Reviews (page 3 of 8)
Very good. Easy to get into the musical world this artist is creating. Coll effects, interesting musical direction and his voice keeps you in awe. Would listen again.
Decent
Vähän Radioheadmaista. Kivaa kevyttä rockia. Parhaat: As You Are, Why Does It Always Rain on Me?
It was pretty good. It kind of sounded like Oasis. The last song was pretty weird because there was like five minutes of just pure silence.
Vá. Þetta var alveg gleymt band. Ég hlustaði fullt á Travis og þar með talið þessa plötu í gamle gamle dage. Eldist þokkalega vel og nostalgían alveg í botni á meðan tónlistin leikur um eyrun og eitthvað meira gleðiblabla.
Previous Familiarity: Very High! One of my favorite albums! With their second album, Travis narrowed their scope from jangly Britpop to a full album of melancholy, but hopeful, breakup music. As the somber snow-field cover conveys, this is the perfect winter album to chill around the house with. Maybe read a book, cuddle with a pet, or just chill on the couch and think about how much you enjoy doing nothing at all. The simple yet poetic lyrics find their way on gorgeous melodies and yearning delivery. The arrangements are keenly sparse with great Britpop guitar flourishes when the mood strikes. It's an even keel of comfort for a wistful afternoon of romantic reflection. The only knock that I have on the album, other than it's lack of new ideas (though still, very well done) is it's closing hidden track "Blue Flashing Light". This harsh sounding tale of domestic violence --though poignant and true-- is well out of place. Barreling in after the 3+ minutes of silence that followed a beautiful acoustic closing track it totally takes the mood and turns it on it's head, leaving a very bitter taste. Definitely should have been left off. Quick note: I worked a lot a record store when this album came out, and I was OBSESSED. I told all of my friends and customers about it and even gave out my employee distro anyone that I could convince to but it. Ultimately it got me fired, but I still think it was worth it. If even one of those buyers liked it as much as I did. I did my job.
this was a nice little surprise. I actually enjoyed this album a fair amount. hits that sweet spot for a more melancholic side of rock.
Pleasant surprise! Love this era of rock
Sweet, sensitive, fin de siecle/aughty pop that's held up well, thanks to solid craftsmanship and prodcutio, plus-plus songwriting and excellent melodies. "As You Are," "Luv" and "She's So Strange" are one's fave cuts, with "Turn" and "Driftwood" also delivering charm a good bit above one's daily quota. This record meant alot back in the day and one's glad to be so pleasantly reunited with it.
The songs are pretty good, but they do sound quite similar
sweet
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Why does it always rain on me
A gentle, easy album with some lovely songs. There’s a reason some albums sell by the bucket load.
Forgot how good this was, and why I listened to it loads when it came out
A bit repetitive, but a few of the tracks are real sad boy anthems.
This is objectively a good album, with good standout songs, strong melodies, choruses and all the rest. It's quite soft and melancholic, and I understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea, but reading the top reviews on here it just reads like complete snobbishness. I guess it's just somehow cool to hate on it? Who knows? Fuck the haters, I like it.
The first song use the same riff as Oasis's masterpiece wonderwall, and in general they are in the same kind of music as them: Britpop. And in addition it has been named the second best brittish albums of the last 30 years (in 2010). It's classical britpop, alternative rock and all, the songs slow, emotional and hovering, the voice of the lead singer show it all. The cover is pretty cool, with the snow and all i like it. The fear is at the image of the album, with the same qualities, its probably my favorite. Why does it always rain on me deserved a credit his very powerfull chorus and his beautifulness are very pleasant to ear. Not much more to say to be honnest, very good stuff here, but nothing really print his mark on me
1999 Britpop Standouts: Why Does It Always Rain on Me, As You Are, Turn. Others: Writing to Reach You, Driftwood, Luv, She's So Strange. 3.75
Was kind of interesting
Not too bad.. a bunch of good songs with one or two great ones
Very chill vibes. I did not listen to the lyrics. Good background music for working. +1 for not being an English band. -1 for singing in French.
awesome very chill & cool
A bit like early radiohead
a good one
I wanted to like it more but there was just something lacking that I can't put a name to.
