Keane bids adieu to uplifting ballads and ushers in a different style -- '80s-influenced pop -- with Perfect Symmetry. While the album isn't solely devoted to exploring that new genre, it's certainly the focus, and "Spiralling" appropriately kickstarts the set with whooping vocals and retro synthesizers. "When we fall in love," sings Tom Chaplin in his Wembley-geared voice, "we're just falling in love with ourselves." Coming from the same mouth that once crooned the over-earnest strains of "Somewhere Only We Know," those lyrics are wholly different -- a sign that four years spent in the shadow of U2, Coldplay, and other like-minded bands have convinced Keane to make their own Achtung Baby. Of course, that album saw U2 turning sonic experimentation into something entirely inventive, which Perfect Symmetry doesn't quite accomplish with its own mixture. This isn't quite art, after all; it's mostly just fun, shot through with a self-consciously cheesy approach that's engineered to sound little like the department-store rock of 2004's Hopes and Fears. "Fun" seems to be at the top of the band's agenda, though, and Perfect Symmetry accordingly succeeds in doing away with most of the pre-conceived notions that accompany Keane records. The "old" sound doesn't even surface until midway through the album, when the album's title track offers up a combination of sparse piano notes (later giving way to dense, double-fisted arpeggios) and a meteoric melody in the chorus. But that's the exception, not the rule, and Perfect Symmetry sounds more comfortable during its truly unexpected moments: the spacy blips and bleeps of "You Haven't Told Me Anything," the synthesized anthem "Again and Again," and the energetic "Wooooooh!" that opens the entire album. The band's underlying strength remains Chaplin's ability to turn a melodic phrase with grace and dexterity, which fails to lose its vitality no matter the musical context, but Keane's willingness to take these left-hand turns deserves its own share of accolades.
A lot of indie type bands have recently dug back to 80s pop thrills in order to refresh themselves. Well, Mystery Jets did it with quite some aplomb. Keane do it and sound exactly the same as they always did. Why yes, we do have some electronic beats but it just sounds like they've written [...]
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Keane's latest album, Perfect Symmetry (itunes ) (amazon ), quietly slipped onto the music scene awhile back and it hasn't really had an overwhelming impact. In fact I listened to it a good five or six times before it finally started to stick in my head. And I think that's because I was focusing on all the things that this album isn't; this isn't stadium ready, anthem filled, power pop/rock ...
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I'll be honest, I was a big fan of Keane in high school and it not because of the Coldplay comparisons they were unfortunately labeled after their first album Hopes and Fears. While Hopes and Fears had its solid moments, Under The Iron Sea was a pretty good album in my opinion after having been [...] No related posts.
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The not-so squeaky clean faces of piano based pop almost pull a fast one over TLOBF's Sean Bamberger with their new album, Perfect Symmetry.
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First up this week is Keane and their new album Perfect Symmetry. Keane has a big of an 80's electronica sound for the first handful of tracks, but the album levels off into much slower and more soothing sounds. This is the third album from the UK natives. On their website, their biography sites... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit the MCMB website for full links, free music, great vid...
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Keane - Perfec t Symmetry (* * * 1/2) Ten seconds into the first track and lead single, "Spiralling," you might be wondering when Maroon 5 became such a big influence on Tim Rice-Oxley and Co. Having previously suffered (unfavorable even) comparisons to Coldplay and other sensitive piano-rockers, Keane seem to be seeking to set themselves apart from the pack. Admittedly, I've never been a ...
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Never been a huge fan, but I am liking his new work.I like this song and the vid is very cool...
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Most bands aren't ready to give away entire albums for free, but a good number seem willing to give fans a little teaser of their new work. I think it's a brilliant idea as Sigur Ros's Goobledigook and Coldplay's Violet Hill are two of my recent promo acquisitions. Now Keane is getting in the game with Spiralling off of their forthcoming October release Perfect Symmetry. From now till Augus...
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A lot of indie type bands have recently dug back to 80s pop thrills in order to refresh themselves. Well, Mystery Jets did it with quite some aplomb. Keane do it and sound exactly the same as they always did. Why yes, we do have some electronic beats but it just sounds like they've written [...]
