Britpop stars Travis drop sublime rocker 'Valentine' from '10 Songs' LP and fans are loving its old-school sound
The seasoned Britpop veterans Travis are back with a brand-new single, the glorious and gritty 'Valentine', which serves as the second preview of their latest studio album '10 Songs', slated for release on October 9 this year via BMG. The multi-platinum-selling Scottish soft rockers had previously released the emotionally-charged debut single 'A Ghost' from their upcoming ninth studio record earlier last month. Their latest song ‘Valentine’ is simultaneously dark and heavenly, possessing a crackling energy as it intertwines between the band's lead vocalist Fran Healy’s soft, soothing vocals and Andy Dunlop’s moody, bouncy guitar lines. You can check it out here below:
'Valentine' was written by the band's lead vocalist Healy, who co-produced it with Robin Baynton (Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons). Speaking about the new track, Fran Healy said, “Valentine was recorded as a predominately live performance in December 2019 at Rak Studios in London. It’s the closest Travis have gotten sonically to our debut album, ‘Good Feeling’. Alex Harvey-esque.” The brooding lyrics include lines like "If I lie here / I might die here / I may lay here for a while / Play it gently / Arrogantly / Play it once and for all time / Like you did when you were mine / Funny how the time flies by."
Besides the 'Good Feeling' vibes, fans of the Glasgow-based band also hailed another old-school Travis throwback, noting that the new song was reminiscent of Travis's under-appreciated 2008 offering, 'Ode to J Smith'. One fan declared, "This is between Good Feeling and J. Smith" while another longtime listener said, "Wow, sounds good. Reminds me of something off of 'Ode to J Smith', one of their often misunderstood albums." Another delighted fan concurred, "Sounds like the early days of Travis" as another exclaimed, "Travis rock out. This is heaven."
Other supporters were also praising the unwieldy nature of the song, saying, "Loved it! Between something strange, something pleasant. It's cool. ❤" Another fan pointed out that it was the closest Travis had come to sounding like the British rock superstars Muse, by saying "Travis = Muse" and it's hard not to disagree after listening to the track. A diehard supporter also crowed, "Another solid one... I'm blown away by the fact that my childhood favorite band just keep making such good music." Another fangirl proclaimed, "Great to hear a rockier sound again🎸Definitely getting 'Good Feeling' vibes, can’t wait to hear more of '10 Songs'😍😁❤️."
According to a press release, "A limited-edition 10’ vinyl of the song, with artwork etched on the flip side by the acclaimed artist Douglas Gordon, is available to pre-order exclusively on the band’s official store. Fans will also be in with a chance of receiving a specially numbered copy (limited to 300). These will be randomly allocated after purchase."
As for the upcoming album, the release noted, "’10 Songs’ is an album about the way life comes at love and what love does to weather those challenges. It’s grown-up. There’s sizzling synergy in abundance, and many of its songs benefit from the almost psychic sense of mutual attunement that comes from being in a band whose line-up hasn’t changed in its entire collective lifetime."
You can stream Travis's new song 'Valentine' by clicking here and also pre-order their highly-awaited album '10 Songs' by clicking here.