TRAVIS
The Boy With No Name
Independiente/Red Ink
· Still wimpy, just prettier.
Travis has never been what you would call an edgy band. Even in a genre as generally fey as Brit pop, they were always remarkably light-footed. Knowing that they have to play to their strengths, these Glaswegians enlisted the help of producer Nigel Goodrich to work the boards for their fifth album. Given Goodrich’s tenure on OK Computer, it’s no surprise that The Boy With No Name is steeped in many of the same sonic textures that Radiohead employs. Combine that with the fact that Travis is a dreamy Brit pop band working in a post-Coldplay landscape, and you get a good idea of what the album sounds like. "Under the Moonlight" is the hooky lover’s ballad, "Selfish Jean" is a 21st century rewrite of the Smiths, and "Battleships" is the metaphor-heavy break-up number. It’s a good record – not flashy, not showy, but solid enough to warrant a few listens before it inevitably gets retired at the end of the summer.
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