Listening to Everything At Once is like drinking a cup of PG Tips. It’s warming, comforting, gently familiar and distinctly British.
The new album from the band that invented Coldplay, Keane, Snow Patrol et al, is like a gentle revision of a well-known sound. Opening with soft rolling beats, “What Will Come”, re-introduces us to the regular rhythms and unmistakable vocals of frontman Fran Healy.
The album rolls on with the summer road-tripping playlister “Magnificent Time” which carries the mantra: “No regret, don’t you forget this magnificent time. Seize the day, don’t throw away this magnificent time.” It’s like prozac, telling us: “It was summer in the city and my heart went boom, I packed up all my troubles in a different room”.
“Paralysed” chats about the Kardashians and Twitter (#KeepingItReal) and “Everything At Once” is a rushing song with an insistent riff, the words almost too quick to hear but for the Beatles-y lyric of “all you need is some love”. “3 Miles High” is short and sweet, but “All Of The Places” is great, time-honoured Travis that bubbles along, glassy and delicate, with sweet harmonies and Healy hitting the high notes.
“Idlewild” is a personal favourite just because it’s the only song on the album that veers from the norm (don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly Dong Ding Oolong – more of a Tea Pigs Chai blend). There are echoes of Nick Cave and James Bond soundtracks rolling around in this duet with Josephone Oniyama, who sings mysteriously: “Here we lie, high and dry, the world will never see you til you open your eyes. Say goodnight, kill the light, the world will never hear you tonight.”
“Strangers On A Train” is an excellent encore, reminiscent of swaying bodies at a summer festival. There's a euphoric chorus to clap along to, as the track wheels along with a repetitive up-down piano riff and a hook that repeats “hold your heart up in the sky let it shine, let it shine”.
Continuing with the tea theme, this is a mostly chamomile kind of album. It is a soothing balm of a listen, classic in its Travis sound, gentle in its rock, melodic in its pop and uplifting in its lyrics.
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