The Invisible Band

This article is about the album by Travis. For the band, see The Invisible (band).

The Invisible Band
Studio album by Travis
Released	11 June 2001
Recorded	2000–2001
Studio	Ocean Way, Los Angeles AIR, London[1]
Genre	Alternative rock post-Britpop indie pop
Length	45:27
Label	Independiente Epic
Producer	Nigel Godrich
Travis chronology
The Man Who (1999) The Invisible Band (2001) 12 Memories (2003)
Singles from The Invisible Band
"Sing" Released: 28 May 2001 "Side" Released: 17 September 2001 "Flowers in the Window" Released: 25 March 2002

The Invisible Band is the third studio album by the Scottish rock band Travis, produced by Nigel Godrich. It was released on 11 June 2001 in the United Kingdom by Independiente and a day later in the United States by Epic Records. The songwriter, Fran Healy, said the title referred to the band's status of having famous songs, but not being famous themselves.

The Invisible Band spent four weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart, selling more copies in that time than their previous album, The Man Who (1999), achieved in six months.

Recording

The Invisible Band was recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, who also produced the previous Travis record, The Man Who (1999). According to the Travis songwriter, Fran Healy, Godrich arrived for the sessions in a bad mood. Healy said Godrich was frustrated after the gruelling recording sessions for Radiohead's albums Kid A and Amnesiac, and so "took it out on us because he couldn't take it out on Radiohead".[2]

Godrich was strict with Travis and rejected their initial work, which they found dispiriting.[2] Eventually, after a serious argument, the mood settled.[2] Healy felt it was good for Godrich to work with "melodic" bands such as Travis as well as more experimental acts such as Radiohead.[2] The group began to make progress after a session experimenting with unusual instruments such as a tanpura.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[5]
The Guardian	[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
NME	8/10[8]
Pitchfork	6.1/10[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	6/10[12]
Uncut	[13]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Invisible Band received an average score of 71 based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews".[3]

Q wrote: "While the wheel remains un-reinvented, The Invisible Band finds its mark with unerring accuracy".[10] While Launch also said of the album, "Songs like the stirring 'Side', the delicate 'Dear Diary', and the glistening 'Follow the Light' are among the best and most fully crafted of Fran Healy's short but accomplished writing career".[3] Q also listed it as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Fran Healy except where indicated

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sing"	3:48
2.	"Dear Diary"	2:57
3.	"Side"	3:59
4.	"Pipe Dreams"	4:05
5.	"Flowers in the Window"	3:41
6.	"The Cage"	3:05
7.	"Safe"	4:23
8.	"Follow the Light"	3:08
9.	"Last Train"	3:16
10.	"Afterglow"	4:05
11.	"Indefinitely"	3:52
12.	"The Humpty Dumpty Love Song"	5:02

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[1]

Travis Fran Healy – vocals, guitar, piano Dougie Payne – bass guitar Andy Dunlop – guitar, banjo Neil Primrose – drums, percussion Additional musicians Jason Falkner – keyboards (track 9) Millennia Strings – strings (tracks 1, 11 and 12) Joby Talbot – string arrangement (tracks 1, 11 and 12)

Additional personnel Nigel Godrich – production, mixing Bernie Grundman Mastering – mastering Darrel Thorp – assistant engineer at Ocean Way Studios Jon Bailey – assistant engineer at Air Studios Steve Orchard – string engineering (tracks 11 and 12)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 7 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 21 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 9 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 12 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 40 Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[22] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 13 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 13 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 3 Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 8 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 5 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 36 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 6 UK Albums (OCC)[33] 1 US Billboard 200[34] 39

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 72 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[36] 51 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[37] 82 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[38] 18 Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[39] 19 French Albums (SNEP)[40] 145 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] 40 Irish Albums (IRMA)[42] 14 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[43] 48 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 70 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 43 UK Albums (OCC)[46] 7 Worldwide Albums (IFPI)[47] 39 Chart (2002) Position Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[48] 99 French Albums (SNEP)[49] 145 UK Albums (OCC)[50] 78

Certifications

Certifications for The Invisible Band

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[51]	Gold	35,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[52]	Gold	50,000^^
France (SNEP)[53]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[54]	Gold	150,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[55]	Gold	7,500^^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[56]	Platinum	50,000^*
Sweden (GLF)[57]	Gold	40,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[58]	Gold	20,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[59]	4× Platinum	1,200,000^^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[60]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Information from the album booklet.
2. McLean, Craig (22 November 2021). "The Invisible Band at 20: Travis on the album that almost finished them". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
3. "Reviews for The Invisible Band by Travis". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
4. Wilson, MacKenzie. "The Invisible Band – Travis". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
5. Weingarten, Marc (15 June 2001). "The Invisible Band". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
6. Costa, Maddy (8 June 2001). "Bland ambition". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
7. Hilburn, Robert (10 June 2001). "Feel-Good Pop From the Heart (and Soul)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
8. "Travis : The Invisible Band". NME. 9 June 2001. Archived from the original on 5 August 2002. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
9. Rockermann, Kristin Sage (12 June 2001). "Travis: The Invisible Band". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
10. "Travis: The Invisible Band". Q (178): 122. July 2001.
11. Sarig, Roni (21 June 2001). "Travis: The Invisible Band". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
12. Greenwald, Andy (August 2001). "Travis: The Invisible Band". Spin. 17 (8): 138–39. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
13. "Travis: The Invisible Band". Uncut (51): 88. August 2001.
14. "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q. December 2001. pp. 60–65.
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22. "Eurochart Top 100 Albums - July 07, 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 28. 7 July 2001. p. 15. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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53. "French album certifications – Travis – The Invisible Band" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
54. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Travis; 'The Invisible Band')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
55. "New Zealand album certifications – Travis – The Invisible Band". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
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