It is an undeniable fact that time changes bands. The three years in between Radiohead's "OK Computer" and "Kid A," and the two years between Pearl Jam's "No Code" and "Yield" are indicative of this. Two years, four months and two days is the length of time between the release of Scottish quartet Travis' highly lauded "The Invisible Band" and their latest effort, "12 Memories."
The sheer mathematics of this is a fright.
That said, "12 Memories" is remarkably different from anything Travis has done in their career. It shows flashes of the sound that has defined them for their last two records, but it is more of an evolution than anything else.
"12 Memories" is a collection of beautiful melodies with heartfelt thought and emotion throughout. Moving far away from the horrible and unfounded comparisons to Oasis and Blur (Blur is wonderful, but comparing Travis to them is not), Travis has succeeded in generating a unique sound while maintaining nods to The Beatles that have always made them so romantic and alluring.
Fran Healy's voice is so seductive that overlooking his lyrics seems like a moot point. It could be what he was gunning for. The manner in which Healy lets the melodies slip from his mouth is much appreciated, and perhaps better suited to his music. Healy finds a way to hide from the urge to ruin a quality melody with a word of 764 consonants.
A valid concern with "12 Memories" is how successful it will be considering that the last four tracks on the album are by far superior to anything the first seven deal out. This is not to say the first portion of the disc is substandard - it is leaps and bounds ahead of most in its genre - but "Love Will Come Through," "Mid-Life Krysis," "Happy To Hang Around" and "Walking Down The Hill" are four of the best tracks Travis have ever written.
"12 Memories" isn't as memorable as 1999's "The Man Who," or as instantly spell-binding as 2001's "The Invisible Band," but it does something neither record could do: provide something new, small and wonderful on every listen.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
