I’m not sure where I would have first heard about Glasgow band Travis back in 1997 when they released their first album, Good Feeling. It was likely Alternative Press magazine that I had a subscription to back then who would regularly write reviews on the newest British buzz bands. The album is a solid debut with highlights that include the heavier “All I Wanna Do Is Rock”, “U16 Girls”, and the fun romp of “Tied to the 90s”. The CD sound tracked many bus rides up and down Pembina Hwy on the way to the University of Manitoba.
Two years later the band released their sophomore album, the introspective The Man Who. I moved to London for a couple of years on May 10th 1999, the album was released exactly two weeks later. On first single and first track on the album, Healy sings of hearing “Wonderwall” too much on the radio on a song who’s beginning guitar lick sounds eerily similar to that smash hit. It was Travis’ highest charting single thus far.
Second single, “Driftwood” ups the ante. The simple acoustic guitar verses lead into an anthemic chorus that ramps up even with the melancholy strings on a song about someone drifting through life and not living up to their potential. At that year’s Glastonbury performance, Travis caught lighting in a bottle as they sang, “Why Does it Always Rain on Me?” just as the skies opened up. The single shot the band to number one in the UK on a song that was inescapable that summer and was their breakthrough hit in several other markets. The song is one of the endearing hits of the late 90s.
While sounding similar to their other singles, “Turn” hits a bit harder as the fourth single on the album that went top 10 on the UK singles charts. Like the previous songs, this could be heard in pubs across the nation as the punters flocked to the band’s softer brand of British rock. Other notable songs include the moody, atmospheric “The Fear” and “As You Are” that sounds similar to the band’s singles.
The album started Travis’ association with producer Nigel Godrich who was also working with that other popular UK band, Radiohead during that time. While the album does tend to swing towards an extensive amount of ballads, it all sounds of one… and certainly one moment in time. Travis’ The Man Who – a classic of late 90s British rock.
9/10
The Light Appears 