Classic Reviews
Johnny Davis, Q May 2004
Ever since Badfinger had the temerity not to become the New Beatles, the history of rock has been littered with nearly-rans squashed by the weight of expectation. In the realm of indie rock, where the disparity between lavish plaudits and actual results is the greatest of all, things remain particularly at odds, with the epithet This Band Will Change Your Life applied to an interchangeable league table of scruffy herberts on a weekly basis.
This state of affairs got particularly bad in the Britpop years when indie music suddenly had a shot at the big time. And so it transpired that Gene weren’t actually The New Smiths. Embrace weren’t The New Verve and Mansun emphatically weren’t The New Radiohead. While much of this mis-labelling is due to writers’ wishful thinking and cloth ears, it’s also down to a startling absence of what we might call ‘star quality’ in any of those poor souls hyped to the rafters.
We might like to imagine that it’s the music that matters, that good songs will win out whatever a band’s pin-up potential or whatever they give good quote. Unfortunately, this is nonsense. If it were just about the songs, then Denim would be playing Knebworth. And nobody wants that. Least of all them.
To pick an example not entirely random, let’s consider Coldplay. Coldplay have always written superlative songs. But when they took to the stage at Glastonbury 2002 to unveil A Rush Of Blood To The Head, they also unveiled Coldplay v2.0. Gone was the weedy bloke in the cagoule staggering around a beach singing Yellow. Instead, The New Chris Martin was smart of haircut, buff of body and witty of quip. Even the bass player looked quite cool. They sounded like stars and looked ready to compete on a global stage.
By popular consensus, then, Keane are The New Coldplay. This analogy, at least, makes sense. Keane’s stock is wistful melancholia, their instrument of choice is the piano (they have no bass player or guitarist – presumably they’re down the job centre with the bassists from the White Stripes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Busted’s drummer), and their singer is a presentable posh lad who sings in falsetto. The fact they’ve appeared now is no accident. Although the band have actually been together since 1997 (Admittedly, some of this time they were still at school and not really trying), until last year the only contact they had with the music industry was an in-tray full of record company rejection letters. Then, in May, with A Rush Of Blood… mania at its peak, independent label Fierce Panda (also home to Coldplay’s first proper release, Brother and Sisters EP) put out a single, Everybody’s Changing, and things accelerated rapidly from there. This January Keane topped a BBC survey of critics and DJs who voted them the Most Promising Act of 2004. The hype and the expectation were there and in February a Top 3 place for Somewhere Only We Know, their first, hugely confident – and great – major label single, bore this out.
Elsewhere, things didn’t look quite so certain. Like Coldplay, the band – Tom Chaplin (vocals), Tim Rice-Oxley (piano) and Richard Hughes (drums) – have a background in public schools (Tonbridge in Kent in this case). Unlike Coldplay, they look like they’re still there. Chaplin, in particular, with his apple-cheeks and Boris Johnson hairdo might have dropped into band rehearsal in between having a wheeze on the hockey pitch and settling down to his Latin prep. Worse, Keane’s handful of interviews have found them trading in the sort of platitudes that would make Dido blush: ‘People are surprised when we turn up and they realise we just have a piano’, they revealed in one. ‘Even a month before it happened, we were, like, wouldn’t it be wonderful if one day we were on Jools Holland?’ said Chaplin in another.
But then Keane haven’t come to scare the horses. There’s no need for the nation to lock up their daughters. In fact, the nation’s daughters are most welcome at Keane gigs (the band have noted surprising numbers of females at their shows, putting this down to ‘an emotional quality girls can relate to’) Mums will love them, too. Their appeal is likely to be a record company marketing man’s pan-demographic dream; their songs will be as at home on Terry Wogan’s radio show as on Chris Moyle’s. A recent slot supporting Travis made perfect sense.