Solid 4. Driftwood is now stuck in my head.
1 song added, good album
Another purely nostalgic listen for me which holds up pretty well even after putting aside all the associated feelings I have of the time when I first enjoyed this. The released singles Writing to Reach You, Turn and Driftwood remain the standout tunes with somewhat haunting melodies and strum along guitars. I always felt Why Does it Always Rain on me to be a little too twee and that feeling hasn't changed over the years, though I recognise this is the tune that hooked the masses and fuelled the album's overall popularity. Probably I just heard it too many times. The remainder of the album acts as support to these tracks and whilst solid enough, harbour no hidden gems either, apart from maybe the hidden track after Slideshow which is a more boisterous nod to Travis less ballady past.
I think unfairly maligned as dreary; I like Travis as a great indie guitar band. Turn in particular is upbeat, some of the songs are a bit out of place here but there are multiple good tunes. 3.5
Easy album to listen to Pretty decent Between a high 3 and scratching a 4
Spennende
Very good album with some good songs
This is a great collection of songs.
Half great
Oh irony of ironies! Travis is EXACTLY what I was listening to instead of Oasis. Middle school Josh was also listening to Keane, the Shins and Radiohead at this time and they all sit together in my brain as points on an axis. Oddly my point of entry for them was Glenn Campbell's Sing cover. Outside of the Boy With No Name I generally listen to their hits instead of albums. They are like Elton John and Chicago in that respect for me - good for at least one big hit on each album but the rest tend to be a mixed bag. Directly comparing it to yesterday's record and the metal albums before it, I do miss Oasis's unrelenting energy; The Man Who isn't as cohesive of an effort - higher highs and lower lows. You have be down with a more melancholy and wistful mindset and have a higher twee tolerance. Definitely a winter feeling band for me, where Oasis is summer. There's a reason Writing to Reach You, Driftwood, Turn and Why Does it Always Rain on Me? have 20x the plays on Spotify haha. When they find a catchy hook, it REALLY clicks. When they don't, I find myself wondering where the song is headed and sometimes I don't get an answer. It's a shame the hidden track concept doesn't really translate to the streaming era. You either watch the bar move across your screen or just skip to 6:50 min into Slide Show when Blue Flashing Light begins, which I think is a worthwhile, really different addition. 3.5 is what I want to give it, but to balance out yesterday's 3 for a 3.5 I'll go 4 here for personal bias.
I really liked this when it first came out. Driftwood and Why does it Always Rain on Me seemed to be on the radio all the time. However, I don't think Travis ever really broke through commercially. Unfortunate because the songs here are really good. Strong melodies with good vocals in a smooth rock package.
Muy bueno Travis.
Els de canvi de mil.leni van ser dos anys màgics per Travis. Ni el disc anterior ni res de tot el que van fer després va estar ni de lluny a l'alçada, pero aquest 'The Man Who' i el posterior 'The Invisible Band' els van assegurar un lloc al podium etern del pop britànic. Aquí, cançons com 'Turn', 'Writing to Reach You', 'Driftwood' o 'Why Does It Always Rain on Me' els van permetre liderar, per poc temps això sí, la generació de bandes angleses que naixien amb el nou mil.leni (Coldplay, Muse, Feeder, etc)
I was working at Sam goody when this came out. I fell in love with it. I remember liking how the sound didn’t match the lyrics. Like, the songs about happy stuff sounded sad and vice versa. I also had recently made friends with the new kid at my high school who had lived here from England. I asked him if he had ever heard of Travis and was subjected to a lecture about dumb Americans and how much oasis sucked. That made me like it even more.
I think the huge success of Why Does It Always Rain On Me turned me a bit off this album. Song was okay, but not that interesting. The rest of the record is really good tho.
