Oasis Sounds Rock-Solid, but Some Big Ifs Remain

Hold up on those Oasis obituaries.

The combustible British rock group’s commanding performance Sunday at the Universal Amphitheatre suggested that Oasis may indeed have another chance at storming the charts in this country--if the Gallagher brothers can maintain their newfound sobriety and if they can keep their sibling rivalry under control, and if Noel Gallagher can regain his touch as a songwriter.

Not an easy assignment, but Oasis should have gained strength from the enthusiastic response from Sunday’s capacity audience to the group’s strongest L.A.-area concert ever.

Noel Gallagher’s richly melodic, self-affirming songs and Liam Gallagher’s supreme vocal presence have always been the heart of Oasis’ appeal, but the music is now presented with greater sonic force, thanks largely to a new backing lineup spearheaded by guitarist Gem Archer and bassist Andy Bell.

Noel now needs to give everyone better material than he came up with in the new album, “Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.” The tunes still have the melody and the optimism, but they lack his earlier grand ambition and confidence.

Adding to the celebration Sunday was Travis, a Scottish quartet whose “All I Want to Do Is Rock” was one of the great, undiscovered rock anthems of the ‘90s. The song, which the band used to open its set, was one of the highlights of a 1997 album, “Good Feeling,” that got pretty much lost here in all the attention over such other British bands as Oasis, Radiohead and the Verve.

While those acts were on the sidelines last year, Travis stepped up with a second album, “The Man Who,” which was a huge commercial and critical success in England. Just released here, the collection, whose generally wistful tunes suggest its true title should have been “Melancholy Feeling,” combines many of the most appealing elements of its esteemed rivals without sacrificing its own identity.

Lead singer Fran Healy is such a warm, disarming frontman that he seemed at times Sunday to be the anti-Liam (Oasis’ singer’s manner tends to range between arrogant and aloof). But more importantly, the quality of the music over the course of 45 minutes showed that Travis and the other cited U.K. acts serve as a soulful and thoughtful alternative to the leaden rap-rock offered in so many U.S. bestsellers these days. Think of Travis and the other British bands as the anti-Korn.