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39. Travis
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A shot of fine, single-malt pop
Great British bands often have to mind the gap between superstardom at home and the indifference of jaded Americans. Last summer, Travis were headlining massive European festivals while most of us were preoccupied with Britney's boobs and Kid Rock's beltline.
With 1999's The Man Who--a jangly public-school cousin of OK Computer, also midwifed by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich--the Scottish foursome tried to fill in the deserted middle ground between teen pop and rapcore, i.e., the earspace formerly known as college rock. With midtempo sing-alongs like "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" Travis show a shameless commitment to crafting impeccable pop songs--for adults. Hoping to build on the small buzz their single made here, singer Fran Healy and his mates already have a follow-up ready for release this spring. According to early reports, the as-yet-untitled album achieves what Travis consider the perfect effect: It can make a grown man cry. "One song really gets the tears rolling," says Healy. "I've never seen anything like it." Has it been that long since we heard something so, well, pretty?
Spin
April 2001
by Eisenbeis
photos by James Dimmock
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