Bourgeois And Comfortable
A pleasant mid-tempo number, 'Closer' isn't the stonking comeback single Travis needed to distance themselves from the vague and poppy tunes on their last album, 'Twelve Memories'. It opens with the forlorn line, "I've had enough of this parade/I'm thinking of, the words to say", which sums up the tendency of the verses to feel bored, unmotivated and as if they're about to give up the ghost. Infact it's more of the same upbeat but uninspiring, radio-friendly fare as the last material with singer Fran breaking into a sugary falsetto as he utters to the blissful words, 'Closer'.
Travis are a band who had, and surely still had plenty of bile when they concentrated on making moving and exploratative tunes, rather than all of this monotonous mellow dirge! Violins mix with the restrained guitars, with neither having much effect on the listener, other than to evoke the feel of a more rock n'roll version of Keane. 'Closer' is the kind of tune that will be called a 'pop gem' by magazines for housewives; it's of the same standard as fillers on, 'The Man Who' or 'The Invisible Band', which had exceptional tracks to pull up the overall quality, whereas this single just falls by the wayside.