Travis invented a corner of the pop world in which we currently live. But is there still space for them to fit in among the stars who have followed in their wake?

The band from Glasgow, in whose image Coldplay, Keane, Snow Patrol and all the other sensitive stadium-rock groups were created, are back with their fifth album, The Boy with No Name, which will be released on May 7.

Less than two years ago they were headlining at big festivals and performing at Live 8 in Hyde Park. But so rapid is the pace of change in pop these days that it feels as if they have been away for longer, and nothing is being taken for granted.

The singer and guitarist, Fran Healy, was certainly effusive in greeting the gathering of hardcore fans and music industry insiders who had tickets for their show at Koko, where the band showcased songs from the new album along with a selection of old favourites.

“It’s great to be back,” he said, several times. In the era of the internet, nothing is kept secret for long, and the opening bars of the new songs prompted cheers of recognition from their most devoted followers.

Closer, which will be released as a single in April, was typical: built on acoustic guitar foundations and a gently throbbing tom-tom beat, the song was guided by a cascading chord sequence towards a soaring chorus, in which Healy stated his case for emotional togetherness in a heart-tugging, almost-falsetto wail.

Not fast, not slow, not quite rock, but a bit serious to be pop, it was classic in-betweener stuff aimed squarely at a generation of fans who, like the band, are fast approaching their middle years. Healy has recently become a father for the first time, an event that has clearly triggered a mellowing of his worldview. Where Travis’s last album dabbled in political messages, their new songs such as My Eyes — about his son — were strictly personal and earnestly sentimental.

Battleships addressed the issue of the pointless arguments that occur within a long-term relationship, while Healy introduced the bouncy Colder as “another song about the weather”.

It was all very mature and meaningful, but hardly the stuff to set pulses racing. That was achieved by a string of hardy perennials from the back catalogue including Sing, Turn and a lively version of All I Want to Do is Rock, during which the guitarist Andy Dunlop pulled off his old party trick of clambering on top of the PA speakers to deliver an eccentric solo.

They wrapped it up with Why Does It Always Rain on Me?, another nice number, but not a show that felt like the start of a bold new chapter.

Travis play Parr Hall, Warrington, tonight; UK tour begins May 15 at Grimsby Auditorium

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