The two key weapons in Keane’s arsenal are Chaplin’s powerful, muscular voice and the band’s superb grasp of melody. Both are given terrific oomph by Mike ‘Spike’ Stent’s (U2, Madonna) stadium-friendly mixing (listen on headphones and the piano leaps from ear to ear, the percussion drives the songs urgently forward). The single Somewhere Only We Know opens the album and sets out their stall; these are songs of vague unease and sorrow, of looking for some way to transform the humdrum. It might not be precisely clear what Chaplin’s lyrics are about, but you know what he means. He does that personal-into-universal thing so well you can all but hear Brixton Academy hollering the choruses with him already. Along with Somewhere Only We Know, the message of Bend And Break and Bedshaped is ‘stick with me, we’ll get through this together’. As he sings on Bend And Break: ‘ If only I don’t bend and break/I’ll meet you on the other side/I’ll meet you in the light’. It’s like The Shawshank redemption: The Musical.
Keane have worked hard top overcome any restrictions to their sound. Vocals, drums and Rice –Oxley’s pounding piano are the foundations of all these songs, but the band keep things moving throughout the 12 tracks, mixing up light and shade. A bass does actually appear on a number of them (notably Sunshine, Bend And Break, Can’t Stop Now), while She Has No Time is drenched in mournful Yamaha effects. Elsewhere, Sunshine borrows the key change and what they used to call ‘indie dance’ beat of Robbie William’s Feel, the verses of Your Eyes Open recall the chiming minor chords of Boy-era U2 and Everybody’s Changing (different fro the fierce Panda version) bobs along on a sea of electronic bleeps and squiggles.
When they pick up the pace, the references reach further back: the sweet soft rock of Can’t Stop Now and This Is The Last Time is pure Air Supply, the latter building to such ambitious crescendo you wince, thinking Chaplin is never going to reach the note.
As a collection of songs, this is hugely impressive. As a debut album, its confidence is right up there with Definitely Maybe. They have, too, reclaimed the piano from the memory of Ben Folds, Myleen Klass and Hothouse Flowers and made it, yes, kind of cool again.
But can Keane become the New Coldplay? They certainly have the tunes, but time will tell if that’s enough.
Johnny Davis
All classic album reviews provided by
www.rocksbackpages.com
User Reviews
chrisk95 18/07/2009
Hopes & Fears features many songs which are mellow and powerful ballads, such as Somewhere Only We Know, and Everybody’s Changing. But it also features many hard melodies, such as She Has No Time, which, in my opinion, means that this is officially a beautiful seminal album that definitely deserves more praise than it had got previously.
prairiedawn74 25/05/2009
There are a few songs where I remember exactly where and when I was when I heard them. Arctic Monkeys ‘Bet you look good on the dancefloor’ was just after the anticlockwise exit to the M3 on the M25, Keane ‘Somewhere only we know’ was on a Wednesday afternoon at about 5.25pm on the way home from work. It was so different to anything I’d heard before and it immediately struck a chord with me.
On the way up to see them play at the London Astoria we found out by text we’d won wristbands to the albums launch party at the Virgin Megastore on Tottenham Court Road. Seeing Tom, Tim and Richard at such close context felt so personal and has stayed with me.
I’m thrilled to bits to have got tickets to this intimate gig, Saturday can’t come quick enough.
Karlangas 20/05/2009
Somewhere only we know, the first Keane’s song i heard, realistic lyrics, melodic piano, powerful drum and that voice.. That unforgettable and sweet voice.. in a second, everything i look for in a band finally appears.
The most incredible thing is that once you hear the entire album you don’t want it to end, can be playing the whole day and the same songs but it doesn’t matter, they sound so harmonious together and their individual structure is so well done that you can clearly see the hard but incredible work behind them and easily identify with any little piece of them.
It’s really dificult for me to choose one of the songs as my favourite but i have to say that there is one that represents my personal hopes and fears, and it’s your eyes open which touched my heart since the first time i heard it and still does.
Karlangas 20/05/2009
Somewhere only we know, the first Keane’s song i heard, realistic lyrics, melodic piano, powerful drum and that voice.. That unforgettable and sweet voice.. in a second, everything i look for in a band finally appears.
The most incredible thing is that once you hear the entire album you don’t want it to end, can be playing the whole day and the same songs but it doesn’t matter, they sound so harmonious together and their individual structure is so well done that you can clearly see the hard but incredible work behind them and easily identify with any little piece of them.
