Travis - Ode To J Smith

06-08-2008 13:46

Released September 29

In 1996 Fran Healy borrowed £600 from his mum to pay for the recording of Travis’s debut single. That track, the rousingly self-descriptive All I Wanna Do Is Rock, was released on their own label Red Telephone Box, with a sleeve designed by Healy.

Fast forward twelve years – during which time they have shifted ten million albums, scored numerous accolades and headlined festivals all over the world – and Travis are back at the helm, having re-ignited Red Telephone Box for the release of Ode To J Smith, their new album released on September 29th.

The first to be written on electric guitar since Good Feeling, it places lead guitarist Andy Dunlop firmly centre stage, recalling those early recordings. In short it’s their loudest, edgiest and most arresting record since their debut.

As Healy explains, “Usually I write a bunch of songs over a year and then we record them and piece it together. But this album was born out of a rush of creative urgency; a need to make a record, it has to be amazing. Perhaps that’s why Ode To J Smith is the most cohesive thing we’ve ever done. When you move so quickly there is very little time to reflect. You have to be decisive.”