The first time Glasgow sees Fran
Healy tonight, he's covering his face with his hands. Only his new blond-tipped
mohican is visible; otherwise Fran's too overwhelmed to look.
In a separate area at the back, the band's dads, girlfriends and nieces look on proudly.
Scottish flags are waved in the crowd. And all this a week before Travis due to release their new album, 'The
Invisible Band'. When Fran finally removes his hands from his
face, he's beaming.
Whatever you think of their tunes, it's that humility that keeps Travis charming. Fran's constant thanks
avoid cheesiness because you know he means it. He's not the untouchable rock star but the
local boy done good, asking "D'you like the hair? I see that David Beckham's
copied it. His looks shit though". When Travis
play old hits like 'Writing To Reach You', there's never a hint they're
sick of them. Fran still sings every word, each line as fresh and
important as the day he wrote it, but the question is whether they're still writing about
something we should care about.
Tonight, the songs from 'The Invisible Band' played tonight settle easily
enough beside those from previous albums but they're somehow more assured and more
prepared to reveal their fragility. There's no giant, stylistic leaps forward but some new
tracks already sound like classics. 'Pipe Dreams', for instance, has a
lazy strum that lends a feeling of spontaneity Travis
sometimes lack as well as a country tinge to offset Fran's lilting
resignation. 'Dear Diary' is another plaintive low-key lullaby, extolling
the virtues of the diary Fran tells us he's kept since reading 'Adrian
Mole' at the age of 12, while Fran's own murder ballad, 'Last
Train', is eerily haunting.
But the real indicator that Travis have come of age is
Fran's new confidence. Though hardly ever a shrinking violet, this time
round he's secure enough to reveal his darkest feelings, his deepest thoughts and a
vulnerability that only makes him more endearing. The songs, like his diary, are his way
of working through whatever concerns him.
In fact, it's his desire to see all things simply (as in the basic choruses of 'Turn',
'Sing', and new track 'Safe') that can be the most irritating
thing about Travis, yet live - backed by a thousand
voices - it all makes sense. Fran just believes if you say something
often enough, it will happen. It will make it rain, it will make someone sing and it will
make you feel safe. It even made four boys from Scotland return home heroes.
This Review by Siobhan Grogan
was Originally on
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