It’s really dificult for me to choose one of the songs as my favourite but i have to say that there is one that represents my personal hopes and fears, and it’s your eyes open which touched my heart since the first time i heard it and still does.
Roosy 18/05/2009
Hopes and Fears has proved that doggedness and determination are the way of victory and success. Keane’s guys have taught us a tuneful lesson of life. They deserve congratulations by a brilliante career.
SandraSPBrazil 11/05/2009
I love music and during years I thought that nothing could surprise me more, but one day I heard Everybody’s Changing on the radio. So Keane changed my mind and got my heart. When I bought and listened Hopes and Fears I said: ‘I’m a Keane fan forever’
Drfd 10/05/2009
What do I think of this album and this band? It’s difficult to describe. Here are the things that come to my mind (hoping there isn’t a lot of mistranslations).
Humanity
Opened arms
Poetry
Empty hearts
Spellbound storms
Acrid love
Nonsense of life
Dreams and destiny
Friendship
Evanescence
Aching souls
Remembrances
Serendipities
Knobs (two) and a velvet pouffe : )
Emotion
Amorous voices
Numinous songs
Everlasting fan
Roosy 05/05/2009
The best appreciation for the great Keane’s work are the million of the passionate fans around the world.
TeresaKleppe 04/05/2009
I HAD HEARD OF KEANE ON THE RADIO, ON TV; “BEDSHAPED” AND “EVERYBODY´S CHANGING” WERE EVERYWHERE! SO I WAS QUITE CURIOUS ABOUT THIS NEW BAND.
I BOUGHT HOPES AND FEARS AND PLAYED IT HIGH LOUD WITH MY AKG HEADPHONES ON ( AND A LOT OF EXPECTATIONS, I HAVE TO SAY ).
WHAT A SHOCK WHEN I HEARD THAT PIANO! HE DIDN´T SEEMED TO BE PLAYING IT…HE WAS RIDING ON IT! THE FIRM, CONFIDENT AND JOYFULL JUMPING OF THE DRUMS AND, FINALLY, THAT HEADY VOICE SO FULL OF UPS AND DOWNS IN INTENSITY. I JUST COULDN´T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS LISTENING TO! THAT WAS FRESH!
THE NEEDY SEARCH FOR REFUGE IN “SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW”; THE SENSE OF BREAKTHROUGH IN “THIS IS THE LAST TIME” AND THE CHALLENGING SPIRIT IN “BEND AND BREAK”. BY THE TIME THE THIRD TRACK WAS ENDING I COULD FEEL THE BROKEN CHAINS INSIDE AND A SUDDEN RELIEF, FOLLOWED BY A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT MYSELF. THAT´S THE POWER OF MUSIC, YOU KNOW?
OF COURSE…I WENT, IMMEDIATELY, TO BUY UNDER THE IRON SEA.
Johanna 03/05/2009
When Keane came into my life
I´m for many years a cd-seller, but no other music has catched and pleased my emotions like the music of a band called Keane.
Still, I remember, when Hopes & Fears was released and I got the cd for the first time in my hands and I thought:
Well, I think, this album looks like if it´s worth to listening.
So, “Somewhere Only We Know” started and I thought: WOW! That´s great! And this motion didn´t stop, by the following songs.
For me it was like, that´s the kind of music, I´ve always been waiting for & suddenly it was there!
Hopes & Fears is an album, which take you by the hand and says:
You´re not alone, we´re all humans, with their own Hopes & Fears. It has such sweet & powerful melodies, who allows you to dream and believe in them. Even it´s not easy and life is a rollercoaster. This music gives so much power & love to me.
I can´t follow people who compares Keane with Coldplay. If you compare the vocals and the music, Keane has such a strong power and emotion, they rock! Well, that´s my opinion.
I mean only because both band use piano, you can´t compare this 2 bands, otherwise you should compare them with Mozart, aswell? I don´t say, that Coldplay make worse music, I really don´t like it when they got compared with them.
Why must they be compared, isn´t every musician, every human someone unique?
