Keane - Strangeland (2012) ENGLISH

O.M.G. These three letters can either express a good surprise… or a fair disappointment. What’s it gonna be for Keane’s “Strangeland”? Well you’re gonna have to read to find out… although it may actually not have to read a lot to know how I feel about the new album of the guys from East Sussex.

You know what? They’re back… I mean really back. Not with just another album. They’re back to roots.

I can perfectly remember when I heard “Silenced By The Night” – Strangeland’s first single - for the first time: I was going to see Kasabian playing live in Brussels and heard it on the radio. I can also remember my reaction and feelings when I heard it: I was having one of the largest smiles you could find in the city and I was… happy. This song was sounding so great that it was a good omen for what would come next and I then started living in expectation for that new record. “Silenced By The Night” was hopefully not a random piece of music luck…

It is damn obvious while listening to the first seconds of “You Are Young”: Richard Hughes’ drums give the song its rhythm, quickly followed by a few piano notes from Tim Rice-Oxley and the easily recognizable voice of Tom Chaplin to accompany the melody. At 2:55, call that intuition, I KNEW this album would be a 99% of pure satisfaction (gotta keep 1% as a margin of error, right?).
And my intuition was correct: I’ve listened to the 12 songs over the last few days with excitement and relief as I am so happy to find out that Keane had finally gotten back to the sound that made me loved them in the first place.

So… The “Keane sound” is back but… not exactly the same as in 2004. Back then, the British band was known for being a voice-drums-piano band. These days, Keane adds some bass lines to the recipe that made them so original. Jesse Quin started working with Keane on the “Perfect Symmetry” album and became a full band member in February 2011. For a good cause. It’s not easy being an addition or a replacement in a band when people are used to its original members but in this case, he has fully earned his place as a band member. “Neon River” or “Sovereign Light Café” are good examples that Jesse really fits in Keane’s world. Welcome Jesse!

From a general point of view, most of the album’s lyrics are not much optimistic… At first sight at least. Once you start extrapolating on them, you may actually realize that there’s more than meets the eye… Many torments were put on paper and turned into a song but there are also many rays of hope shining on “Strangeland”.
This guy who let his girl follow the “Neon River” is no stranger to me, neither is that “you” person in “In Your Own Time”…

I’d also like to know if the Sovereign Light Café exists and where to find it: it seems like a nice place to spend some time with beloved ones… In this one (and on a few other lines on other songs), when Tom sings “I’m a better man now than I was that day”, I can’t help myself thinking of Tom’s issues a few years ago. Not like I could have avoided it with all these “garbage newspapers” writing about it. I’m really glad he’s fine these days: it’s always so sad to see people with real talent being wasted under pressure of fame or whatever you wanna call it.
I don’t like giving Top 3, Top 5, Top 10 and so on because it makes the world look smaller than it is but would gladly give you many names of artists I care about for so many reasons. I care about Mr Chaplin because his voice is warm, full of emotions, provides me comfort in a sometimes crazy world. It is a beautiful voice. Just like that.

“I’ll see you on the road…” You bet I’ll see Keane when they’re back on the road. A few of those new songs might burn the place down if the audience is willing to join the dance and sing along: “You Are Young”, “On The Road”…
The latter’s lyrics looks like an open letter from Keane to its audience: “And when the worlds laying you low, why don’t you let me carry your load. When things get bad, you know you’ll have the friends all along the road”… But beware Keane guys… If the audience is singing this one back to you while being “on the road”, you may realize that you have indeed many friends on many places. I still wonder if they were aware of the two-way interpretation of the song while writing it...
I can even picture “Sea Fog” as the closing song of the show with the crowd going all “ooh ooooh” at the end of it while the lights are fading out… Wouldn’t that be a thrilling moment? Well… I’d gladly go for that ride but to do so, that’d be a great idea to have dates in Belgium… Still no dates announced here: serve me patience for dinner, please…

Keane came to us in 2004 from a little pathway out of the countryside and into the crazy highway of music… You know, that countryside we saw in their first video? That 8-years trip led us to Strangeland. Are we in a “Strange Land”? Not so much actually. It seems we’re on a solid ground, some ground we feel safe on… A place we, a place I feel happy to be. A place… somewhere only we – early Keane lovers – know… The wheel has come full circle. Makes sense to me…

Now I have some words that need to get out to a certain British journalist… I read MusicOMH’s John Murphy’s review of the album and I am angry at the guy. Not for giving his opinion – he’s paid for doing that after all – I’m angry at the way he gives his opinion. Was it necessary to be so sharp? Was it even necessary to mention Mr Chaplin’s “problems”… TWICE? How can these lines be relevant if they’re not related to a song or to the album’s review? Doesn’t it make that review look a bit like some tabloid magazine and intrusion in private life and therefore… missing some kind of seriousness?
So, Mr Murphy... Don’t think for a second I’m a crazy and blind Keane fan that would slap anyone who would talk badly of them… If I was, I wouldn’t say I didn’t like most of “Perfect Symmetry” and that I got out of the Keane train that day as I didn’t like the ride anymore… right? I also realized that day that Keane was not only about Tom Chaplin’s voice anymore to me: when they slightly changed their music style, something was broken… therefore helping me realizing how much important Tim Rice-Oxley and Richard Hughes’ contributions were. Not that I didn’t know about it but you know how it works… you only realize how some things are important once they’re gone.

Anyway…

I’m not a fan, I couldn’t be a fan of a particular artist or band as I’m way too much of a music lover, one of those who can’t stop trying to open people up to new artists or bands (and sometimes succeeds!).

Basically, I’m one of those people who can’t live without music. You know, those who “feel” the music rather than analysing it. Which you perfectly did in your article. But tell me, Mr Murphy… where were your feelings? Did you try to forget for a second the band behind all this and listen more to the album as an individual one and not a part of a discography? Would you fee… sorry… analyse it the same way then?

You write that “Strangeland is a chastened leap backwards”. Please allow me to disagree on that… Please allow me to let you know that Strangeland is a fine continuation of the Keane music people (or fans for those who consider themselves as so) loved and waited impatiently for its return since the release of “Perfect Symmetry”.

You also stated that Strangeland “stands as proof positive that playing it safe is not always the best option”. Guess what? I also disagree. Maybe sometimes a change is not always for the good. Maybe it is sometimes good to stick to what you do best because at the end of the day, it is just… perfect for the heart. But eh… who am I to judge? My heart often “speaks” louder and faster than my mind does.

Here’s my opinion about your review, dear Mister Murphy. Free of charge. It’s not like I’m getting any payment for the articles I write.

Thinking back, I write quite almost the way I live my life: I keep an eye on people I care about and who make my life brighter and don’t even bother paying attention to those who don’t. You know… those people who spent their time making other people’ lives miserable. Every once in a while though, it happens I may step in the battlefield to stand up for my beloved ones… Only when things go waaaaay too far…

What’s the reward in taking care of what/who is important? Happiness… And that’s exactly what many musicians, singers, artists… have given me over the years. The guys of Keane are part of them. Even more today. Welcome back, guys… I missed you so much, you know…

Strangeland Tracklist :

You Are Young
Silenced By The Night
Disconnected
Watch How You Go
Sovereign Light Café
On The Road
The Starting Line
Black Rain
Neon River
Day Will Come
In Your Own Time
Sea Fog