Travis

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Billboard

Three years on from their last outing 12 Memories, there is a palpable excitement within the Travis camp and a genuine enthusiasm for a return to the road.

Having long been regarded as the trailblazers for the emotionally engaging pop anthem, they can truly claim, on their fifth album The Boy With No Name, to have re-discovered what made us love them in the first place. From the warm ambience of Closer to the menacing harmony of Big Chair, the songs here carry a direct lineage from The Man Who through to their present day contemporaries.

Another cryptic album title (Healy and wife Nora couldn't settle on a name for their son Clay for some weeks and this was how he was known), The Boy With No Name shimmers with infectious melodies and timeless choruses wrapped around bittersweet songs of deep love and regret and a whole lot more besides.

Lead single Closer is the song, says Fran "which bred the rest of the album", and is released ahead of the album on April 23rd.

Album highlights include Big Chair with its restless bass line - debuted by Chris Martin while hosting the Zane Lowe Radio One show - whilst Selfish Jean delivers Motown bass and expansive 'Phil Spector' production. An Ode to Fran's then unborn son Clay, My Eyes is classic Travis; a joyful chorus journeyed to via an equally catchy prelude of 'Welcome in, welcome in...". Battleships, meanwhile, boasts a painfully honest lyric about relationship strife when two people who love each other are simply not seeing eye to eye.

Whilst Travis took the decision to record the album themselves they turned to long time collaborator Nigel Godrich to look after additional production on several of the tracks. "We trust Nigel and fear him", says Dougie Payne. 'If Nigel doesn't think something is any good he'll say".

"This album has all the facets of us, and some new ones", Healy explains. "It's rocky and then it's pop and sweet too. After a time of feeling stuck we feel we can do anything. We've come through the dark places and it feels like we've found our muse once more".

FULL ALBUM TRACKLISTING
1). 3 Times And Your Lose; 2) Selfish Jean; 3) Closer; 4) Big Chair; 5) Battleships; 6) Eyes Wide Open; 7) My Eyes; 8) One Night; 9) Out In Space; 10) Colder; 11) New Amsterdam

Travis are preparing to get back on the road and will be unveiling tracks from The Boy With No Name on three dates in March before a UK tour that follows the album's release in May.