I'm so happy, 'cos you're so happy (Good Feeling - Travis)

Member Name: Excelle

Product:	Good Feeling - Travis
Date:	08/07/01 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great combination of indie and ballads, Good vocal style

Disadvantages: All a little TOO simplistic at times, Not all the tracks are that great

The father of a very good friend of mine has a saying. Well, it's more of a factual statement, but that doesn't make it any less true. With regards to some old material of a certain band, he'll say – "That was when they were good." And it's quite often true – bands have a habit of trailing off later in their careers, so sometimes we find we can say that they used to be a lot better than they are now. Of course, it's also occasionally true that bands get better as they gain experience, but this only happens in some isolated cases.


- The million dollar kind

Travis (in my opinion anyway – most people seem to disagree with me!), are one such band. Their first album, 'Good Feeling' is a great example of classic indie work, whereas the album that followed was quite dull in my opinion, and the 'Verb Verb Verb' approach they now seem to love (see 'Turn', and 'Sing') is frankly uninspiring. I haven't heard anything from their new album, but by the title 'The Invisible Band', they seem to have capture the non-impact and downright lethargy of 'The Man Who'!

Travis are a Scottish band which was formed in Glasgow in 1990 by art students Francis Healy (vocals/guitar), Dougie Payne (bass), Neil Primrose (drums) and Andy Dunlop (guitar). As with a lot of student bands, the band was really formed as a bit of fun in their spare time, but once they'd finished their studies, they decided to try and make a go of the band, moving to London in 1996. Their first single 'All I Want To Do Is Rock' was released later that year, followed by 'U16 Girls' in 1997. And a few months later their debut album , 'Good Feeling' was released. The album was recorded in just a few days. 'The Man Who' followed in 1999, and this year, 2001, they released their third album 'The Invisible Band'. They are certainly sticking around!
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- Scraping me off the ceiling

So, what can you expect from this album? Well, as well as the gentler tracks that are more reminiscent of 'The Man Who', there's a lot of classic indie rock – simple drum beats and overdriven guitars. So, let's take a look:

- All I Want To Do Is Rock
As Travis' first single, this is one of those classic indie rock tracks I was telling you about. Lots of overdriven guitars, but only confined to your normal indie boundaries. Healy's vocals add a perculiar feel to the whole affair, but I have to admit I'm not keen on this one.

- U16 Girls
The second Travis single is a LOT better – this is probably my favourite track on the album. It's all about young being careful around girls who look older than they actually are! Not the most noble of song topics, but when it produces an indie classic such as this one, I'm not complaining! There's some superb guitar riffs tucked away in here, and the drums aren't too bad either. Quality lyrics too – "I met a girl in Paris/ She talked like Vera Lynn/ And her eyes were full of dew drop/ The moment I walked in"

- The Line Is Fine
I didn't used to be too keen on this track, but it's grown on me a bit. The melody itself is quite simple, but the lyrics are quite good – they seem to be talking about someone who's going to jump off the top of a tall building because he can't be with woman he wants. Not bad, if a little light hearted for it's subject matter!

- Good Day To Die
As you might expect from this title, this is quite a dark track, while being so creatively bizarre that it's hard to make an awful lot of sense from the lyrics. I'm not very keen on this track – it has little musical merit (being mostly monotone overdriven guitars), and the lyrics do nothing to redeem it.

- Good Feeling
The title track is thankfully o
n of the better tracks on the album. A gentle but solid drum beat backs some gentle vocals, accompanied by some melancholy keyboard work and some subtle guitar. Even the overdriven chorus with it's vocal 'la la's sound pretty good. Healy's vocals sound great, and the clever lyrics make this a generally good track: "In twenty years from now I'll be the same/ And you'll be changing all the letters in your maiden name/ Ah you're thinkin' that we're one/ But we'll never be the same"

- Midsummer Nights Dreamin'
This starts off with some guitar feedback, before breaking into some more lighthearted vocals. This is still quite a hard song, but in the end it's ok, but no cigar.

- Tied To The 90's
I know this one irritates a lot of people, but I quite like it – it has a very 'driving along on a bright summer's day with all the windows open' feel to it! It starts of with a drum beat followed by the band shouting 'Hey!', which is soon replaced by a catchy guitar riff, and a less occasional 'Hey!'. It sounds very lighthearted, and it is! Catchy and mindless.

- I Love You Anyways
This is a very very laid back song, and actually reminds me of something off the Embrace album. Gentle flowing guitars and a steady drum beat. Healy sings of his love who doesn't want him, along to the gently soothing tune. I quite like this track – it's one of the best album tracks.

- Happy
This is a simple and fun song. It's what my girlfriend would refer to as a 'clappy happy' song, and she'd be right – the guitar riff is simple but adequate, and it's just Healy providing the happy vocals. It's just a lot of fun and it works.

- More Than Us
A departure from 'Happy', this is a gentle but powerful ballad, with clever lyrics and a subtle style of vocals that actually reminds me of someone like L
ennon or McCartney! I really like this song, how can you argue with a line like "And everybody wants a hand/ But I'm too busy holding up the world/ To carry on". One of the best tracks on the album

- Falling Down
Another dark and gentle song, but it doesn't work quite as well as 'More Than Us'. It's certainly a depressing song, and this is added to by the gentle piano backing to vocals. Not bad.

- Funny Thing
This track finishes the album on a sombre ballad note which I think is the best way to do it. Healy's vocal style shines through, and gives this whole song a bit of an epic feel. I like it, and I think that this is one of the better tracks of the 'in lap' of the album. Top stuff.


- We've come to the end

I really like this album – Travis have cleverly combined straight indie with some powerful ballads to create a really well balanced album. It is, in essence, a two part album – the first part consists of the poppy guitar rock of tracks like 'U16 Girls' and 'All I Want To Do Is Rock', while the second part of the album has the powerful vocal ballads like 'More Than Us' and 'Funny Thing', and Healy's vocal style is really suited to both.

If you bought 'The Man Who', and expect more of the same from this album, then you'll be very definitely disappointed with this album. In my view, 'Good Feeling' is the better of the two, but it is certainly a different style. My advice is to listen before you buy – you may prefer one or the other. Great album nonetheless.

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