I'd written this band off based on their singles, there's some depth here
I have a soft spot for Travis. I consider them a guilty pleasure because they were part of that soft rock/singer-songwriter scene that was omnipresent at the turn of the century, and consequently received a lot of backlash for being a bit... bland. But there's definitely a place for a band that writes such consistently pretty and/or anthemic songs. I saw them a few years back and Driftwood still got everyone singing along as loud as any end-of-the-night staple. Hidden track Blue Flashing Light shows they've also got a more than decent rockier side to them that for some reason they mostly chose to suppress at this point in their career (their album 12 Memories, incidentally, is darker and legitimately excellent; I will defend that one without guilt).
Oasis-lite. I say that with as much positivity as I can muster, though. It's nothing groundbreaking, but I'm a sucker for pleasant vocals and jangly guitars. Didn't pay much attention to lyrics but they seemed a little basic. One thing I learned about myself during this listening project is that I actually do love Britpop. Huh.
Discazo. Lo tenía un poco olvidado así que ha sido un buen momento para volver a 1999. "Writing to Reach You", "The Fear", "Driftwood", "The Last Laugh of the Laughter", "Turn", "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" y para terminar oculta a partir del 6.48 de "Slide Show" está una de las que más me gusta del disco "Blue Flashing Light" se supone que se llama.
The genre 'post-britpop' sounded a little worrying, but thankfully this was a very pleasant listen. A well-written collection of songs
Finstämd pop. Bästa låt, Why does it always rain on me.
Prachtige album, past niet bij elke stemming overigens.
Dat was nog eens een fijne plaat!
In 1906 ging ik met een groepje mensen naar Torhout-Werchter. Deze mensen kwamen uit het hele land. Ik weet niet meer precies wat er gebeurd is, maar ik was te laat én had de toegangskaarten bij me. Door mij hebben mensen die erg van Travis houden, er maar een stukje van gezien. Dat is me nog jaren nagedragen. Enfin; mooie stem, mooie liedjes en mooie herinneringen.
I just like this kind of tunes. The last track was pleasant surprise.
4/5 for the album, 6/5 for Why Does It Always Rain On Me. Nothing is quite as mesemrising as this one song, but I'm still happy to get to know the band a little.
I’m fairly certain I gave this a few listens back in The day. It seemed to me that it hit the same time as Coldplay, but this predates a bit. Seems like Martin and Co. may have found their formula in Driftwood as it seems to inform the beast that became their machine. This is interesting though, more playful. A band not afraid to explore. It sounds an awful lot like the child of Radiohead (which makes sense given Godrich’s involvement) and Oasis.
It was a good listen
This album really confused me. I listened to it twice and I liked it but it’s different from most stuff I have heard.
So British it hurts 😁
Lo-fi lullabyes
I actually really enjoyed this even though it feels like they’re chasing Radiohead
I really needed some “kind” music today. And I got it. Nothing that was too discordant or going to tax my brain or make me feel overwrought. This is music that allows you to just drift along on the tunes, like flotsam. I knew every one of these songs without ever having played a Travis album. I’ve never felt the need to buy one or put it on a playlist, but every time I hear one of their tracks, it feels reassuring. Even when there’s a maudlin undercurrent as in ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ That’s just what happens in Britain - rain. They famously played that song at Glasto in driving rain. Cemented their reputation and legacy. Just lovely!
This was a favorite when it came out. Still is.
Better than expected!
Memories of my teenage years but great album. Loved listening again
This stands up a lot better than I expected it would. As per my memory of it, this album is full of melody, huge choruses, an emotive vocal performance and four massive singles. However, it is more intricate and interesting than I remember it being. You can definitely hear the Radiohead influence and it isn't surprising to read that both bands use the same producer, Nigel Godrich. Radiohead-lite with sing-along choruses = an excellent album. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Writing to Reach You Date listened: 31/01/23
A very accomplished album, I'm just not sure I believe the emotion in it.
Very solid listen. A bit of a mellow, "autumn" vibe. Enjoyable!
