By Nathan Cross
Staff Writer

Ready for the next big thing?

The spring musical season serves an offering of established big-name Brit-pop bands such as Oasis and Blur with smaller-name U.K. bands Supergrass and Gay Dad. But none of the releases have been quite as good as Travis' "The Man Who."

For those who have not yet heard of Travis, you will. The Scottish rock band was formed in 1996 by a college art student, Fran Healy, who decided he would rather write songs than finish paintings. Healy met Neil Primrose (drums) working as a bartender in Glasgow and the group was formed with Primrose, Andy Dunlop (guitar) and Dougie Payne (bass). "The Man Who" is the group's follow-up to the successful "All I Wanna Do Is Rock" and 1997's "Good Feelings."

"The Man Who" was recorded and mixed between the end of 1998 and the start of 1999 and was recorded with the help of Nigel Godrich. The album was released internationally in May and, to date, has sold more than two million copies throughout Europe and has had five Top 20 U.K. singles.

So maybe Epic was playing mind tricks on the U.S. public by not releasing the album here until this month because the album surely has the potential to strike it big abroad.

The first track, called "Writing to Reach You," is a simple tune that highlights Healy’s soft, soothing voice across a pleasant musical backdrop. In the song, Healy makes the first of two Oasis references on the album when he sings, "The radio is playing all the usual/And what’s a Wonderwall anyway?"

"Writing to Reach You" sets the tone for many similar well-done tracks that follow and is one of the best tracks on the CD.

"Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" is the first U.S.-released single from the record. A cello accompanies the traditional instruments to produce a great melody. This, combined with Healy’s lyrics, produces a fun sing-a-long.

"Turn" adds some variety to "The Man Who" by mixing Healy's powerful vocals with a moving musical arrangement. The song is reminiscent of the Byrds' "Turn, Turn, Turn" and echoes a similar refrain.

Travis had the creative idea to record "Slide Show" in the back of a car to get a "radio-in-traffic" effect. Godrich’s final cut used a backdrop of sounds heard on the street that Neil had recorded.

"Slide Show" also contains the album’s second Oasis reference, reassuring the fact that the members of Travis look up to their Brit-pop role models.

As a whole, "The Man Who" is excellent and flows smoothly from start to finish.

"The Man Who" will probably be one of 2000’s biggest U.S. breakthroughs.