Keane (Hopes & Fears - Keane)

Member Name: ronaldfarmer

Product:	Hopes & Fears - Keane
Date:	17/11/05 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very high level of quality throughout

Disadvantages: lacking variety

I had seen this advertised widely and had heard a few of thier songs on the radio. Not entirely impressed with them, and would almost certainly have not purchased the album on my own accord. However, my girlfriend decided to buy it and i ended up having nothing better to do than listen to it. At first i thought the album lacked appeal, it seemed repetative and without anything to catch the attention. After listenting to it a few times though, the individual character of each song began to emerge. The subtle differences between them making an excellent collection.

"I walked along an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand", the lyrics make a somewhat moody almost ghostly affect of suffering and boredom, heartbreak and betrayal. The songs meander through a path of exploration of everyday emotional problems, distance, isolation. A wonderfully mounrful song about the ending of a love affair, where the two lover are no longer united but have become 'strangers', of course many with resonate with these issues.

The pace of the album is slow, ballads and love songs, nothing to dance to, rather music to sit back, relax to, it can inspire dreamy states of revery. The beauty of the melodies and romantic lyrics, alluding to the beauty of nature and strong emotional troubles are truley captivating.

If you liked bands like Travis, this is a huge step up, a similar theme, but executed in a greatly more accomplished fashion. Not dwelling on and perhaps even glorifying melancholy, but instead exploring this state as a temporary phase, either side of joy and ecstacy, which is what life is about.

Hardly a weak song in this whole album, which is what is even more remarkable about it. The attention is kept from start to finish. I would highly recommend it.

Summary: excellent debut, waaay better than travis