Returning to Keane
Hopes & Fears is a masterpiece of wonderful melodies & vocals fulls of emotion. It´s music, which makes life easier and maybe I wasn´t the only one, who was waiting for. It looks like a lot of people were waiting for it.
The music of the talented guys of Keane gives me power to believe, that hopes & love will win at the end.
And if you can see Keane playing live and you see how Keane gives so much emotion & passion into the music, it´s simply amazing. I´ve seen them and I think I´m obsessed & addicted!
So, with Hopes & Fears I´ve joined the journey with Keane and I didn´t stop with the album Under The Iron Sea and Perfect Symmetry.
I wish Keane all the best and say thank you, for your wonderful music!
Keane makes music for the heart & soul, made with love.
And don´t forget: Love is the end!
claire1ln 03/05/2009
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Keane’s music for sometime. When Perfect Symmetry was realeased I thought OK. Deep down inside I realised Hopes and Fears is as close to perfection as any album i’ve heard in my many years. Guys ~ thank you for bringing this album to us.
keanerock 03/05/2009
Keane are incredible. They know how to put real emotion into a song. They are the only band that i can sit down to and enjoy every single one of the songs. They were the first band I ever saw in concert…. and it was a great introduction to them. From then on I have been absolutely hooked. Tom Chaplin has the most amazing voice, it has so much power. And you just want to love him. Keane are my favourite band and i think they will remain as that. THEY ARE UNIQUE AND AMAZING!
Elmira 03/05/2009
KEANE
Elmira 03/05/2009
KEANE
dano2212 03/05/2009
need I say anything else?
Roosy 02/05/2009
I knew the Keane band at 2006 when I was looking for the Nick Drake’s song in The Lake House’s soundtrack. First I was just curious about them, but after I found out that they were truly incredible. So, today I’m another Keane fan and I come along their development. They are better and better.
Pri1234 02/05/2009
Hopes and Fears is the best album has ever been made. Every single song is a classic, and I love all of them.
The melody and the lyrics are perfect, and the image is not importante more, cause finally the world had found the real good music.
I love Keane and I know the’re better and better after three albums, but the first one is the classic and the most important.
thaliahuvi 02/05/2009
Keane is the best band I hear in my life which I will continue forever!
Hopes And Fears is for me the best album of the band.
I think that’s what makes them an example to many!
Thank you so much for all what you do, Keane!!
i love you so much!!
From Argentina!!!
b0ndsbustybl0nde7 02/05/2009
Hopes and Fears is a must have and always will have..
Elmira 01/05/2009
Island 50 - KEANE
littlemisscharlotte 01/05/2009
My Hopes And Fears song-to-song review :
- “Somewhere Only We Know” : The first chord brought me to a land full of emotions. I closed my eyes and felt surrounded by the music. The piano line is fantastic and the balance between all lines is simply perfect. After watching the music video, now everytime I listen to this song, I can imagine myself in the same environment as this forest. Alone but alive. The phrase “Somewhere Only We Know” corresponds to a secret and this song allows each one to have its own interpretation of it.
- “Bend And Break” : I particularly love the “Meet me in the morning When you wake up // Meet me in the morning Then you wake up”. The beat is more accelerated than “Somewhere Only We Know” but it produces the same magic. Song particularly helping at a time when I was about to “suffocate” psychologically and “aching and waiting for life to start”.
- “We Might As Well Be Strangers” : a very touching song with the low, grave and deep voice of Tom at the start (that I’m unable to sing). The last chorus (“We might as well…We might as well…We might as well…Be strangers…Be strangers”) nearly makes me cry each time, to me it’s like a cry of despair…it’s the most violent part of the song. In my mind, this song was dedicated to someone I wanted to say “We Might As Well Be Strangers” but who wouldn’t have listened to me. The end with the repetition of “For all I know of you know” completes the strong meaning of this song.
- Everybody’s Changing : This song simply tells a simple truth, that everybody’s actually changing. The lyrics really express the fear of that everybody’s changing. Keane definitely puts in words and musics the feelings everyone can experience.
