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Travis’ Fran Healy Is Happy To Hang Around: “Paris, Texas”

The yearning voice and sullen temperament behind the languid and lush Scottish outfit Travis, Fran Healy has been laying low of late. The primary task on his to-do list: commune with his diverse surroundings while recording his first solo effort in New York, Vermont and (mostly) Berlin. Whether the new Wreckorder (Ryko) benefits from that far-flung trio of locales—or guest appearances from Neko Case and Paul McCartney—is largely irrelevant to anyone who’s not already smitten by Healy’s majestically restrained brand of mope-rock understatement. The 10-song collection occasionally recalls the quieter moments on the already-pretty-quiet The Invisible Band, Travis’ 2001 LP. Only here, Healy turns even more insular as he’s left to stew in his own introspective juices. Healy will be guest-editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.

Healy: This film by Wim Wenders has had a massive influence on me. Its main character, Travis, became my band’s name. Paris, Texas—and its sparse Ry Cooder soundtrack—centers on the journey of a man to reconnect with the love of his life and mother of his son. He doesn’t speak a word for the first half of the movie. The movie opens up and reveals itself as he opens up. See this movie.

Video after the jump.