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Track Listings
| 1. Quicksand |
| 2. Beautiful Occupation |
| 3. Re-Offender |
| 4. Peace The F*** Out |
| 5. How Many Hearts |
| 6. Paperclips |
| 7. Somewhere Else |
| 8. Love Will Come Through |
| 9. Mid-Life Krysis |
| 10. Happy To Hang Around |
| 11. Walking Down The Hill |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Never the happiest of bands, at least on record (after all, they broke through by singing "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?"), they colour 12 Memories throughout with a morose (but, tellingly, never bitter) resignation (the aforementioned single "Re-Offender", about being trapped in an abusive relationship, is a perfect example of this). That's probably down to circumstances: in the two years since their last album (The Invisible Band), they nearly disintegrated when drummer Neil Primrose was badly injured in an accident. But he--and the band--have recovered, and are sounding better for it. Frontman Fran Healy, arguably one of the nicest men in popular music, manages to deliver an anti-war message on "Peace the Fuck Out" that's more pleading than angry, and all the more affecting. 12 Memories is exactly the sort of album that Radiohead should be making right now--it's accessible and poignant, with an undercurrent of real-world frustration and paranoia running throughout. Travis's best album to date is also their bravest, by some distance. --Robert Burrow
Review
It's true, each song here is worthy of your undivided attention. Each song here asks you to listen, to nurture and to derive pleasure. The excellent opening track, "Quicksand", quickly confirms that they're still capable of writing great indie pop songs. And proves that the band haven't dared to pursue a radical new direction on this record. The song bizarrely includes the band members casually singing along to Fran's vocals while a cello and violin provide a dramatic edge.
"The Beautiful Occupation" features a rousing chorus and high pitched guitars, that remind me of REM's Out Of Time era.The lyrics and vocals also remind me of their fellow (but lesser known) Scottish comrades The Trash Can Sinatras.
Travis' lyrics have always been melancholic but the songs remain cheerful. Look no further than the wonderfully jaunty "Why Does It Always Rain On Me". But on 12 Memories things are darker and more depressing than before. These songs deal with the frustrations of life whether it be anti war messages ("Peace The **** Out") or the reality of a "Mid Life Krysis".
"People get down, people get hurt" sings Healy on "Happy To Hang Around". Recent single "Re-Offender" deals with the thorny issue of domestic violence. A serious subject that produces a great song that's up there with "Turn" and "Driftwood".
Despite the serious message, "Peace The **** Out" does includes the best lyric on the album "It's all wrong, handbags at dawn...Peace the **** out, I don't know what you're talking about".
Musically the band are on top form. There are a couple of ballads in "Paperclips" and the hidden twelfth track. And there are several up-beat songs to cheer you up. "Somewhere Else" and "Love Will Come Through" feature all the Travis trademarks: A sing-a-long chorus, catchy guitars and an easy to remember, foot-tapping rhythm. Both could be future singles.
12 Memories may be dark but it's still a beautiful record. Each song will provoke dreams, smiles and memories... --Dan Tallis
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Customer Reviews
Opening with Quicksand and Beautiful Occupation both upbeat and quite commercial, the current single follows, then a brilliant track, Peace the F..k out, Fran at his endearing best! How Many Hearts and Somewhere Else (my favourite track) could be strong contenders for the next single, both really catchy, and most people will have already heard the wonderful Love Will Come Through, soundtrack to Moonlight Mile and available previously as a charity record after the drummer's spinal injury.I think the album has a couple of fillers, Paperclips and Walking down the Hill in particular. The cd finishes with the 'hidden' track, In the Church, a lovely laid back piano complimenting Fran's voice, really wonderful end to a brilliant 4th album for a band in Coldplay's league.
Whilst The Man Who and The Invisible Band satisfied on so many levels the follow up, 12 Memories, threw people off with a completely different direction in songwriting. Yet the signs were always there. From the domestic abuse riddled 'Blue Flashing Light' that reared its ugly head at the end of The Man Who to the murderous intentions of 'The Last Train' on Invisible Band, Travis have never been ones to make sweeping generalisations about.