More >
Love the band and this song very much. :) I think I agree on being taken by their "Hopes and Fears" album, but I'm glad to see they are taking steps to expand their sound. Can't wait for their album to come out. The video's a little different than what I thought it would be, but still creative. From their 3rd Album "Perfect Symmetry" to be released on October 14, 2008 ! Play: Download Kean...
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Normally I'm not much into remixes, but I'm digging this new one of Keane's "The Lovers Are Losing" by CSS . The original track is from their recent release Perfect Symmetry which is their strongest collection of tunes yet. The best part is that Keane want YOU to have this for free, so download it here! Keane - Lovers Are Losing (CSS Remix)
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Keane's latest album, Perfect Symmetry (itunes ) (amazon ), quietly slipped onto the music scene awhile back and it hasn't really had an overwhelming impact. In fact I listened to it a good five or six times before it finally started to stick in my head. And I think that's because I was focusing on all the things that this album isn't; this isn't stadium ready, anthem filled, power pop/rock ...
More >
--- - |- Filed under: News Today, Oh Boy! Spinner.com: Keane have announced that their third studio album, 'Perfect Symmetry,' will be released on October 13.Radiohead's Colin Greenwood joined Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in working on the soundtrack for the birding film 'Woodpecker.'Hot Chip's live concert... Read more ~~- Keane
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I'll be honest, I was a big fan of Keane in high school and it not because of the Coldplay comparisons they were unfortunately labeled after their first album Hopes and Fears. While Hopes and Fears had its solid moments, Under The Iron Sea was a pretty good album in my opinion after having been [...] No related posts.
More >
First up this week is Keane and their new album Perfect Symmetry. Keane has a big of an 80's electronica sound for the first handful of tracks, but the album levels off into much slower and more soothing sounds. This is the third album from the UK natives. On their website, their biography sites... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit the MCMB website for full links, free music, great vid...
More >
The not-so squeaky clean faces of piano based pop almost pull a fast one over TLOBF's Sean Bamberger with their new album, Perfect Symmetry.
More >
Keane are set to embark on a 13-date arena tour early next year. The jaunt will kick off on January 23, 2009 as is in support of their third album 'Perfect Symmetry' to be released on October 13, 2008 in the UK. Keane Tour dates:Belfast Odyssey Arena (January 23) Dublin The O2 (25) Newcastle Arena (27) Glasgow SECC (29) Manchester MEN Arena (31) Nottingham Arena (February 1) Bournemouth BIC (...
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We need more videos to just be four minutes of pure pop bliss and interesting visual pieces like landscapes, televisions, light spirals and CGI. The new record from the UK's most promising piano-pop band (sorry Coldplay, old news), Keane, also...
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WTF? Keane dropped their new album back in October...and I had to hit up Wikipedia to see if frontman Tom Chaplin had been replaced. (He wasn't) What I did learn is that they hit up Stuart Price aka Thin White Duke (and Jon Brion) for some production help, which resulted in a nice little synth heavy 80's pop album that is unlike any of their other releases. They come off sounding like Simple...
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It's the blogging equivalent of being unprepared for class and having to stand in front of everyone and read your book report. It's my turn to post, and I have nothing concrete to talk about, so here are just some random musical thoughts floating through my head at the moment: *I listened to Duffy's album last night, and even though I like it more and more with each passing listen, I still thi...
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Now that CSS are done remixing themselves, they've decided to hit Keane's underwhelming "The Lovers Are Losing" and transformed it to something that that deserves my otherworldly fascination. I really didn't like Keane's latest effort (I gave them three shots to grow on me — FAIL!) but this is just a breathe of [...]
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Spiralling |
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| 2 The Lovers Are Losing |
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| 3 Better Than This |
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| 4 You Haven't Told Me Anything |
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| 5 Perfect Symmetry |
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| 6 You Don't See Me |
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| 7 Again and Again |
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| 8 Playing Along |
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| 9 Pretend That You're Alone |
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| 10 Black Burning Heart |
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| 11 Love Is the End |
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 "Perfect Symmetry")
