Not only are Travis winding up their third album, but you can watch them work. The band, who just vacated a Los Angeles studio on Dec. 15 to return to Glasgow for the holidays, will now head to London's Air Studios to mix the disc. Frontman Fran Healy confessed to Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail that the band has installed a webcam at Air Studios in London, where they are currently mixing ten new tracks for release in April, and now fans can peer at their heroes logging on to www.travisonline.com.

"The band is very keen on the Internet," said a band spokesperson. "Fran Healy is on it all the time. It's the obvious step for them because when they are on tour, they put something on every day and there's a chat room on the Travis site so fans can talk to them on a regular basis. Now they can see them in action, too."

The yet-to-be titled album was recorded in Los Angeles, with producer Nigel Godrich, who worked with them on The Man Who and was the man behind the boards for Radiohead's last two albums. According to Healy the recording process went along swimmingly and he revealed at last month's Q Awards -- where they picked up the Best Band in the World Award -- that they already had completed eight tracks. "They will blow you away," boasted Healy. "I did all the vocals in straight takes, so it meant I had to try and not do any shit singing."

Come April, you'll get to decide for yourself, as the band recorded Bob Dylan's "You're a Big Girl Now" as well as originals "Flowers in the Window," "Safe," and "The Cage," which were all test-driven on the band's recent North American tour. Travis plan to return for a U.S. tour in April.

JAAN UHELSZKI
(December 22, 2000)