''Travistan'' is Travis Morrison's solo debut album, released in 2004 by

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington which was founded in 1998 by Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, the members of the band This Busy Monster, to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

Reception

''Travistan'' received mixed reviews. It currently has a 56 out of 100 on the review aggregate site

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, indicating "Mixed or average reviews." The album is often noted in discussions of the music journalism website ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', as it marked one of the first moments when, after establishing itself as a critical powerhouse, the

e-zine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...

turned on an artist to whom it had previously given enthusiastic support. The album was one of the rare albums to get a 0.0 rating, with reviewer Chris Dahlen describing the album as "one of the most colossal trainwrecks in indie rock history." Barsuk Records co-founder Josh Rosenfeld described the effects of the review as "immediate and disastrous"; ''Pitchfork''s managing editor later said that the site had become more careful in issuing very negative reviews as a result. Responding to ''Pitchfork''s review, Morrison said: Other critical reviews compared the album negatively to work of Morrison's previous band

The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan is an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or the Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the 1993 comedy film ...

. Zeth Lundy of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote, "This is quite literally as disappointing as records get, made all the more so by Morrison's solid resume with the Dismemberment Plan." Lundy singled out the tracks "Get Me Off This Coin", "My Two Front Teeth, Parts 2 and 3" and "Song for the Orca" for criticism. Not all reviews were negative, though. Noel Murray of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' wrote "''Travistan'' is odd but oddly listenable, with a bright mood sparked by Morrison's spirit of discovery. It's one extended, refreshing 'Why not?'." ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

''s Anthony Miccio, in response to the album's criticism, wrote, "After hearing the crap people have said about this album I'm bummed that people are so quick to reject what doesn't fit their immediate logic. It's ironic that folks would get off on shredding an album that's about trying to be kind and honest at the same time."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.Travistan – Travis Morrison

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved 15 June 2011 * Travis Morrison – bass guitar, drum machine, guitar, melodica, organ, percussion, piano, sampling, synthesizer, xylophone * Phil Brazena – violin * Dan Doggett – double bass * Mike Dugan – bass guitar, drum machine, guitar, melodica, organ, percussion, piano, sampling, synthesizer, xylophone * Amanda Fazzone – choir, chorus * Megan Katcher – viola * Josh LeBar – double bass * Corinne Lynch – viola * Jason McGerr – drums * Kendall Nordin – choir, chorus * Tiffany Shanta – violin * Travistani National String Orchestra – strings * Travistani Women's Chorus – choir, chorus * Sean Urban – violin *

John Vanderslice John Warren Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, San Francisco and O ...

– background vocals * Christopher Walla – audio production, bass, drum machine, guitar, melodica, organ, percussion, piano, producer, sampling, synthesizer, xylophone *

Don Zientara Don Zientara ( ) is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and variou ...

– audio production, producer

References

External links

Barsuk Record's page on ''Travistan''
{{Authority control 2004 debut albums Barsuk Records albums Travis Morrison albums Albums produced by Chris Walla