Travis Compose Ode To J. Smith

09/10/08 10:30am

by Jason MacNeil (CHARTattack)

After releasing The Boy With No Name last year, Scottish band Travis will issue Ode To J. Smith in Britain on CD, vinyl and as a download through their own Red Telephone Box label on Sept. 29. An import CD will be available in North America the next day.

The album was written in five weeks and recorded in 14 days in February and March. Lead single "Something Anything" and "J. Smith" can be previewed on Travis' MySpace page.

"Something Anything," with non-album tracks "Tail Of The Tiger" and "Used To Belong," will be self-released in the same three formats on Sept. 15. The seven-inch version will also include a cover of The Kinks' "Lola."

Travis revived Red Telephone Box earlier this year after leaving longtime label Independiente. The band's imprint was originally used to launch their career when they released "All I Want To Do Is Rock" in 1996. Their Good Feeling full-length debut followed a year later, and singer/guitarist Fran Healy, guitarist/vocalist Andy Dunlop, bassist/vocalist Dougie Payne and drummer Neil Primrose have released four studio albums and won numerous awards in the U.K. since then.

Here are the tracks on Ode To J. Smith:

"Chinese Blues"
"J. Smith"
"Something Anything"
"Long Way Down"
"Broken Mirror"
"Last Words"
"Quite Free"
"Get Up"
"Friends"
"Song To Self"
"Before You Were Young"