“Our realities are being distorted”: Travis singer Fran Healy on dealing with big issues on her new album

Hot on the heels of their 20th anniversary reissue of The Invisible Band, Scottish indie rock group Travis are back. Their new album, titled LA Times, is one of the band’s finest efforts since The Man Who, the multi-platinum mega-hit that launched their international fame.

Listeners will enjoy the album’s frank assessment of the incessant changes of modern life and the dangers and promises of approaching middle age. As lead singer and songwriter Fran Healy points out, “‘LA Times’ is our most personal album since ‘The Man Who.’ There were a lot of important things to write about back then, the tectonic plates had shifted in my life. I was 22 when I wrote these songs. They were my therapy. Over 20 years later, the plates have shifted again. There’s a lot to talk about.”

There’s actually a lot to talk about. On the album’s first single, “Gaslight,” Travis creates an energetic musical palette to address the inherent paranoia of our postmodern age, an era where deception and social destabilization are the order of the day. Healy drives this point home throughout, singing “always on my mind till you shine” as the song’s constant refrain.

“I read a few weeks ago that gaslighting is the most searched word in the world on the internet,” Healy noted. “We live in a time where our realities are distorted by bosses, leaders, friends, teachers, politicians. It’s really everywhere. Gaslighters want to control you. They tell you things that undermine your confidence and make you question reality, and you feel like you’re going crazy.”

The band’s tight sound is probably due to their longevity, as the band has remained in the same line-up for over 30 years, with Healy on mic, Andy Dunlop on guitar, Dougie Payne on bass and Neil Primrose on drums. Tony Hoffer – who has previously worked on the mixing desk for artists such as Beck and Phoenix – deserves special mention for the LP’s top-notch production.

At its core, LA Times is an intelligent album that finds Travis exploring new sonic perspectives at a time in his life and career when other bands are understandably resting on their laurels.