Travis are a Scottish Britpop band from Glasgow, comprising Fran Healy (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Dougie Payne (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo, keyboards, backing vocals) and Neil Primrose (drums, percussion). Travis has twice been awarded British album of the year at the annual BRIT Awards, and are often credited with having paved the way for bands such as Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol. They have released five studio albums, beginning with their debut, Good Feeling, in 1997. Their fifth album, The Boy with No Name, was released 7 May 2007.

Val Emmich's major label debut Slow Down Kid is a re-release of his full length independent album. The record was originally recorded in Hoboken, NJ with producer Wayne Dorell (Yo La Tengo, Chavez) in 2002 and released by Childlike Records in 2003. After the record got picked up by Epic in early 2004, Val went to Los Angeles to record four new songs with producer Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Rilo Kiley, Finch).

Much credit for this successful fusion of arena rock, dance music, Europop, and techno must go to the group's accomplished rhythm section. Drummer Mark Guidry and bassist Mark Palgy are elastic and ingenious, they're masters of many styles, and they're unafraid to counterpose traditions and take aesthetic risks. As interpreters of frontman Craig Pfunder's writing, they couldn't be better: they put the hard edges on the slinky grooves of the debut Le Funk, and charged through the dizzy followup Night On Fire. The title track of the sophomore album appeared in films, videogames, and The OC, and got electrifying remixes from Cut Copy and Carlos D of Interpol. VHS Or Beta took to the road in support of Duran Duran, and closed 2005 as some of the nation's best known dance-rock revivalists.

For Bring On The Comets, their latest effort, VHS Or Beta has chosen to emphasize the "rock" elements of their musical personality. That's not to suggest that it doesn't move: on the contrary, no matter how fiercely pianist Chea Beckley and guitarist Mike McGill play, these mixes still shake. "Can't Believe A Single Word" is the anthemic centerpiece - a track studded with power chords and blessed with a gigantic chorus hook. Pfunder sounds just as tough as the six-strings do, and here his powerful voice carries a melody so catchy you'll be singing it in the shower for weeks.

Willy Mason first came to international attention with "Oxygen", a plainspoken statement of faith and purpose, and a Dylanesque critique of contemporary culture. "Oxygen" was a highlight of Where The Humans Eat, Mason's critically-lauded debut, and even broke into the British Top 30 - a remarkable feat for a bare-bones acoustic track. Now, Mason is back with his followup - and we'll be damned if it doesn't completely deliver on the promise of "Oxygen". If The Ocean Gets Rough features eleven songs just as emotionally direct, honest, and searching; better still, Mason's singing and playing are more confident, and his lyrics have achieved a new maturity and resonance.

The emphasis remains, however, on Willy Mason's powerful, philosophical lyrics. "Save Myself" is self-affirming and empowering, but there's a substantial amount of disgust here, too. Shawn Kim's pretty clip for "Save Myself" finds Mason alone in a wide and well-lit room. Barefoot and dressed in white, he sits in a chair, strums, and addresses his challenge to the camera. Before long, streams of clear liquid are trickling over his hands and legs (and guitar, too), and plastering his hair to his scalp. All at once, a straitjacketed Mason is plunged into a tank of deep water. Baptized and cleansed in the most dramatic fashion possible, he struggles to break free of his restraints. After a fight, he succeeds, and kicks for the surface. Back in the white room, the streams reverse themselves, flowing backward across his limbs; in the indoor sea, his hand breaks the surface of the water from beneath, followed by his head, gasping for air, but cleansed and very much alive.