Albums: Travis, 12 Memories

Travis:12 MemoriesOut now After a promising start to their career, Travis have recently become much more of a poor man’s Coldplay. The uninspiring blend of overly soft melodies and Fran Healey’s wailing vocals that were once so refreshing are now out-dated, familiar and repetitive. Whereas a Travis album was once a ray of indie-pop sunshine breaking through the bleak Glasgow skyline, it is now a grey cloud looming on the horizon. Healey’s charisma seems to have evapourated over the years along with his creativity and Travis’ spark and it is this that they are lacking. ‘12 Memories’ is not a bad album. The catchy chorus and Dougie’s guitar line from recent single ‘Reoffender’ show Travis’ true talents whilst ‘Paperclips’ shows a darker side to Travis’ work. Listening to ‘12 Memories’ you cant help but feel Travis have been left behind. Where once they trod new ground, this follows the same track to unoffensive soft rock. A ‘nice’ album by a ‘nice’ band, but the vital ingredient, passion, is evidently missing.ARCHIVE: 1st Week MT2003