12 Memories explores darker themes for longer and the moments of hope, and love found and conquered, still remain somewhat subdued, no matter how beautiful in their execution.
Where this album excels however is in the intricate instrumentation. Few people seem to have mentioned just how complex yet potent the passages of music are in the 50 or so minutes that ensue. It equals any Beatles record I have heard, in both originality and sheer technical quality.
Minus the absolutely dire Paperclips every song on 12 Memories deserves repeated listens. It is a masterclass in musicianship and despite the lukewarm commercial success it is quite clearly a monumental achievement for a band who are consistently underrated and misperceived as a simplistic, dull pop hit making band. 12 Memories underlines this, and stands near the top of my list of treasured records.
Now clearly both camps are completely wrong. Travis are a British band, who with their first three albums were finding a voice. Their debut was an immature, highly energised attempt at glam rock that flashed signs of excellent musical ability. The Man Who took the band in a completely different direction. It's reflective nature, which initially alienated a great deal of the major critics, stood well with the fans. Glorious songs such as The Fear, Driftwood and The Last Laugh Of The Laughter underlined a true songwriting gift in Fran Healy, and the band began to fit more comfortably with each other. The unexpected multi-platinum success weighed a great deal of expectation on their follow-up, The Invisible Band.
The last album did little for the band's image. Musically I find it an absolute joy to listen to yet lyrically Healy seemed to be writing from the outside looking in, as opposed to the inside out. Sing and Side commanded the radio waves for long enough and the band slowly retreated. They simply wanted to be out of the limelight.
The Invisible Band however did not leave a great after taste. It was almost too sweet, too pleasurable a listen. Once The Strokes and Coldplay's more aggressive Rush of Blood... arrived Travis had swiftly been put into the background, but myself and a small number of people knew, just knew that their fourth album would be something to reckon with, and with five stars glaring and truly glowing pride, I am here to say that 12 Memories is an astonishing record.
The three main subjects of this album are domestic abuse, relationships and national leaders (more specifically, you Mr Blair). Healy reaches further into his private emotions than ever before and has written a number of effective, poignant songs that I would argue are as efficient as anything Neil Young has written. Peace The F**k Out stands as one of the very, VERY few protest songs in recent years (and how timely). It isn't really a protest song either, but more a pledge for Tony Blair to change. Again, there are no superfluous words. The lyrics are terse and the message is aggressive. And the wonderful thing is it feels so natural. I would hate if Healy wrote a political song just because fans and critics want him to, but it clearly is not the case here. The songs regarding domestic abuse are indeed harrowing but never offputting. Their awkward subject matter is communicated through such lyrical and musical poetry that I would argue it is a more pleasurable listen than any pop song about love in the charts today. Then of course the love songs arrive and you wonder why anyone has a problem with Travis at all. After all, all you need is love, and Healy has got some beeeuuutifull songs under his belt on this record, which leads me to Somewhere Else.
Track seven should be a single, and if not it should be the number one requested song at every gig of their's until Fran writes a better one! The piano motif, Fran's stunning, soft voice, the drums that are more prominent in this album than ever before, and Andy's exceptional guitar playing, punctuating key moments in this song create a heavenly ballad about simply wanting to be somewhere else. Coldplay are a wonderful band but I would say this song connects with me more on a personal level than Coldplay's epic, ethereal music ever will.
The musicianship is above and beyond the band's best. I would argue Quicksilver and The Beautiful Occupation have as many spine-tinglingly good moments as any on Abbey Road or Revolver. And this continues right through to the very last track, where simple piano chords accompany a beautifully produced synthesiser beat on Some Sad Song. It's all sumptuous stuff.
So here it is guys, put aside your personal grifts with Healy's goody two shoes image, your assumptions of everything the band are about and buy/borrow/steal this album (ideally from a friend : ). Listen to it, but like all great albums give it time. It ages better than the most vintage of wines and no doubt will leave a far better, longer lasting taste.
For me, as an avid fan of Royksopp, and the Trip Hop music genre, it is enchanting, with... Read more
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