Artist: Keane
Album: Hopes And Fears
By Menome
Ok, I'll start off by saying sorry. I know a large number of people out there are probably sick to death of hearing 'Everybody's Changing' on the radio or on the television, and although it's jingling piano melody was a small delight to hear at first, it's been somewhat ruined by it's aforementioned over-playing.
However, due to certain factors such as mafia postal workers and the internet's general unreliability, my other reviews of Morrisey's and Radiohead's new albums disappeared into oblivion, so I was forced to rush out and find something, ANYTHING, to review, and this was the result.
Fellow single 'Somewhere Only We Know' is thankfully more tolerable than 'Everybody's Changing' and sets the scene for the rest of the album, Coldplay-esque lyrics mixed with straight piano and keyboard backings, with no instruments involved, apart from drums of course.
The songs on the album follow a seemingly set agenda of slow song / upbeat song /slow song / upbeat song throughout the album, and it all feels a little...safe, as though Keane have deliberately restricted themselves on this album in order to make their first album accessible to as broad an audience as possible, which is no bad thing, but it does mean that overall, no single track stands out from the rest, apart from the singles, but only due to their recognisablity.
One track which struggles to make itself seem distinguished is 'Sunshine,' which actually has the faintest hint of Marillion about it melody-wise, and is a good laid-back tune. 'On A Day Like Today' is also a simple laid-back tune, and is one of those songs which you feel you've heard before somewhere, but probably haven't.
Overall, to be brutally honest though, I have to say that this album is verging on the edge of being boring. Other similar bands such as Coldplay are capable of creating albums with a mix of slow indie songs and upbeat ones, and keep your interest sustained throughout. However, Hopes And Fears’ songs all seem to merge into one another with very little to distinguish between them, save for jingly piano instead of dull piano, and a different tempo. This is a shame as Keane probably have the talent required to create a masterpiece indie album, but on their first effort, things have turned out rather disappointing. Better luck next time guys.
Picture from www.musicomh.com