This album calms my anxieties faster than I thought possible. I don't know about anything technically incredible this album does, but the vibe is just incredible and that has to be worth something. Enjoyed the whole thing very much, except that the last track was split in two. 4/5
Quite surprising how well this has held up. Having loved the record upon its release, which coincided with a time of emotional turublence in one's life, one was waiting for an oversentimental sort of cringefest. But the sad songs ("As You Are," "Luv") are lovely and balanced, neither cloying nor treacly, but rather show a quite affecting and authentic vulnerabilty. "She's So Strange" is compelling, too. The winsomely catchy "Rain on Me?" and "Driftwood" are not as quite as strong but show a band capable of producing in multiple registers (in this case the most basically tuneful pop). "Turn" is quality, too. Callouts to contemporaries (Beck, Oasis, et al) in "Slide Show" add to the fun of the return to one's musical late-early adulthood.
Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed. Radiohead-esqe with elements of James and Oasis with less pretentiousness. None of which seemed like ripping off. Good lyrics and production too.
Yeah cool
Almost considered a 5 star, but that was based just because it's been awhile since we had one. Still solid
I thought this wasn't bad. I liked a good amount of songs. I would probably listen to a number of them again.
Enjoyed the singing, the lyrics and the chords. Solid 4, can’t believe I’ve never heard of them
great
Kaunis, miellyttävää kuultavaa. Huippu saavutettiin kuitenkin jo alussa. Mutta mukava yllätys!
I didn’t even know that post-Britpop was a thing lol But this isn’t bad, I like the musicianship and there’s solid songwriting abound. I don’t know if it’s a GOAT album, but I think it deserved to do a little better in the states. Man, I feel like I enjoy every Britpop act I’ve heard better than Oasis and Blur. Too bad those were the only ones to really catch on here. C+
Very melodic. Cool band that I had never heard of.
whoa good stuff
Never listened to these guys before. Cool album.
Mellow chilled
Ottimo per piangere, però in allegria
Actually kind of pleasant. Loses a bit of steam, but eventually won me back with the bonus track.
Zoetig. Voldoenend.
Si je compare à l'album de Coldplay que j'ai écouté récemment, je préfère celui-ci. Je réécouterais avec plaisir.
A Scottish introverted Oasis - I remember this album from when it was out and I used to like it a lot - it actually still holds up as a pretty collection of songs - however if I had to find it a fault it’s that it suffers from the same 90s album ailment - it could have done with fewer songs and it would have been a classic.
Good chill album
I was surprised how good this album was. This was a really fanatastic modern rock album. As you are was a great song. I would definitely like to listen to this one again 7/10
It’s just a lovely album of lovely songs. I didn’t give them enough love back in the day, but have grown into them!
A basis review being Scottish this is an album everyone I know owned. Personally I love this album but isn’t one I’d tell people they need to listen to before they die.
Ik moet nog goed luisteren, wat ik heb gehoord vind ik heel goed.
Never heard of this band bed but really enjoyed the music
I love the song“Why Does It Always Rain On Me” but never listened to the rest of this album. There was a little surprised in “As You Are” as it sounded almost early Radiohead to me. Very good album!
i haven't explored the possibilities of what sources call "post-britpop", but this was a very solid introduction. highlights i liked were the fear, driftwood, turn, she's so strange, and the hidden track. this guy's vocals are amazing, i think that these guys definitely have a 5 star potential, but this sticks at 4 for now.
Love this one. Laid back melodic indie pop/rock. Vocals are great
Absolute charmer of an album. The singles, in particular, are excellent 👍🏾
3.9⭐
Takes me back
Travis walked so Coldplay could fly. Was way into this album and The Invisible Band in middle school. Nothing extraordinary, but solid albums!
Travis are like that band you see on Rage on a lazy Sunday morning and think, that's nice. A hybrid of the Innocence Mission and Radiohead, or something like that. Moments of Damon Albarn drift through the vocals. There is really a lot to like here
It was a delight to be reintroduced to this little gem. This was on high rotation in a share house I was part of in Galway, Ireland in 2001. Good memories and lots of beautiful melodies from Fran Healy.
klasse
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.
I really enjoyed this. Very much of its time and era - feels understatedly influential
poppy radiohead-ish emo feels
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.
The vocals sound a lot like Radiohead. I liked it enough to order the album.
Wow this sounds like if Oasis and Aqualung had a baby.
Pablo Honey, but good, and without "thinking about you", so not that good 4
Pleasant enough.
This album takes me back to the 90s! Great nostalgia here.
