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Keane
Perfect Symmetry
Review By Jeremy Willets
This English piano rock band’s been through a rough patch since its last album, 2006’s Under the Iron Sea. Frontman Tom Chaplin went to rehab for his blow habit, and the record — which was better than Keane’s debut, 2004’s Hopes and Fears — failed to match the sales figures of its predecessor. For a band that was all about stadium-sized anthems on those first two albums, Perfect Symmetry seems like a completely different creature. It’s almost wholly indebted to ’80s pop music. The twisted keyboard in opening track “Spiralling” makes the track sound a bit like the Cure’s “Hot Hot Hot!!!” “Better Than This” uses the same synth effect as David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes,” and “You Don't See Me” recalls Sledgehammer-era Peter Gabriel.
While those are all lofty comparisons, Keane’s impressions don’t come anywhere near the originals. In a weird way, Perfect Symmetry succeeds without getting a ton right. The band certainly deserves accolades for taking its sound in a different direction. Churning out an album of straightforward piano rock — the likes of which Coldplay hasn’t delivered with its past two records — would’ve certainly earned Keane vast commercial success. Although these 11 songs don’t measure up to previous forays, Keane sounds oddly assured throughout the album. Chaplin’s voice sounds better than ever, and the instrumentation behind him is constantly interesting and varied. But at the end of the day, Perfect Symmetry can’t overcome a lack of great songs.
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