Album Review: Travis - Ode to J.Smith

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Ode to J. Smith blasts off with some promise on ‘Chinese Blues’ but hope is gone from track two onwards whence (weak) gothic and (attenuated) Black Sabbath forays fail to justify pointless tempo changes. With songs not about anything and despite flashes of Ocean Colour Scene, ‘Something Anything’ made me want to add a question mark after its title. Pleasant enough overall, this latest release from a band that has (mystifyingly) sold ten million albums over the last 12 years, is fundamentally unremarkable. In fact it as ordinary as the nondescript name (…J. Smith) in its title suggests.  

Last Updated
Oct 3, 2008