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.
beautiful album ful of emotional ballads about lost souls in life i suppose
No bad songs on it, but feels lightweight now.
Judging by the cover I thought this would be generic late-90s pop-rock but I enjoyed this album more than I expected.
Steady listen at the time.
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.
Great Album that combines the best elements of early 2000s alternative rock and Brit Pop
Verging on a five but never quiet got there, lots of Radiohead and Bowie influence
It's not too much my vibe these days but this was an album I listened to a lot growing up, so nostalgia.
Very nice electric acoustic. "Driftwood" is an excellent song, which is why this is 4 and not a 3
New addition to my library. Somehow missed them on their original release.
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.
I had forgotten just how good this album was
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.
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.
Muy bueno Travis
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.
7/10
This was pretty good. Some nostalgia tracks
very okay sad boy music
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
4/5
1999; (Scotland) Post-britpop; Rock
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
A bit of Scottish romance and angst.
Has an air of less weird radiohead. Enjoyed it
Classic, late 1990s Brit Pop. Will have to give it a deeper listend beyond "why does it always rain on me"
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.
Never really heard anything by Travis apart from ‘Why Does It Always Rain on Me?’ but I was pleasantly surprised by this album. 3.5/5
I liked it a lot, kind of like American Football but via Radiohead. 4
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.
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.
Forgotten how good this was, well crafted indie pop songs
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.
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.
Hadn't heard before, some great songs! Very Radiohead like
Always a fan of alternative rock.
One of the better picks so far. Real indie feel to it. Definitely want to give it another listen!
A little slow and ballad heavy for my tastes, but there were some really great tracks on this one. Reminded me of Oasis.
Some great tracks on this - front of the album probably slightly stronger than the back, but an enjoyable listen.
Buen álbum
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
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 :)
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.
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
One of my all time favorites
I had never heard this one but really like this album. It is like a mix of Wilco and Muse.
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.
pretty cool
Majority songs were good
A lot of nostalgia caught up in this record.... stand college 1999.
I think I know a few of these tracks, but I don't believe I've ever listened to this album start-to-finish. Yeah, based on what I already knew, I'm not really into this. It's not bad, but it's just not my thing.
Not bad, not great.
Close to a 4. I don’t really like the Coldplay sound, but it managed to pull me in. I’d give it another listen before locking in my rating if I wasn’t playing catch-up.
Reminded me of a poppier Radiohead. Some pretty good songs and overall an enjoyable listen
I was wondering why I liked the instrumentals so much, and then it occurred to me that it was because they reminded me of radiohead. like a lot. a little too much. but the album itself was a pleasant listen that didn't really allow me to form too many opinions about it. i liked the vocals, didn't really listen to the lyrics, because again, radiohead. but it was a kind of... subdued album. would want to listen to this in the rain.
Fine, kinda boring
The Man who wrote an album and it sounded like another band but was just a pale imitation of that band. I was listening and started the second song and thought I was listening to the continuation of paranoid android but with just other lyrics. It’s not bad music and it sounds like other groups. I can understand why it’s here because it would resonate with people. The songs aren’t bad and what’s a wonder wall anyway.
I know some Travis, I have a 7" from their first album, but I never really got into them. As you are is like Radiohead lite, but it is still a great song. I knew the two popular songs, I enjoyed the listen, although i felt it dwindled a little bit towards the end., but ends well with the clever last song. Why does it always rain on me is the standout song 3.5 stars
Some nice stuff here.
Everyone seems convinced Travis were an early Radiohead facsimile. Maybe a few moments of the high register singing fit that but they sound a lot more old fashioned to me. Less post punk-lite than either early Radiohead or especially Coldplay. Whiffs of Gallagher and Lyle if you want an obscure geographically close reference point. I did my best to ignore them back in the day because in Scotland they were utterly fucking ubiquitous. Like it was your national duty to like them. This made them the utter and total anathema of 'cool'. If you were hanging out with punks it was equally your duty to hate them with a passion. I never really felt either way and listening now with distance is not unpleasant even though it is all way too one paced by the end. The Last Laugh of Laughter is a hilariously terrible title with an amusingly weak lyric. Also how did Mike Hedges get from the wild goth psychedelia of Hyaena by Siouxsie and the Banshees to the polite dinner party of here? One reviewer on this page is just a little too obsessed with who college girls fuck.
