TRAVIS - Ode To J. Smith

Travis have always been outsiders of rock from across the Channel. Partly because they arrived late to their consecration and the times didn't allow for much, partly because they were overshadowed by those who invented britpop and have always dominated it; but also because their early albums ("The Man Who" above all, but also "The Invisible Band") hinted at something more than oasis-style rock, revealing a melancholic and more distinctly pop side that betrayed the band's Scottish roots (Belle & Sebastian docent).

Subsequently the Glasgow quartet showed signs of faltering. First with "12 Memories", which tried to lean hard on the socio-political (!) side of their music with rather disappointing results. Then pulling back the oars with "The Boy With No Name", where the Scots led by Francis "Fran" Healy cautiously retraced their steps and churned out a bland record, lacking in bite and bordering on self-plagiarism. Just a year later they try again with "Ode To J. Smith", a record that on one hand shows a desire for change toward new musical solutions, and on the other struggles to break away from the typical structure (ab)used by the band.

When the opening blast of "Chinese Blues" kicks in, the first reaction is immediate astonishment: an electric guitar riff vaguely in the style of Young, underpinned by piano and a very central bass line. Even more surprising is the effect Healy's voice has over a pattern so far removed from the band's tradition, the same effect Chris Martin's voice might have on an Oasis track.

The further you get into the tracks, the clearer the band's shift becomes: at the centre of everything is the guitar, no longer soft and semi-acoustic, but aggressive and electric. Take tracks like the first single "Something Anything", with its hefty, syncopated riff. Or "Long Way Down" and its still very much Gallagher brothers-style swagger; or again the epic, pompous "J.Smith", with its booming finale.

From the midpoint of the record onward, though, the Glasgow combo seems to say: "No, we don't want to go that far out on a limb, let's rein it in", and the album inexorably loses steam. The closing tracks ("Song To Self", "Last Words", "Friends") are simply the same old British/Scottish pop broth reheated for the occasion. No bite, no grip, no chance whatsoever of hitting deep. The exception is "Before You Were Young", a pop song sweetened by a very classical piano, which nonetheless manages to strike the right chords, thanks to orchestral arrangements that are a bit daring but effective.

What could have been a turning-point record for Travis instead proves to be a botched experiment, an odd, freak album that tries to take one step forward and one step back, inevitably ending up falling into banality.

With unremarkable efforts but also fairly decent albums behind them, "Ode To J. Smith" represents a point of no return for the band, a moment to reflect on the paths taken and those still to take. Because, among the many things this album lacks, what's most sorely missing is a cornerstone track, an effective and convincing single: something Travis had never been short of before.

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03/10/2008