"Our realities are being warped": Travis lead singer Fran Healy on tackling big themes on new album

Fresh on the heels of their 20th anniversary reissue of "The Invisible Band," Scottish indie rock group Travis is back for more. Their new album, titled "L.A. Times," marks one of the band’s finest efforts since "The Man Who," the multiplatinum mega-success that established their international fame.

Listeners will revel in the album’s candid assessment of contemporary life’s ceaseless change, as well as the perils and promises of an encroaching middle age. As lead singer and songwriter Fran Healy points out, “'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.”

There’s a lot to talk about, indeed. In the album’s lead single “Gaslight,” Travis fashions a high-energy musical palette to address the inherent paranoia of our postmodern age, an era in which deception and social destabilization rule the day. Healy makes this point resoundingly clear, singing “always on my mind until you shine” as the song’s constant refrain.

"I read a few weeks ago that gaslighting was the most web searched word in the world,” Healy observed. “We are living in a time where our realities are being warped by bosses, leaders, friends, teachers and politicians. It really is everywhere. Gaslighters want to control you. They tell you things which undermine your confidence in yourself and make you question reality, and it makes you feel like you’re going crazy.”

The band’s tight sound might well be attributed to their longevity, having sported the same lineup for more than 30 years, with Healy taking the microphone, Andy Dunlop on guitar, Dougie Payne on bass, and Neil Primrose on drums. Tony Hoffer — who previously worked the boards for such acts as Beck and Phoenix — deserves special mention for the LP’s top-flight production.

At its heart, "L.A. Times" is a smart album that finds Travis exploring new vistas of sound at a time in their lives and careers when other bands might be understandably resting on their laurels.