Don’t miss the masters of indie rock at their best!

Popular Scottish band Travis has certainly created a buzz among critics with their new album, The Boy with No Name, after 3 and a half years. Following a quote by National Public Radio (NPR), “The Boy with No Name [is] that much more of a sparkling surprise, as Travis returns with a sharp batch of winning pop songs.”

Formed in 1990, the band has gone through many name changes from Running Red to Glass Onion, before eventually settling on Travis, after a character in the 1984 movie, Paris, Texas. They’ve released 5 studio albums to date, including The Man Who12 Memories and Singles. Awarded British Album of the Year and Best British group at the 2000 BRIT Awards, Travis has been credited for paving the way for rock bands like Snow Patrol, Keane and Coldplay, to break into mainstream pop culture.

The band, consisting of Fran Healy on vocals and guitar, Dougie Payne on backing vocals and bass, Andy Dunlop on keyboard and lead guitar and Neil Primrose on drums and percussion, named their latest offering after Healy’s son, Clay, who wasn’t given a name until 4 weeks after he was born.

Listeners can lose themselves to the music and sway along with the soothing and quiet tones of The Boy with No Name, which could be Travis’ best album yet.

As lead singer Healy explained in an article posted on bbc.co.uk, “This album has all the facets of us, and some new ones. It’s rocky and then it’s pop but also sweet too. After a time of feeling stuck, we now feel we can do anything. We’ve come through the dark places and it feels like we’ve found our muse once more.”

Bask in the mellow and laid-back tunes of Travis that we have all come to love in this album, as the band plays those indie songs that they do best. Opening with a gentle pop ballad called “3 times and you lose”, the album reminds fan of why they so love Travis. However, do look out for their pleasant introduction of upbeat tempos in singles like “My Eyes” and “Selfish Jean”— a musical side of Travis that is rarely shown.

“My Eyes” start with chiming background music, and then switches to a low hypnotizing tune. As the song progresses, it portrays an element of innocence and yet confidence with its uncluttered background music that in turn brings out the vocals clearly.

Another notable song, “Selfish Jean”, on the other hand, begins with a catchy tempo that many would associate with a song by Katrina and the Waves, “Walking on Sunshine”, which was made popular by MobileOne (M1)’s advertisement jingle. Mellow no longer, this single boasts powerful, lilting vocals often found in oldies from acts like The Beatles, and you just can’t seem to help but sing and snap your fingers along with the song.

Another familiar song that has been playing on the radio recently, “Colder” seems to be a successful mix of slow rock and ballad, and Healy’s sultry voice blends in perfectly with the background music. My personal favourite from the album, and judging by the amount of airtime the song’s been receiving, it looks set to be one of the more popular songs with listeners.

Mellow or not, it was quite surprising that Travis’s vocals for this album sound very much like a milder version of Jason Mraz. So fans of Mraz might find Travis’ singles quite palatable as well.

Overall, the album is definitely for indie rock and ballad lovers, but music lovers whose favourite genre of music ranges from blasting vocals and music like the heavy rock, pop rock, metal and gothic genres, might want to look elsewhere because like Travis’s 2001 single, ‘Side’, “the grass is always greener on the other side”.

UrbanWire gives The Boy with No Name 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Boy with No Name is available at all record stores now.