The Invisible Band [20th Anniversary Edition]

Travis: Francis Healy, Douglas Payne, Andy Dunlop, Neil Primrose.
Additional personnel: Millennia Strings (strings); Jason Falkner (keyboards).
Recorded at Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles, California and Air Studios, London, England.
This Limited Edition of THE INVISIBLE BAND contains the hidden tracks "Ring Out The Bell" and "You Don't Know What I'm Like" following "The Humpty Dumpty Love Song."
Travis: Francis Healy, Douglas Payne, Andy Dunlop, Neil Primrose.
Additional personnel: Millennia Strings (strings); Jason Falkner (keyboards).
Recorded at Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles, California and Air Studios, London, England.
Travis's second album THE MAN WHO made them one of the biggest bands in the UK. With all eyes upon the group for a follow-up, the foursome opts not for the deconstructed expectation-confounded tactics of Radiohead's KID A, but instead continues on the same path they'd already been heading down. THE INVISIBLE BAND is considerably softer than the band's previous albums, pursuing the ballad as transcendent mode of expression, but the popcraft is just as winningly melodic, the guitars just as jangly and inviting, and Fran Healy's songs as subtly accessible as ever.
There are a few unusual touches (the banjo on "Sing," the electronic squiggles ending "Afterglow"), but for the most part, THE INVISIBLE BAND is full of simple, infectious melodies, intelligently expressed emotions, and a warmth that finds Travis aligned with the likes of Coldplay in open-hearted opposition to the Oasis/Blur "it's all about me" school of Britpop. Closing with one of the album's most powerful songs, the affecting, broken-hearted ballad "The Humpty Dumpty Love Song," THE INVISIBLE BAND is an admirable display of Travis's continued strength and staying power.