CD of The Week

Travis - L.A. Times (BMG)

Veteran Scottish band Travis have been making melodic, catchy pop-rock for nearly three decades now. With the same four lads on every record from the start, they've shown remarkable resilience. For the past decade or so, they've worked at their own pace, balancing their time as family men living around the globe with touring and making new music. L.A. Times, their tenth album, shows the band still has their knack for hooks.

L.A. Times opens in classic Travis territory with “Bus,” full of acoustic guitars and melodies galore. “Raze the Bar” is a shuffling, sing-along goodbye to a long-loved bar in New York City that the band and their fellow musicians used to hang out at. In fact, their pals Chris Martin and Brandon Flowers stop by to pay their respects with some backing vocals. Lead single “Gaslight” is built around horns and a saloon-style piano, almost turning into a big brassy sing-along showtune, even though it’s an exploration of the concept of gaslighting.

The gentle “Live It All Again” is a wistful look back at Healy’s marriage following his recent divorce, but with love, not bitterness, as he sings, “In spite of all the pleasure / In spite of all the pain / If I could turn the clock back / I would live it all again.” On the other hand, there’s plenty of bitterness in “I Hope That You Spontaneously Combust”… a provocative song title to say the least! It’s an angry anti-social media screed set to a gentle, twangy tune. And “The River” is a big bright pop production reminiscent of their acolytes in Coldplay. While Travis is a very Scottish band, both New York and Los Angeles get plenty of attention on this album. “Naked in New York City” is a lovely piano tune but the title track that wraps up the record is unlike almost anything else they’ve attempted before. Healy is almost rapping, as he mumbles, gripes, and cusses about the darkness he’s seen living in the City of Angels in recent years. He documents a lack of empathy for drug addicts, references anti-vaxxers and crypto-bros, and even shouts out the Dodgers in this bleak closer.

L.A. Times finds some hope despite the times along the way, despite the darkness lurking at the end, and it’s always great to hear more music from the men who have given us so many good feelings over the years.

Travis return to the Philadelphia area at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on February 18, 2025.
Review by Joey O.