- “Your Eyes Open” : I personnally love its rythm even if Tom sings too low for me (I mean I have not the suitable voice to sing it like him) except in the chorus. I used to sing it to myself at the time of my life when it was a lonely end that I was coming to. And it helped me to open my eyes.
- “She Has No Time” : I found this song very sad. This one doesn’t have any special meaning to me but I’ve tried and tried to imagine what Tim, Tom and Richard were thinking about while playing it. Look at the music video (Mullholland Cut) on YouTube, it’s going to make you tear up.
- “Can’t Stop Now” : Well, for a person like me who actually had a lot of troubles in my life at the time when Hopes And Fears came out (and I know I’m not the only one), this song describes very well how I felt…mainly “The emotion keeps my heart running”...I found in that song a kind of excuse for the strange behaviour I could have with people and also the explanation of that behaviour…it also incited me to go ahead in my life and to try to solve my problems as quick as possible…must have something to do with the beat of the song too.
- “Sunshine” : one of my favourites of the album. A pure and fantastic love song…as soon as I listen to it, there’s actually sunshine in my mind. A happy song, I think, that we can all sing to the person(s) we love the most in the world. It’s very suitable to sing it to the lover, but I found it was the most appropriate song to listen to while delivering and just after (it’s not a joke ! listen to the lyrics and you’ll see I’m right !). When I have a baby, the first song I will sing to him or her will be “Sunshine”, I’m serious !!!!
- “This Is The Last Time” : I could never say this is the last time I listen to that song. Of course, it reminded me of all the times I wanted to say “This Is The Last Time” but wasn’t able to. And one day, I sang to someone “This is the last time that I will say these words, I remember the first time, the first of many lies” and get rid of him forever. So, apparently, music helps dealing with feelings !
- “On A Day Like Today” : I cried the first time I listened to it. ‘Cause I had the impression Tom sang my life. That’s what is incredible with Keane : when you listen to them, you feel like they know you, what you feel really deep inside and are unable to express !
- “Untitled 1” : I remember I wondered why the song was called this way. I tried to think about another title but I failed, of course. I also cried when I listened to it but this time it was become it was like I was the person Tom was singing to, as if he was the voice of the friend who wondered about my strange behaviour at that time (“who ate your heart ?”). I took this song like personal reproaches to me…and had to recognize it was right. “Untitled 1” made me think about myself and helped me to understand it was time to change.
- “Bedshaped” : The album may be dark on the whole but this last song is meant to be an incitation to hope. And it worked : it made me hope. The music video is made in that sense too.
This is my personal point of view about this CD. I could make this song-to-song review for Under The Iron Sea and Perfect Symmetry too.
I agree with all the people who say Keane’s music is not only music : when I discovered Hopes And Fears, I discovered the first persons who really understood me…even if we had never met.
Keaniemoshie 01/05/2009
I will never get bored of listening to Hopes and Fears, even forever. The melancholia of the album opens the door of my memories, and my dreamworld. I wander around the corners of my thoughts, and see all the sides of my life. With Bend and Break, the platonic side of me blinks to me, and with Can’t Stop Now, I see all the rushings in my life. On A Day Like Today brings a tear to my eye, reminding me of all my regrets, and with Bedshaped, I become more hopeful for my life, and everything. The whole album gives a message for to me, and everyone: Even when you feel fearful, cling to your hopes, and never give up. It carries very special meanings for me, and for everyone, it has very different meanings inside. Its magic will never fade for me…
adylakeane 01/05/2009
Music its not only music… it must have a Soul to be able to touch another Soul. Every single song from “Hopes and Fears” its a Masterpiece.
Keane came into my life during a very dificult and emotional time, and listening to their songs still inside my Bellybutton, my child also learn to love Keane.
“Hopes and Fears” was just the fist step into a refreshing, heartwarming and longlasting journey of great music.
Adylakeane
Renee0311 01/05/2009
I fell in love with Keane when I saw them do Somewhere Only We Know on Saturday Night Live years ago. H&F is a divinely emotional, brilliant album. Gifted musicians individually, and magical together. They share everything in their hearts and souls with us through their music. Lovely individuals so deserving of this recognition. And did I mention they’re all gorgeous—swoon!!!
