Just in...Keane: Strangeland

    For how much we both admire the indie music scene and love checking out new bands and albums, my friend Kyle and I seldom, it seems, agree. Our tastes are just a little different. He likes Ray LaMontagne, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Lovedrug, The Black Keys, Mumford and Sons, and Cold War Kids; I do not. I could probably add Keane to this list, but I have found their latest New Wave-lite (has some 80s influence, but not quite as much as true New Wave) style to be a little more accessible to me, with interesting nuances. For the most part, the veteran (formed in 1997) indie British band from East Sussex is pretty straight forward Piano Rock. They sound a bit like U2, Coldplay and Barcelona (who just dropped a new album also on May 8th, come to find out!) and their music is driven by piano chords and synth with more sustained harmonies. There is bass guitar but not much other instrumentation that I can tell (at least on Strangeland--I have, admittedly, not listened intently to their earlier work, which is why I'd potentially add them to the list of my friend's favorites and not mine).
    Anyway, Keane's fourth full studio album, Strangeland, which just came out May 8th, 2012, on Island Records is preceded by: Hopes and Fears (2004), Under the Iron Sea (2006) and Perfect Symmetry (2008). They also released an EP, Night Train, in 2010. Hopes and Fears hit it huge, has sold over 5.8 million copies (data from 2009) and was named 11th best selling British album of the 2000's. It has pretty much set the standard for Keane and none of their albums since have made such an impact. I have a feeling Strangeland could do some damage, but we shall see. It has not received extremely positive reviews, but generally been somewhere in the upper middle. By the way, I think all their album artwork is pretty cool, and where ever they took the photograph for the cover of Strangeland is fairly remarkable. The more I consider it, I figure it must be photo-shopped somehow.
    Exploring the music a bit more, Strangeland has sort of a cohesiveness to it, with a good balance between heart-pounding, so to speak, chorus type songs that would fit a live performance really well and more ballade-esque melodious tunes. The former category, with catchy lines and choruses, would include: the single "Silenced by the Night", their second single "Disconnected", "Sovereign Light Café", "On the Road" (A very victorious, out to conquer sound! Quality rousing track.), and "Day Will Come". The latter group, which just has a slightly slower tempo and feel, would include: "Watch How you Go", "The Starting Line", "Black Rain" (lots of swirling synths and strings), "Neon River" (this could go either way. Love the arpeggiated synth underneath if you listen closely and at the very end of the song.), "In Your Own Time", and "Sea Fog". Overall, I tend to like the latter group more, but would grow tired of just listening to those songs alone, they pair well with the more upbeat tunes. I should mention, there is a Deluxe version, which is the only version to actually include the title track, "Strangeland". Odd, I think it would have fit nicely in with the rest of the album, while the other three tracks on the Deluxe version ("Run With Me", "The Boys" and ""It's Not True") did not quite fit the same style. The iTunes Deluxe version also includes another additional track, "Myth".
    So, I have linked one of my favorites, "On the Road", over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks'. Also, check out the entire streamed album on Keane's MySpace here. There is the original and Deluxe versions, I will just send you to the Deluxe, because the order is the same with the Deluxe songs attached to the end. Finally, their website is here if you want to look into Keane more yourself. Enjoy!