There were worse bands in the '90s brit-pop time. Travis sounds a bit like Radiohead, Keane, Suede and the like. Nothing really outstanding here.
Mostly forgettable.
It's not bad, I'd probably listen to it again. It's like Keane and Radiohead had a baby that never really lived up to either parent's legacy. Not something you Must Listen To Before You Die.
One of the stronger late 90s Britpop efforts to remake "The Bends."
I feel like after the Bends or at the very least okc, every britpop artist just wanted to sound like Radiohead. Can’t blame them, but this really just sounded like a cover band of a few britpop bands. That said, those covers were actually pretty good. Strong 3
Hardly deserves a place on the list. Middling radio friendly rock from the late 90s. Nothing innovative or unique. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.
Enjoyable for some quiet minutes while not thinking too much.
Standard indie fare
I will be honest as an American my first instinct when I heard these very earnest, kinda slow, kinda Coldplay-ish bands is to make fun of them. But I always end up enjoying myself more when I fight the urge and succumb to the waves of pleasantness.
sounds like music i’d find on an “acoustic fall vibes” pandora station in 2012 (derogatory)
Listenable.
Why Does It Always Rain On Me.
Så er der tuderock eller hva... Der er næsten Radiohead vibes over "As you are", nogen af de forsigtige på OK Computer, xylofonen og guitaren der lige frovrænges her og der, det er lidt sjovt. Så bare ikke heeeelt så fedt jo selvfølgelig, men synes inspirationen er ret 1:1. Det er ok, en 3'er igen.
Det er nogle lidt for trivielle tekster, synes jeg På trods af, at sangeren kanaliserer sin indre Thom Yorke på nummeret As You Are Jeg gav Dexys Midnight Runners 3, og det synes jeg egentlig var mere spændende end det her. Jeg kan dog heller ikke give det to. Er det okay? Ja Er det et album du skal høre, før du dør? Bestemt ikke 2.8
Another fine but no better album. Not horrendous by any means and if I were 10 years younger I’d have probably been in to this.
Solo porque es Travis, pero apenas llegaría a 2 si no los conociera.
Fav song: Writing To Reach You
So very meh
Never heard of this before, decent sad 90s rock but nothing super exciting
Brit pop is a genre I think might be best enjoyed through singles. Sitting through entire albums becomes a bit much for me. And that seems to hold true for this one too Standouts Turn Why Does It Always Rain On Me? 3/5
I like the style of this album and vocals are very nice throughout. Nothing particularly stood out but nothing was wrong or boring about it either.
One great song one mediocre album.
Surprised I owned this album back in the day, but I suppose music listening was very different back then. There are some tracks I really like (Writing to Reach You, Driftwood, Why Does It Always Rain On Me?) but a lot of the others are really whiny which I hate. Overall ok. (3)
Fed nok! Travis er et bandnavn jeg godt kendte men anede ærlig talt ikke hvad de havde lavet. Kendte en hel del her, og kan generelt godt lide stilen.
not bad. remember them from my 20's.
This was good. Sort of generic alternative 90s music
Good in parts average in others.
Yeah. Good. Almost early radiohead in parts - which feels weird given that radiohead feel mostly quite purely musical and experimental and Travis at first glance feel so tame and poppy. But there's quality here. Turn and rain on me are brilliant. Some of the non singles show some interesting depth
Not a bad album, just uninteresting. If Salt and Pepper Chicken were an album, this wouldn't be a terrible example. Hyper palatable pop music for the 2000s
I need to start up a category of "Albums to have on in the background while you don't feel very good that are boring and inoffensive enough to not disturb you further," because this is a great one. The Travis Wikipedia "legacy" section credits them with paving the way for Coldplay. It must be so strange to live in a world where that is how you've made your life savings. Do you think they like Coldplay? Sitting in this place of mediocre success is actually kind of interesting. Do they pay attention to something specific in their style of music that all of us here aren't tuned into? This band needed one artistic megalomaniac to steer them in a more interesting direction, or something. I actually kind of enjoy one of the least-listened to songs on the album, The Last of the Laughter.
