Ditching the old sounds

Oct 23 2008 by David Simister, North Wales Weekly News

KEANE are one of those “marmite” bands; you either love or absolutely loathe these three pop soldiers from Battle, in Sussex.

Given the storming success their first two albums enjoyed, Perfect Symmetry has an awful lot to live up to.

Keane have reached a crossroad where they could have happily plied further with the electro feel of Under The Iron Sea or returned to their original, piano-heavy sound. Amazingly, they’ve ditched both.

Band front man Tom Chaplin must be an Ashes to Ashes fan, because their most recent release really has gone back to the early 1980s.

Even the most liberal listeners won’t fail to spot bits of Bowie all over Better Than This, or hear hints of synthpop stalwarts like Talk Talk and Tears for Fears in this album’s opening tracks.

In fact, you have to wait for the title track before reaching anything recognisably Keane, so anyone hoping for a follow-up to haunting debut album Hopes and Fears is bound to be disappointed.

Some of the tracks even try – and fail – to incorporate dance music into the mix, but Keane have got to be commended for expanding on their sound.

Predictably, the star of the show is still Chaplin’s shrill vocals, which give an added dimension to some of the admittedly lame lyrics.

For fans looking for a bold expansion on the existing Keane sound, Perfect Symmetry is well worth a listen.

Rating 4/5

(CD supplied by Tesco)