Top Ten Albums of 2012 - #4
Keane's Strangeland
Editor's Note: This is the 7th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2012. The 10th edition is wrapped into the larger year-end post I call "The Ho Media Awards", which will be published just after the new year. Stay tuned!
Keane turned in a weak effort with their last album, which I panned a few years ago. They've since released an EP that was received with scorn by pretty much the entire fan community. Things were looking bad, which was great news for me. I have a theory that artists only make good albums when they're experiencing tough times. The corollary is that they make lousy albums when they are at the height of their popularity/having good tours/etc. Coldplay and The Killers are two fine recent examples. Now Keane joins that list.
This album does a sharp U-turn away from the synth-filled excess and sunshiny melodies of the previous two works and journeys back to the pianos and themes of things that have been lost. "Disconnected" is the strongest example of this in the beginning album, with a mix that perfectly matches the lyrics - the stuttering delivery in the chorus sounds like an old busy signal or the harsh clicks of a dial-up modem. "Sovereign Light Cafe" is one of their strongest songs to date just for hitting the perfect power pop notes. "On the Road" is another song that sounds exactly like what it's describing - a driving song. "Black Rain" is the closest thing we get to a track from Under The Iron Sea (my favorite Keane album). "Day Will Come" echoes "Black Burning Heart" from Perfect Symmetry (the only song that redeems this album from being sold to make way for better albums). And "Sea Fog" is Keane shining at what they do best: stripped down and delicate works where the perfect amount of production simply means sitting back and letting everything and everyone breathe.
Even the four bonus tracks are outstanding. The link above sends you to the deluxe version of the album, which ironically is the only way you can obtain the title track. "The Boys" is another good one which brings something a little different to the table. Reminds me of "Stars and Stripes" from Starsailor's magnificent final (?) album All The Plans.
It's hard to criticize this album. Some days, some of the tracks don't inspire me. The opener is probably the weakest track on the album, which makes it a little slow to start. Counting the bonus tracks, we get a full 16 songs from start to finish, which can get a little heavy. But for me, the quality never fades throughout, so this is almost never a problem.
Album Highlights: Sovereign Light Cafe, The Starting Line, Day Will Come, Sea Fog, The Boys
Keane turned in a weak effort with their last album, which I panned a few years ago. They've since released an EP that was received with scorn by pretty much the entire fan community. Things were looking bad, which was great news for me. I have a theory that artists only make good albums when they're experiencing tough times. The corollary is that they make lousy albums when they are at the height of their popularity/having good tours/etc. Coldplay and The Killers are two fine recent examples. Now Keane joins that list.
This album does a sharp U-turn away from the synth-filled excess and sunshiny melodies of the previous two works and journeys back to the pianos and themes of things that have been lost. "Disconnected" is the strongest example of this in the beginning album, with a mix that perfectly matches the lyrics - the stuttering delivery in the chorus sounds like an old busy signal or the harsh clicks of a dial-up modem. "Sovereign Light Cafe" is one of their strongest songs to date just for hitting the perfect power pop notes. "On the Road" is another song that sounds exactly like what it's describing - a driving song. "Black Rain" is the closest thing we get to a track from Under The Iron Sea (my favorite Keane album). "Day Will Come" echoes "Black Burning Heart" from Perfect Symmetry (the only song that redeems this album from being sold to make way for better albums). And "Sea Fog" is Keane shining at what they do best: stripped down and delicate works where the perfect amount of production simply means sitting back and letting everything and everyone breathe.
Even the four bonus tracks are outstanding. The link above sends you to the deluxe version of the album, which ironically is the only way you can obtain the title track. "The Boys" is another good one which brings something a little different to the table. Reminds me of "Stars and Stripes" from Starsailor's magnificent final (?) album All The Plans.
It's hard to criticize this album. Some days, some of the tracks don't inspire me. The opener is probably the weakest track on the album, which makes it a little slow to start. Counting the bonus tracks, we get a full 16 songs from start to finish, which can get a little heavy. But for me, the quality never fades throughout, so this is almost never a problem.
Album Highlights: Sovereign Light Cafe, The Starting Line, Day Will Come, Sea Fog, The Boys
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