Bland and inoffensive. Still miles better than Coldplay.
Very mellow and gray tone, but it’s nice to listen to. Not something I’d typically gravitate toward. Fun to learn about an artist I’d never heard before though.
Моє ставлення до гурту приблизно таке ж спокійне, як і його музика. Я ніколи не заслуховувася Travis, але окремі пісні мені у них подобалися. Тут таких пісень було достатньо, щоб альбом не відчувався скучним, але не так багато щоб він сильно подобався.
Милий альбом від милого гурту. Люблю тревіс, мені здається їх хейтити важко. 3.5
surprisingly this might get a 3, feeling generous. this came after the brit-pop era
Usually I've at least heard of the popular UK bands of the late 90s, but I had no idea of the existence of Travis. So - I think if I were familiar with this record I might be enjoying a little, simply out of 90s nostalgia or something. I mean it's better than a lot of other things, right? But it's just not very interesting. I was particularly surprised when I read that Nigel Godrich produced it - I thought "yikes, what would this be like if he hadn't." 3 stars
Never heard of them, pretty decent album. Kind of an amalgam of 90s-00s bands. Goo goo dolls, muse especially, little queens of the Stone Age. Interesting. Not bad though, I can dig.
Gentle and inoffensive to listen to, perhaps so much so that it comes at it's own detriment. There's the occasional exciting instrumental moment though, and I quite liked the singer's breathy grounded delivery. This one's a pretty alright and I greatly appreciate it's sentimentality (complimented by the sparkly guitars), but I have yet to encounter a Brit pop album that's really blown me away.
Hues of formative 90s mellow rock. Some catchy rifts, but overall very mellow. For those who enjoy overcast cloudy days with a streak of sunlight or two shining through.
It's a nice album to chill/fall asleep to. Memorable lyric what's an Wonderwall anyways. The secret track is a nice change of pace. But I don't think I'll be returning to this one other than a handful of tracks. There are better projects I'd rather have insteas like the bends or grace
= the Beatles Perfectly ignorable music
These guys peaked at a weird time for Brit-pop. Post Oasis, pre-Coldplay, folksier than either. The tracks are smooth and listenable. Just not particularly stand out.
I don't hate this, but I do find it to be very bland. It's 90s Britpop boy band like Radiohead, Coldplay, and Oasis. Nothing super special or unique but it sounds so much like the time it originated in. I bet you could sing any of these tracks in karaoke having never heard them before.
Inoffensive and sometime enjoyable stuff. Great to hear some of the singles again but I can't see myself voluntarily listening to this album again
Earnest high registers, meaningful key changes, balladlike anthems, anthemic ballads, trite lyrics, the sounds are Oasisish, Coldplayish, Elliot-Smithy, Beatlesesque, Radioheadoid, it all seems like it's reaching toward something big. It's fine? I think I'm missing something here. At least one fantastic lyric, though: "I'm being held up by invisible men."
It’s not offensive, it’s more like just ok background music.
Scared to write anything bad or snarky since there are a couple of Travis songs that I like (not all from this album).
