CD Review : Keane - Hopes and Fears

I picked up this cd after I saw a rerun of SNL in which they were the musical guest. I honestly had never heard of them until then which probably tells you a little about how much I listen to the radio or 'popular' music nowadays.

Keane is a 3 piece group consisting of a vocalist, pianist and a drummer. It's actually quite refreshing not to see a guitarist in the band and throughout the album there's really no need for one unless a guitar solo is needed here or there. What really stands out for me is the singer's voice, kind of a mix between Coldplay's Chris Martin and Air Supply, he's very talented.

Key tracks are "Somewhere Only We Know", "Everybody's Changing" and "Your Eyes Open", tracks 1, 5 and 6 respectively. 'Somewhere...' starts the album off with pulsing piano and drums reminiscent of Billy Joel. This track could easily land itself onto a movie soundtrack (it might have already, I don't know). 'Everybody's Changing' is the song I heard on SNL. It's got a little bit of sampled electronica in it but not too heavy. Good stuff. 'Your Eyes Open' is definitely Coldplay-esque with regard to the vocal melody and is really my favorite song from the cd now. The rest of the album is quite experimental ranging from Pink Floyd tones to Depeche Mode-type tracks.

Fans of Coldplay will probably like Keane's release and I do, although one minor quib I have about the cd is that some of the tracks borderline on 'chump rock' and 'my girlfriend just broke up with me' triteness. On their next release I hope they to come over the top with a more ballsy sound because many tracks leave me wondering 'is that all???'. You can't deny their songwriting though...

Keane - Hopes & Fears - ***