“L.A. Times is our most personal album since The Man Who. There was a lot of big stuff to write about back then, the tectonic plates had shifted in my life. I was 22 when I was writing those songs. They were my therapy. Over 20 years later and the plates have shifted again. There’s a lot to talk about.” - Fran Healy
Glasgow’s multiple BRIT and Ivor Novello-winning songwriting giants Travis reveal a second track ‘Raze The Bar’ from their upcoming album L.A Times, out on 12th July via BMG.
A bittersweet story about the closure of “Black & White Bar,” a much-loved New York haunt for the band and scores of local creatives, from The Strokes to “Godfather of Street Art” Richard Hambleton. ‘Raze The Bar’ utilises Fran’s masterful songwriting to tell of a fictional last night in the Greenwich Village bar with all of the frequent characters (the bar staff, and owners Johnny T Yerington and Chris Yerington are now immortalised in the single artwork) before it closed forever. In keeping with the theme of the track, ‘Raze The Bar’ sees Travis surrounded by friends. Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Brandon Flowers of The Killers join the party, supplying additional vocals on the track - a measure of the esteem in which Travis are still held by the bands who emerged in their wake.
Speaking about ‘Raze The Bar’, Fran Healy says:
“There was a great bar in New York City. It didn’t have a name but everyone called it Black and White on account of the black and white striped awning that hung over the entrance. They had poetry nights, great DJs, open mic nights. If you played a show at Irving Plaza or Webster Hall, chances are you ended up at Black and White till the wee small hours. One of the owners, Johnny T, looked after so many artists and bands over the years. If that bar could talk, what a story it would tell.
During the pandemic, their landlord refused to negotiate a reduced rent and they had to close. So, in the middle of the night, they turned up with a truck and removed every single trace and fixture of the bar. Then they white washed the whole space so it could never be repeated. ‘Raze the Bar’ is a song about a fictional last night in the bar. Johnny is in there, Jack, Richard and Johnny’s brother and bar co-owner Chris. The cameos were almost an afterthought! I just called Chris Martin in a bit of a panic because I couldn’t figure out what the track sequence should be. When Chris heard it, he was like, ‘That song is the best thing you’ve ever written!’ And because he and Brandon Flowers both live quite near…”
L.A. Times sees Travis embark on a bold new era; an incredible achievement that arrives 25 years since the band released their breakthrough #1 album The Man Who, a 9x Platinum certified record in the UK alone.
Produced by Tony Hoffer (Air, Beck, Phoenix), L.A. Times was written by Fran Healy in his studio on the edge of Skid Row, Los Angeles, the city he has called home for the last decade. He describes it as Travis’ “most personal album since The Man Who”. Its ten songs see their creator, inevitably, trying to make sense of the road travelled to this point - a sentiment reflected in the stunning album cover photograph. Echoing some of Travis’ most beloved records – The Man Who, The Invisible Band and The Boy With No Name - we’re greeted anew by four distant figures amongst vast surroundings, this time beneath the concrete and glitter of downtown Los Angeles at night. An unbroken line-up since their formation at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1990s, the coordinates of their extraordinary journey together are marked by this latest in a series of arresting images by world-renowned photographer and Travis collaborator for over 20 years, Stefan Ruiz.
Travis will begin a huge live season in summer 2024, confirmed to perform with The Killers across their 16 date UK arena tour through June and July, returning to Europe for their first headline tour across the continent since 2016 in August through to September, with more UK live activity soon to be announced.
L.A. Times is available digitally, on CD and vinyl. The album is also available as a limited deluxe 2CD package which includes a stripped-back version of the L.A. Times album, recorded between Dougie Payne’s Living Room, Glasgow, and Fran Healy’s Living Room, L.A.
Arena Tour Dates w/ The Killers
12 June 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
14 June 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
15 June 3Arena, Dublin, Ireland
18 June Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, UK
19 June Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, UK
21 June Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, UK
22 June Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, UK
25 June OVO Hydro, Glasgow, UK
26 June OVO Hydro, Glasgow, UK
27 June OVO Hydro, Glasgow, UK
4 July O2 Arena, London, UK
5 July O2 Arena, London, UK
7 July O2 Arena, London, UK
8 July O2 Arena, London, UK
10 July O2 Arena, London, UK
11 July O2 Arena, London, UK