Forever a fan,
Renee
FeGomides1 30/04/2009
Keane resumes the real intention to make not just cd’s, but a wonderful job ... and they do much more than this touching our soul with their songs. I’ve never seen a band who really care to give us the perfect symmetry in everything that they do!!!
I’m so glad to see the evolution of Keane in each work they did.
I’m so glad to be an active Keane fan, and have the chance to know the brilliant talent of Tim, Tom and Richard!
KEANE is one of the 50’s, but is my first and favorite!!!
tomswench 30/04/2009
_thumb.jpg)
from the moment that somewhere only we know starts,i was mesmerized by the lyrics. took me back to some of my own childhood places.
a very honest sounding album and it’s really nice to have a band that actually plays instruments for a change. at least then you can have a go at being tim or even rich..well when i say try,more like try and not sound like a cat being dragged thru a hedge backwards!! :-)
thank you Keane for making such a fab and,i have to say, an iconic album. one that will stay with me - always.
Roosy 30/04/2009
I am proud to be more one Keane’s fan. They have the recipe of success: a huge talent, linking, friendship and a great affinity with audience. They deserve the best.
Lilito 30/04/2009
love keane, is one of the best band in the world, and this record is one of the most wondeful of the english band! full of sound and heart! i love it… one of my favorites!!
keane the best band in the world!!
flor_3022 30/04/2009
Within the genre of the pop&rock; music, hopes and fears is the best album forever in my point of view-It includes twelve wolderful songs which are really suitable for all ages.
My favourite is Bedshaped, however, everybody loves it because of its beautiful melody and the perfect voice of the man who is the singer of the best band over the world: Tom Chaplin.
I hightly recommended this cd to people who is interested in good music because i think that each song represents english culture and keane’s style-
ps: Appart from the review i ant to say that i am very happy becuase this album is one of the 50 choosen one- I am from Argentina and I LOVE KEANE MUSIC
thanks for everything, and excuse me for my english which is very basic!
Florencia Mastroianni
Natalita20 30/04/2009
Keane - Hopes & Fears
The British group is lead by Tom Chaplin (voice), Tim Rice Oxley (piano, keyboards and bass) and Mr. Richard Hughes (drums). Their first album called Hopes & Fears was a great success by 2004 all around the world and it continues being nowadays in 2009.
Hopes and Fears has a particular style since the group does not have a guitarrist (until 2008). “Somewhere only we Know”, the first song in the list has a special feeling related with love and the meeting of the lovers at that place they have ever loved and imagined for their couple dream.
To sum up this album tries to show how much have changed their lives since they started as a well known band, all their thoughts about love, also experiences which are kept deep in their hearts.
I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction of the people all around the world. Keane has frozen our hearts for them, They have sung all the songs we have ever wanted to listen. They have the exact words and everything is written in Hopes & Fears album.
In Argentina it was a great success, and i remember that i have walked more than 6 hours looking for this album, all my best memories are reflected in Hopes and Fears songs.
Thanks Keane for everything you did, you do and you will, your fans can’t breathe without you.
Natalia Gouarnalusse
nataly_k 30/04/2009
One of the greates bands there is!, their deep lyrics and beautiful sounds can captivate anyone that listens to Keane´s music.
When you hear their songs you can submerge into another “world”, Keane’s world.
Each one of their albums transmit different feelings & tell different stories, in Hopes and Fears, their first compilation of songs, you hear their passion and love to create music, lyrics to wich everybody in the world can relate to, a combination of the best & the worst of human life told through amazing chords and melodies that get to the soul of people all over the globe.
So congratulations to this amazing trio, they diserve this recognition and even more in the future.
yessicachaplin23 30/04/2009
27-Feb-09
yessicachaplin23 30/04/2009
27-02-09 the best nigh of my life…
Keane’s music is unique and special kind to me, has greatly influenced my life… they music make me feel like no other and always there a song for every moment and feeling… and it makes me travel to… Somewhere Only We Know…
yessicachaplin23 30/04/2009
the best band forever!
