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The Show
Travis
Sometimes comparisons between bands are unfair, usually to the newer group, which is trying to establish a reputation and identity of its own. But that's not the case with a recent clutch of dreamy, guitar-based midtempo pop outfits -- Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, and Travis. Frequently mentioned in the same sentence as Radiohead, these bands hold their own. Now that Travis has perfected the chiming menace of Radiohead's guitar sound, it's easy to get wrapped up in such comparisons. Travis, for instance, shares producer Nigel Godrich with Radiohead. But what separates Thom Yorke and company from Travis is the way the newer band wields emotion. Travis' singer, Francis Healy, is more comfortable with engagement. He sings in Yorke's musical range but walks only one side of his emotional street -- the side that lets him feel, as he sings in "Safe" on The Invisible Band, their third and latest album. And because his own tenor is pretty and creeps easily up to a falsetto -- one that, unlike Yorke's, is somehow reassuring -- his singing will continue to draw Radiohead comparisons in equal measure with guitarist Andy Dunlop's playing. The main difference between the groups -- and it's a big one -- remains Healy's lyrics. Unlike Yorke, Healy has no trouble writing songs about romantic love, songs with such pronouns as "you" and "she." Nor is he afraid to hang awkwardly plainspoken sentimentality on the band's ringing tunes. If Travis isn't quite early Radiohead, well, neither is Radiohead. There's no denying that Travis fills a gap and does so in a way that satisfies.
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