Travis – Ode To J. Smith

I have never been extremely successful, nor am I likely to be. Whilst my wife is fond of me, I have no real idea what it is like to be hugely popular and adored. What it must be like to sell fistfuls of albums. Nor can I imagine what it must be like to come out the other side and find that you are no longer selling records by the shedload. Some bands react to this badly, but some remain stoic and just on with the job in hand. Travis fall into this category, making music not dramatically dissimilar to what they were producing at the height of their fame. And they were famous indeed - when their debut was released back in 1997, few could have predicted that they would go on to have one of the biggest albums of this decade. The ever-reliable Wikipedia claims that one in eight UK households contains a copy, citation needed. Well, mine does. Maybe yours does too. But now that fame has mostly gone, and since their amicable split with Independiente, they find themselves at album number six, released on their own label.The album was recorded at considerable speed, two weeks to record, and then mixed in the Spring of this year. The sound is more brittle than their last album, the rather dour The Boy With No Name, more akin to their debut. It's also brief, clocking in at just over 36 minutes. Texturally, it reminds me of Supergrass' Road to Rouen. In that album they made no real attempts to reinvent themselves, seeking instead to bring back some spontaneity and spark. And by and large, Travis do succeed. The production is very straightforward, almost old-fashioned, allowing the songs to be free of complications.And so opening track "Chinese Blues" does flex a bit of muscle, in a manner of speaking, driven by a percussive piano riff and the steady fuzz of electric guitar. "J. Smith" is somewhat of an oddity, with a subtle string arrangement from composer Joby Talbot and a freakish choral section. "Something Anything" is more or less a thematic reprise of the opener, whereas "Broken Mirror" is off-kilter and slightly unsettling. Not everything works, "Quite Free" in particular sounding a little Paolo Nutini, and then "Get Up" with its KT Tunstall swagger. The closing number is also overly sweet and slightly cloying. But there are some good songs here, "Friends" in particular and the dramatic "Song to Self". There is still a place for Travis in modern music, and whilst they may no longer have the fame, they certainly still have the ability. 65%Travis on MySpace