Keane at Sports Palace, México February 27th 2009
roy2285 30/04/2009
Excellent music trio who take you on an emotional roller coaster through their relevant titled album ‘hopes and fears’. Wwith the added bonus of Keane being able to play this album live this is not only an album to be heard but seen. Well done Keane.
WouterNL 30/04/2009
2004:
After a long day at school I came home and turned on the radio, just like I always do and I tuned in to by favorite radiostation 3FM. There was always one part that I really liked of that show, the part where they played some new band. I quote the presenter: ‘‘Yes ladies and gentleman, I have a fresh track waiting just for you! They are one of the biggest new acts in the UK this year and you will love them. Here is Keane with Somewhere Only We Know’‘. That was how I came aware of Keane.
Somewhere Only We Know was a really strong track and got me really curious about the whole album. When I finally released I couldn’t wait to get home from the store. Came home and placed the CD in my CD player. The record started with the familiar sounds of Somewhere Only We Know, a song that I have listened to a lot. The second song kicks off, This Is The Last Time and again you could hear the same freshness as in Somewhere Only We Know.
This fresh new sound runs throughout the entire album. The album is a great mix of different kind of songs. There are more up-tempo songs like Bend and Break, Everybody’s Changing and This Is The Last Time and it has some amazing ballad type of songs like the beautiful Bedshaped, We Might As Well Be Strangers. Frontman Tom Chaplin has a amazing voice and stage presence, while Richard Hughes plays the drums really passionate. The brain behind the lyrics and the songs is Tim Rice-Oxley who also plays the piano and the keyboard.
Both the band and the songs have a great hit potential. This is due to the fact that Keane has his own sound and personality. The have a passion and love for music which they share together, as friend. Mark my words, this band is gonna be really big. Check out this album, you will be amazed.
2009:
It has been 5 years since the release of Hopes and Fears and has released their 3rd album, Perfect Symmetry last year. Did Keane become big? They did! They had an amazing soldout European tour last year, that had a soldout UK Arena tour at the beginning this year and they had a really succesful Latin America and Australia and Japan tour. Next month they will be hitting North America with a big tour. 5 years ago Keane only played at small venues before they became really big, now they soldout the massive London O2 Arena for 2 consecutive nights, well done guys!
Araul94 30/04/2009
I think being British I’ve always been distantly aware of Keane. I was only 10 when they first arrived in the music scene but I remember the buzz surrounding them and hearing their songs constantly on the radio. They were the big thing, despite a lot of people mocking their ‘posh-boy’ looks. Let’s face it (the band have), there are a lot of things to slag off about Keane, but that does not stop them making brilliant music.
It all started with Hopes and Fears.
Although it’s been 5 years I don’t think the album has lost any of it’s spark. Bedshaped is still beautiful, soft and anthemic; a highpoint of a Keane gig. Somewhere Only We Know is still catchy and is the big Keane classic. Everybody’s Changing is still the one everyone knows. Other more underated songs like Sunshine and We Might As Well Be Strangers are brilliant too.
This Is The Last Time was the first Keane song I was into, and it definitely stemmed from there. It wasn’t until I discovered Hopes and Fears lurking in a draw of CDs in my house that I realised I’d wanted it all this time and it had been right under my nose. Since then, I have become a huge fan of Keane and love their newest album (although H&F will always have a special place in my heart).
On the whole I think people can really relate to this album, whatever age, whatever nationality, whatever background. It’s an album about people, and it’s a album that will forever be loved by the people it had reached on all corners of the globe.
Yorkshirebint 30/04/2009
I don’t remember when I first heard a Keane song but I know it was Everybody’s Changing that made me fall in love with the band. Hearing it on the radio on my way to work made me happy.I wanted to hear more and I wasn’t disappointed. the album Hopes and Fears became an instant favourite.
In February 2004 my ex-boyfriend and good friend James died a few days before my birthday He was 26. He was part of a very close knit group of friends who had known each other since Uni and the support was unbelievable. We pulled together and the strong bonds we already had were made ever stronger.
