Keane fails to change sound on new album Symmetry

10/24/08 - The guys of Keane seem to aspire to be a modern-day Echo & the Bunnymen on their synthesizer-heavy album, Perfect Symmetry , but the effect is instead cheesy and affected, making them sound more like Duran Duran or Billy Idol-overblown and laughable.Keane may think that combining glitzy '80s-style synthesizers and dark, often political lyrics is some radical way of changing its sound, but without the clever production of bands like dance-pop quartet Metric, all it really does is make the band sound dated.

The opener, "Spiralling," with its hip-hop beats and "Whoo!" callbacks in the chorus, is the one exception to the rule: a song where the '80s sound and the use of guitars fit and sound comfortable.

Singer Tom Chaplin sounds more energetic and natural on "Spiralling" than he does on any other track on Perfect Symmetry. From the beginning it has always been Chaplin's ability to turn phrases that made the band memorable. His forced delivery on the majority of Perfect Symmetry is by far the album's biggest fault, because without his charisma the stylistic tricks on the album fall flat.

One of the album's low moments comes on "You Haven't Told Me Anything," when Keane forces its fans to endure yet another contemporary song featuring fuzzy, distorted guitars, which are present throughout most of the album, but are at their most grating here.

The piano ballads that are Keane's signature are all but gone on Perfect Symmetry, instead replaced with glossy, overproduced, mid-tempo numbers. The earnest musings of the group's 2004 breakout hit, "Somewhere Only We Know" are nowhere to be seen. Instead, cynical songs like "The Lovers are Losing" prevail.

Lyrics like "When we fall in love/We're just falling in love with ourselves" from lead single "Spiralling" are commonplace on Perfect Symmetry, a calculated departure from the band's well-worn persona.

Keane's always been a piano-fronted band for a reason. The sound of the piano melds much better with Chaplin's voice than the guitar does, which may be why Chaplin's delivery sounds so much more forced and dramatic on Perfect Symmetry than it has on either of the band's previous albums. Plus, the guys of Keane (despite what their recent hipster makeovers may lead people to believe) are hardly rock-and-rollers.

While the predictable piano ballads of past albums were, well, predictable, it highlighted keyboardist and songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley's knack for crafting perfect pop melodies combined with truly intelligent lyrics. On Perfect Symmetry, however, that feeling is lost amid the tinny, fake production that simultaneously drowns Oxley-Rice's melodies and destroys any chance at credibility the album may have.

Of course, Keane did choose to pair up with Stuart Price, also known as the producer behind Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor. While the man does know his way around a production board, he's hardly the one meant to helm the record of a so-called "Coldplay-lite" band wishing to emerge from the stereotype.

While Keane does break with the expected norms on Perfect Symmetry, it's too forced, too fast and too much of a 180 for the quiet British trio. The production is too heavy-handed for Keane and leaves the songs smothered beneath its weight- which is a shame, since the songs are all solid at their most basic.

Rather than forging a new path for the band, the new production style instead makes the album sound like a joke; a consequence that I doubt was intended.

Keane seems set on being viewed as hip, when in reality the group's music is comfortably adult-contemporary. While I applaud the band for trying to change, Keane should probably choose a change that works next time.

Eighties pop was a brilliant choice, but it needs to be done correctly. Think less fuzzy guitars and computerized blips and more synthesized keyboards. Chaplin needs to lighten up on the delivery and since the band seems set on some sort of string instrument being added to its repertoire, perhaps they could add some distorted violins in place of the guitars. Then it could work.

There's some really good work at the core of this album: great lyrics, solid hooks, gorgeous melodies. It just needs to be stripped down a bit because as much as you want to be, Keane, you are no Echo & the Bunnymen.