Strangeland
by Keane

Keane has received a lot of (sometimes unfair) thrashing since their first album, and the truth is they evolved their sound, not reaching the excellence of H&F but it was very complicated. Here they try to "return to basics" and, well, I enjoy listening to the album because I enjoy Keane. That's all. Nothing better than before, nothing different.

From Charicature 02/04/2013 18:03 | #63944 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Should also be noted that the song listing here is for the standard CD, whereas the extended CD has I think 4 more tracks, including the title song, Strangeland.

From Charicature 02/04/2013 18:00 | #63943 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

After 8 months I still can't get enough of this album. I've held off on putting it in my top 10, but I think now it's going there. The album is beautifully melancholy while also being optimistic...the emotions that went into the songwriting on this album is as genuine as the guys in Keane. I've seen them live twice now, and am just stricken by how down to Earth they are.

This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.

The night train ran aground and the morning has come. Keane are left to start again and are now into the fourth album proper of their journey. Seems like ages since they started and we are only at number 4? Unfortunately, there isn't much to report on here. Prefect Symmetry was like a rubixs cube of quality, it was all over the place with few poor ones here or there. With songs like 'You are Young' and 'Disconnected' they plod along like this is some sort of career. Where is 'Atlantic' when you need it? That was a fantastic way to start an album! 'Silenced by the Night' is a sweet ditty melody which borrows a little (just a little) vein from 'How To Save a Life'. Weren't Keane the original 00's piano orientated band? The song struggles to keep my full attention to the end. There are some great strengths to Strangeland though. 'Sovereign Light Cafe' bursts open like a Piñata full of colored glass, in a bright and beautiful metaphorical way though. Not a "Oh God there is blood everywhere!" way. 'On The Road' continues the high pushing out and anthemic stadium sing a long for the young in heart. While the rest can be pleasant in places, nothing really stands out for attention. Have a feeling this album would do well with repeated listening. So yeah, try that. It's unchallenging and comfortable. But what is the problem with that?