Somewhat Keen on Keane
Written: May 12 '05 (Updated May 12 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some outstanding pop gems...
Cons: A lot of the same lackadaisical, boring stuff...
The Bottom Line: If you like British pop and wonder what Keane sounds like, consider them to be like Coldplay but with more piano. It's good, although over produced, music.
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| lambchops's Full Review: Hopes and Fears - Keane Movies |
The word “pretty” just about covers my feelings about Hopes and Fears by Keane. The music is infinitely listenable with easy melodies and light instrumentation. Passion rests at the center of the band’s best songs while the worst come off as affected and unemotional. Keane’s music is an artistic blend of The Verve, Coldplay, and Ben Folds which in and of itself a positive thing. What the band does with their ability is what makes Hopes and Fears a decently worthwhile album.
Sitting squarely in the spotlight is chubby-cheeked vocalist Tom Chaplin. He wields his beautiful voice with great confidence. It’s a multi-faceted instrument that stands on its own merit. With the addition of Tim Rice-Oxley’s shimmering keyboard work and drummer Richard Hughes’ restrained drumming Keane is a complete package. I’m still unsold on whether they have any staying power, but for now Hopes and Fears is enough to whet my appetite and cross my fingers for a stellar sophomore effort.
With that said, Hopes and Fears is the kind of disc that starts off wonderfully and loses energy some time toward the middle. I really honestly enjoy listening to it early on but it loses me at about the fifth song. The first few are truly amazing—glorious, lovely, gorgeous, and smooth traditional pop songs. It is clear from the opening of Somewhere Only We Know that Keane means business. The velvety song is punctuated by poignant keys and Chaplin’s languid though surprisingly vibrant voice. It’s hard not to be swept up in to the emotional song. I’m left with the opening verse echoing in my head:
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
Keane continues to impress and pull tightly on the heartstrings with This Is the Last Time. The quickened pace and tidy production make for a relatively rousing listen. Bend and Break continues in the same vein, though it fails to really set itself apart from the rest of the album. Regardless of its generic quality, it is still pleasant to hear. We Might as Well Be Strangers returns to the slow, melancholic direction that made the first track so outstanding. It builds in intensity as Keane nears the chorus. I like the song and enjoy Chaplin’s vocals in particular.
From Everybody’s Changing through Can’t Stop Now, Hopes and Fears loses steam. Everybody’s Changing is easily the best of the four songs with wistful mid-tempo style. I enjoy listening to it at the time, but in the end it leaves me feeling cold. Truth be told that while I like much of this album it mostly does little for me emotionally. The band’s passion returns in the magical, haunting Sunshine. As one of the lighter, stranger, and more lurid offerings it certainly makes me think and feel in a way that few of the other songs here do.
The final track, Bedshaped is also one of the better songs of Hopes and Fears. It takes a while to climax, but when it does it is overwhelmingly touching. Despite the fact that I get great joy out of at least half of the songs here, I can’t help but be underwhelmed. Keane seems as if they are stuck in a rut. They are clearly cut from the same rug as Coldplay and that overshadows much of their album. They aren’t one in the same, but still I can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu. Additionally, the heavy-handed production leaves me feeling cold. I would love to hear Keane in an acoustic, dimly lit setting rather than the white sterility of the studio environment.
Hopes and Fears is a fine enough album. It’s not perfect, but the good bits outweigh the bad making this a decently entertaining release especially for fans of British pop acts like Coldplay and The Verve not to mention talented modern singer-songwriters like Rufus Wainwright and Grant-Lee Phillips.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Somewhere Only We Know
02. This Is the Last Time
03. Bend and Break
04. We Might as Well Be Strangers
05. Everybody’s Changing
06. Your Eyes Open
07. She Has No Time
08. Can’t Stop Now
09. Sunshine
10. Untitled 1
11. Bedshaped
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lambchops
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 in Music |
 - Top 50 |
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Member: Shelly T.
Location: Metro Detroit, Michigan
Reviews written: 1170
Trusted by: 843 members
About Me:
I have hope.
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