In May of that year I went to the West Coast of Ireland on holiday with my Mum and my Auntie. I was really in need of a break and some space. Hopes and Fears was in my Walkman and became the soundtrack to that very special holiday. But mostly I remember listening to Bedshaped in the dark of my room at night and finally being able to properly grieve for my lost friend without anyone looking over my shoulder trying to protect me from the pain. It was the poetry of Tim’s lyrics and the emotion in Tom’s voice that touched me. And that is why this album is so special to me. It has moved from the Walkman to the iPod but I still listen to those songs often. Everybody’s Changing and We Might As Well Be Strangers remain constant favourites but I particularly love the vunerabliity in Sunshine (was over the moon to finally hear it live at the O2 this year). All in all a cracking debut album.
_Marinaaa 30/04/2009
April 2004. The first time I heard Somewhere only we know, I was going to leave house in order to go to school. This day, I had Somewhere only we know playing all over again in my head, I could not get it out. I did not know anything about this song. Both title and artist were totally unknown for me. And then, two weeks later, the radio said “C’était Keane, avec Somewhere only we know”. I asked for the album on my birthday, which is in May 29th. And I fell in love.
This album meant everything to me. I did not put it out my CD player for more than three months. I was going hrough a hard period of my life, I felt “Fear” running through me but Keane’s album was a little piece of “Hope”...
And for the first time I knew what the word “music” meant. I was 13 years old, my parents used to listen to French music which was generally total crap and I did not know what music was. But Keane and Hopes & Fears learnt me all a person have to know about music: strong emotions, purity, the greatest voice, the best lyrics and the most formidable instruments.
So thanks so much, you great British!
littlemisscharlotte 30/04/2009
June 2004.
I come home after school. I switch on my computer and turn the music on. On msn, a friend of mine sends me her favourite song of the moment, it’s called “Somewhere Only We Know” and it’s sung by a band of three boys called Keane. I absolutely don’t know about it so I decide to listen to it. I pretty like the name Keane. I feel inspired, I don’t know why, I’ve never heard that song before but I know it’s great music. I download the file and launch it. I close my eyes. And that’s when the magic happens. I’m alone on earth and there’s only music around me, this music, “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. I listen to it 3 times around and I already know it by heart. I thank my friend and search a little on the Internet about Keane. I discover their album Hopes And Fears has been out since May and that they are the new great music sensation. I look at my watch, it’s 6 pm. I take my handbag and rush into the street. I take the metro and go to the CD shop. I find a lot of Hopes And Fears CDs and take the first one and buy it. I usually listen to a few songs of an album before buying it but for the first time, I didn’t try to know more about Hopes And Fears and to see if the other songs pleased me, no, I knew they were all going to be great when I first listened to “Somewhere Only We Know”. I come back home and play the CD. It’s pure happiness and pleasure. I have the same sensation from the beginning to the end : this music is magic. I listen to the CD until I go to bed. The last song I listen to is “Somewhere Only We Know”.
I have found my favourite song, my favourite album, my favourite artist for all my life : “Somewhere Only We Know”, Hopes And Fears, Keane.
Babs2009 15/04/2009
Tom Chaplin a brilliant vocalist and a gorgous hunk X
wbroadribb 11/04/2009
Keane performing in aid of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium
Babs2009 13/03/2009
Hopes and Fears
Under The Iron Sea
Perfect Symmetry
All top albums
My top 5 songs are
1. A Bad Dream, 2. You dont See Me, 3.Somwewhere only we know, 4.The Lovers are Losing 5. Snowed Under.
.jpg)
On October 12th, Dionne Bromfield’s album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, will become the first release on Amy Winehouse’s new label, Lioness Records. ... 
On 10th May 2004 Island Records released the No.1 biggest selling album of the year ‘Hopes and Fears’, selling over 5.8 ... 
GUESS I’LL TAKE MY TIME TOUR
First Tour Since 1976 for Elusive Yusuf (Cat Stevens)
After quite an extraordinary break of 33 years, ... 
View all 70 comments | + Add a comment Your Comments