TRAVIS ode to j. smith

It seems hard to believe today but, before Coldplay arrived, Travis was the indie band of the masses. They married inoffensive lyrics, catchy melodies and lavish production to sell records by the bucketload.

So it’s refreshing news that, more than ten years on, they’ve abandoned that formula and recorded a raw guitar-driven album. The aim with Ode to J.Smith presumably was to scrape away the sheen and let the songs speak for themselves. Good idea. In theory.

The trouble is, no matter what the Scottish scallywags try, the songs just don’t stand up. There’s a bit of shoegaze drone on opener ‘Chinese Blues’ (but shoegaze is a style that, in the wrong hands, just sounds like drone. And so it does here). There’s a touch of glam rock stomp in ‘Long Way Down’ (but halfway through the band just runs out of steam - and inspiration). There’s even a nod towards Britpop nearly-men Cast in the cliché-ridden chorus of ‘Get Up’.

The album rarely strays from its indie guitar core, but when it does, the results are surreal at best. Ever wondered what Travis would sound like if they had a blind stab at Carl Orff’s ‘O Fortuna’? Well, no actually, me neither. But ‘J. Smith’ tells us anyway. Ever hoped that Travis would have a pop at 1980s synth balladry? Again, me neither. But the boys give it a whirl on final track ‘Before We Were Young’.

Ode to J.Smith sort of confirms what we already suspected. Travis need spit and polish to put shine onto their otherwise-slightly-dull music.

Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2008.

Ode to J.Smith is available through Shock Records.