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Gone are the inspired melodies and sweet emotional turns of their past triumphant albums, replaced by boring philosophical musings and wafer-thin tunes.
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Weighted with tunes that approach middle age with tension and caution.
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Buttressing these sentiments (and singer Fran Healy's dewy voice) is just the type of production Travis needed: jarring guitar solos, zigzagging harmonies, snow-crunching percussion.
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That title is an overstatement, but the album does offer a few more memorable tracks than its predecessor.
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A bitterly disappointing, lacklustre album that is sadly short of distinct memories of any kind.
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Travis may have reached the kind heights where each new release is instantly dismissed by many as more disposable, daytime-radio fodder, but '12 Memories' is easily the best post-'Rush Of Blood ' soft-rock record there is.
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MojoA clear rejuvenation, the occasional triteness that softened earlier work largely absent from these close-woven songs. [Nov 2003, p.125]
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Im making a mix CD for someone and its an incredibly difficult one because shes into crap like Ben Harper and Lemon Jelly, and I cant even impress her with a Travis promo CD because theyre too boring even for her!
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This pretty diffidence, coupled with the fact the loss of producer Nigel Godrich and his sexifying sheen, makes Travis's fourth album feel small and woebegone.
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There are too many humdrum love ballads.
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It's a bloody nice record, which may be damning them with faint praise but it's an area they've stalked out for themselves immensely likably.
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It's a compelling, if far from satisfying, album: the awkward work of a man confronting mortality, global meltdown and fractionally diminished success, but still terrified of appearing pretentious, still stuck with singalong tunes in his head.
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Travis has added some emotional weight and musical punch to its stock-in-trade, which remains surreptitious melodies that nestle in your thoughts and reappear as eminently hummable snatches of song.
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Fans of the Scottish foursome will be disappointed with 12 Memories, which plays like a wimpy, distant cousin to Good Feeling.
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Q MagazineMelodic without being vibrant or actually that pretty, these are songs that seem to sink into themselves. [Nov 2003, p.123]
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If you're able to appreciate the pleasure and point they bring as a whole, 12 Memories will be an fine listen. If you're hoping they took the Coldplay route, you're in the wrong place.
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Travis has always been criticized for its sometimes sappy lyrics, its supposed lack of adventurism as well as its marked unwillingness to touch on controversial issues. Well, let's just say they've put that to rest with this compelling, gripping, if not always satisfying, album.
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Alternative Press[Travis have] set aside the drifting atmospherics iin favor of complex arrangements. [Dec 2003, p.154]
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BlenderTravis may have grown serious, but at least it hasn't gone to their heads. [Nov 2003, p.122]
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UncutThe tunes, for all their airiness, just won't stick. [Nov 2003, p.107]
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Each new direction leads into a wall or dies for lack of momentum.
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SpinHealy's wounded sneer makes you long for his misty croon. [Dec 2003, p.128]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 31
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Mixed: 6 out of 31
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Negative: 1 out of 31
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Mar 11, 2017
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mattsOct 24, 2006
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mattaOct 5, 2005