwood Turn Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

meh -- didn't care for this much at all. in the moment it reminded me of another group, but thinking back on it, i don't recall who came to mind?

To moody for my taste. Lyrics not relatable for me. Overall, not my sensibility.

This sounds like about 200 of the other albums that are on this list.

Not bad but not what I would usually listen to.

No thanks

I like this, but honestly there's a sense that they had 2 or 3 really solid tracks, and tried to improvise the rest of an album. First 2 tracks are solid, but then there's a huge dropoff until the end.

Surprisingly good?! I should listen to more of their music. Tracks to Track: Writing to Reach You

Melancholic medium drama guitar pop. Sounded a bit Coldplay in places but generally a listenable Travis album

I enjoyed it. I hear some Beatles, some early Radiohead. All with lesser song-writing than those, but it's a good sound.

Would listen again

Like quite a few albums on this list I think I need to be from the UK to really appreciate it. Don't get me wrong its ok, its not bad... I just don't live in a world where this is essential listening.

mid

beige

I was a college radio DJ when this album was released. We played the hell out of 'Why Does it Always Rain on Me.' Elements of this record sound reminiscent of later Scottish bands like Frightened Rabbit and We Were Promised Jetpacks, but with a softer, more Brit-pop adjacent sound.

Boring ripoff Coldplay, who are already ripoff Radiohead. Sounds like elevator music but with bad whiny pop punk vocals, but it it had heard ok computer once 3 years ago and is trying to describe it within that context

Me lembrou um pouco o Radiohead, e dizem que parece Keane, mas não consegui sentir. Mas achei legal Driftwood, Luv e She's So Strange

3+ Stars (9/15)

Kind of a sleeper band, a little bland but some nice (if not predictable) chord progessions. Not much to really love or really hate here.

109 Estuvo como la versión somnifera de coldplay. Nada malo, pero necesitaba como 10 espressos para ponerle atención.

Poo

Cover 6 Not very memorable, at least after first listen. All the songs kinda melded together.

There are parts that are fantastic. Some songs are just meh.

***An ok album. Easy listening

STOP IT

Day656 - i will always associate travis with coldplay. i heard yellow and why does it always rain on me around the same time

Pretty solid - flirting with a 4. Really like the rain song

This just sounds like Radiohead's album The Bends if it sucked and came out four years later

Only heard their big hit from this album before. Uh, once again a very random post-britpop era pick on this list. Feels like a watered down version of more famous bands of similar genre. It wasn't bad, just alright. But on one song I fully thought they're gonna start singing The Universal by Blur 2/5