Groupe inconnu. L'album propose un Pop/Rock plutôt bien réalisé, et un peu plus original que la moyenne, avec en plus quelques bon chorus de guitare. Par contre aucun morceau ne m'a vraiment marqué. Et il n'est pas assez dynamique à mon gout, mais je pourrais l'écouter de nouveau. =>3/5
I enjoyed it but it was a little bland
durchaus hörbar
10 1/2 minute album outro with a secret track was not expected. Secret track was the best track tho
Writing to reach you - 4 The fear - 3 As you are - 3 Driftwood - 3 The last laugh of the laughter - 2 Turn - 3 Why does it always rain on me? - 5 Luv - 3 She's so strange - 3 Slide show - 3
Album #131 Travis: The Man Who Despite being very 90s in nature, The Bends by Radiohead might just be the sound of the early 2000s in Britain. By the time bands like Travis, Coldplay, and Keane rolled around to capitalize on that sound, however, Radiohead had already moved on to bigger and better things. But if I’m being honest, I love The Bends, and I love early Coldplay, and I love Hopes and Fears. Though they are derivative, overly sentimental, and entirely sanitized, I can’t help but enjoy a good sappy British ballad. So I assumed that I would be more charitable to Travis than most. However, after listening to “The Man Who”, I fall firmly amongst the status quo. This album is good; its sound is practically exactly what I was expecting and looking for from a post-Britpop album; however, it is really held back by its lyricism. Normally, I can turn a blind eye to corny lyrics, especially if I have deliberately gone out of my way to play an album of this nature (what I refer to as Keane-core), but Travis really has too many eye-roll-inducing moments to ignore. From the title of the album, the title of the song “The Last Laugh Of The Laughter” and lyrics such as “Why does it always rain on me? Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?” I really can’t give this album my full endorsement. That being said, there are definitely times when I can zone out the lyrics and just enjoy the music, and when that happens, this album is quite nice. And I am always going to enjoy this sound to some extent. Best Songs: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, Slide Show, Writing To Reach You Worst Song: The Last Laugh Of The Laughter Score out of 10: 7
Britpop (or post Britpop, take your pick) ballads.
The very definition of a three star album.
Un poco repetitivo, pero tiene buenas canciones y un par me gustaron mucho. Está en la delgada línea entre que sí los puedo disfrutar o que me parezcan odiosos como Coldplay, pero los Travis todavía se salvan. Así que ok, pasan.
nice
Now that's what I call milquetoast. Well-crafted if ultimately underwhelming melodic pop.
Some quickly forgettable stuff here ⭐⭐⭐
Yeah, okay. It's pretty good. Reminiscent of Bends-era RH. Certainly, if I'm in the mood, you could do a lot worse. Let's do a flat 3.
Bland but fine
Somehow I missed out on this album and band - high quality literate pop/rock
I really liked the change in style and sound in Slide Show!
Chill.
All rise for the sad little whingebag national anthem.
I was talking to my granddad today about albums that are definitely only on this list because the bands that made them are British, and this is a leading example of that. It's fine, but nothing special. three of the top five keywords being other Britpop bands kind of shows the issue with records like this on the list. If "these guys sound like the other guys" is a good enough reason to say you need to hear it before you die, then you could easily pad this list to a ridiculously large number like 1,001 by putting in a bunch of Beatles clones like The Byrds or The Mamas and the Papas. Oh, wait.
lento. lirico. muy bueno. 7/10
partially enjoyable
*shrug* I had a nice time.
Really putting me to sleep here, but an okay album
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
An ok album. Some great pop songs, some filler. Evens out to a slightly above average album that was an enjoyable revisit.
A few good licks
Ok
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?
Very close to rating this a 4, truly a solid listen
my high school me would have loved this!
Enjoyed it
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.
Pretty decent soft rock album.
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.
Solid tunes
No. 112 just kinda soft rock stuff, kinda catchy background music.
Overall Rating - 3.30/5 (6.60/10). Very Oasis like sound. Solid album.
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.
Enjoyed it.
Not bad, but again, not a mind scrambler.
2,9 Highlights: Turn, Why Does It Always Rain On Me
Starts off great - but really tails off about halfway through
Was fine but sounded similar to a lot of the other albums on here
gives radiohead vibe
I really liked Why Does It Always Rain On Me! Other than that, it was meh.
Well done but too beatlesque for me. Not really pushing new ground.
Better second time around. Too sleepy for morning listen.
I liked it. The hidden track at the end was my favourite 👍
Not bad, good songs. Listenable. Little slow and melancholy at times.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
nice safe album with a couple of hits on it
actually quite peak peak peak 5 / 10
3.5
5.5/10 Coldplay did it better
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
It was okay, sounds very 1999 if that makes sense. Sorry Travis.
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.
Very pleasant
A Radiohead placebo, masked by Matchbox 20, pop styling.
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
Bisschen langweilig
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.
Typical melancholy 90’s sound. Good.
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.