The Invisible Band is the third studio album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 from Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 band Travis

Travis (band)

Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...

. The album was released on June 11, 2001. The title of the album makes reference to the band's feelings regarding 'music being more important than the band making it'. Band frontman Fran

Francis Healy

Francis "Fran" Healy is a Scottish musician. He is currently the lead singer and main songwriter of the Scottish band Travis, having written nearly all of the songs on their six studio albums. He is based in Berlin, Germany...

 stated in an interview that the album's title referred to the band's status in 'having famous songs, but not being famous themselves'. The album spent four weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart

UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

, selling more copies in that time than The Man Who

The Man Who

The Man Who is the second studio album from the Scottish indie pop band Travis. The album was released on 24 May 1999, becoming the album that gave the band international recognition. The album peaked at #1 in the UK and #8 in Australia. It was later released in the United States in Early 2000...

managed in half a year.

Reviews

Q Magazine said of the album, "While the wheel remains un-reinvented, The Invisible Band finds its mark with unerring accuracy". While Launch also said of the album, "Songs like the stirring "Side", the delicate "Dear Diary", and the glistening "Follow The Light" are among the best and most fully crafted of Fran Healy's short but accomplished writing career". Leonard's Lair fully reviewed the album, claiming that, "Along with Coldplay's 'Parachutes', 'The Man Who' slowly became one of the ubiquitous releases at the turn of the century. Yet although the likes of 'Turn' and 'Driftwood' were undeniably easy on the ear paradigms for thoughtful indie/adult rock, they seemed to lack any kind of edge to go further particularly on the unremarkable 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' which was in danger of becoming their musical albatross. It seems as they have never been away but the follow-up release signifies their intention to become known as an albums band. The singles thus far, 'Sing' and 'Side', both feature hypnotic tunes courtesy mainly of Andy Dunlop's fine guitar work; the former is hopeful and joyous whilst the latter is steeped in melancholy. Further exposure to the album unveils a remarkably consistent level of songwriting with the unassuming-looking Dunlop always able to turn guitar and even banjo into memorable verses and choruses whilst Fran Healy sensibly never over-reaches in his successful quest for the yearning vocal. It's easy to imagine that the earnest, yet brilliant, likes of 'The Last Train' and 'Pipe Dreams' might alienate former fans but Travis are clearly above turning into victims of their own success. As an exercise in how modern rock should sound like, 'The Invisible Band' will take some beating".

Tracklisting

All songs written by Francis Healy

Francis Healy

Francis "Fran" Healy is a Scottish musician. He is currently the lead singer and main songwriter of the Scottish band Travis, having written nearly all of the songs on their six studio albums. He is based in Berlin, Germany...

.

1. "Sing" – 3:48
2. "Dear Diary" – 2:57
3. "Side" – 3:59
4. "Pipe Dreams" – 4:05
5. "Flowers in the Window
   Flowers in the Window
   "Flowers in the Window" is the third and final single from Indie band Travis' third studio album, The Invisible Band. The track topped the British Airplay charts and debuted at #18 on the UK Singles Chart.-Background:...
   
   " (Healy-McCartney)– 3:41
6. "The Cage" – 3:05
7. "Safe" – 4:23
8. "Follow the Light" – 3:08
9. "Last Train" – 3:16
10. "Afterglow" – 4:05
11. "Indefinitely" – 3:52
12. "The Humpty Dumpty Love Song" – 5:02

America & Australia Bonus Tracks

13. "Ring Out The Bell"

14. "You Don't Know What I'm Like"

Japanese Bonus Track

15. "Beautiful"

Personnel

• Francis Healy
  Francis Healy
  Francis "Fran" Healy is a Scottish musician. He is currently the lead singer and main songwriter of the Scottish band Travis, having written nearly all of the songs on their six studio albums. He is based in Berlin, Germany...
  
   – vocals, guitar, piano
• Andy Dunlop
  Andy Dunlop
  Andy Dunlop is a Scottish musician, who is currently the lead guitarist of Scottish indie band, Travis.-Biography:...
  
   – guitar
• Dougie Payne
  Dougie Payne
  Dougie Payne is the bassist and backing vocalist of the Scottish band, Travis.-Career:...
  
   – bass guitar
• Neil Primrose – drums

In pop culture

The song "Sing" makes a brief appearance on NBC's The Office

The Office (US TV series)

The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...

in the second-season episode "The Client", and is also heard again in the season six episode "The Banker

The Banker (The Office)

"The Banker" is the 14th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 114th episode overall. It was written by Jason Kessler and directed by Jeffrey Blitz....

". "Side" can be heard briefly in the second-season episode titled "Email Surveillance". The song "Flowers in the Window" is featured in the film Saved!

Saved!

Saved! is a 2004 teen comedy-drama film involving elements of religious satire. It was directed by Brian Dannelly and written by Dannelly and Michael Urban. It stars Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, and Mary-Louise Parker...

.

Chart performance

Chart (2001)	Peak position
UK Album Chart	1
Australian Album Charts	7
Austrian Album Charts	2
Canadian Album Charts	12
Swiss Album Charts	6
Denmark Album Charts	5
Finnish Album Charts	13
French Album Charts	13
German Album Charts	3
Irish Album Charts	1
Italian Album Charts	8
Norwegian Album Charts	1
New Zealand Album Charts	5
Swedish Album Charts	5
US Billboard 200	39

Chart Succession