Customer Reviews

Keane: Hopes and Fears

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Somepeople tend to compare KEANE with Coldplay. I could say KEANE is somehow inspired by Coldplay but in no way it is a B class Coldplay. This is a masterpiece debut wich contains some songs that qualifies as perfect 4 minute pop songs such as Somewhere Only We Know and Everybody's Changing. A interesting fact is that in this album there are NO GUITAR. With is great because I rather have an excellent piano playing all over than a mediocre guitar as a merely filler. The voice is so fine, so polished, so relaxing that this is a perfect album to listen to while driving, while spending time with your significant other, in the pre sleep hours or in the first hours of the morning. It will certainly lift up your mood. Oh, and by the way relaxed and polished in now way means cliche or cheesy.

British mope-rock is alive and well, as Brit-pop trio Keane makes their debut with "Hopes and Fears." Strong, soaring vocals from Tom Chaplin are backed up by some solid piano-based pop and rock. Despite constant comparisons to Radiohead, Travis and Coldplay, Keane shows plenty of promise as a unique new band.

It starts off with a strong piano solo in the quiet "Somewhere Only We Know," followed by a stream of catchy pop like the thoughtful "Everybody's Changing" and the shimmery "Bend And Break," and gossamer ballads like the melancholy "We Might As Well Be Strangers" and soaring "She Has No Time." It wraps up on a strong note with the plaintive "Bedshaped."

As a dualdisc CD, this also has a DVD side if you flip it over. It includes several music videos of okay (though not great) quality, including one that is different in the U.K. It also contains a special photo gallery and song lyrics, which are a pleasant accompaniment to the CD itself.

If any British band breaks the rock mold, it seems to be labelled as a Radiohead/Coldplay wannabe. On some superficial levels, Keane sounds rather like those bands. But it manages to remain a bit apart, rocking a bit harder and sounding a bit more straightforward and simple. It's hard to truly classify Keane as really being pop -- the lack of guitar and the prevailing piano seem to edge its catchy melodies closer to classical pop.

The first thing to know about Keane is: No guitarist. At all. Ever. Don't let it scare you -- the mix of rippling piano and gentle percussion are enough to make their melodies catchy without electric riffs. At the same time, they take some musical risks. Psychedelic piano-pop? Believe it or not, Keane does that.

Tom Chaplin's vocals are the strongest point of Keane's lineup; his solid, high soars along with the shimmery music. At times his vocals get a bit TOO high, like when he sings the title line of "She Has No Time," but most of the time he manages to sound like a heartbroken guy exorcising his breakup demons. The songs themselves aren't terribly complex or insightful, but they can be quite poignant: "And if you have a minute why don't we go/talk about it somewhere only we know?/This could be the end of everything/so why don't we go/somewhere only we know?"

Keane needs to distance itself more from the other Brit-mope-rock bands before it can blossom into true greatness. But in "Hopes And Fears," they have succeeded in the basics: bringing forth some beautiful, sometimes heartrending music.

Keane has got to be the best band to come along in years, if you love brilliant pop music (esp. of the UK variety). Keane songs are indeed brilliant.

Every track on this record is amazing. Most are upbeat, but even the slower ones stick in your head.

I hope this band writes more stuff FAST. And how about a concert DVD or two? If you haven't heard them live yet...they're even better!

BTW, I haven't had a single problem backing up a Dualdisc yet. I like to back up all my CD's so I don't have to worry about scratching them, etc, and store the originals in a safe place. I've backed up both the CD and DVD sides of my Dualdiscs on recordable CD/DVD's no problem. I'm a Mac/OSX user, though, so I'm able to back up even copy-protected CD's without issue too. Can't speak for windows OS.

This is one of those few albums you can hear from start to finish, i'm no big fan of the band but I was looking for the avanced resolution content on the DVD side of the DualDisc edition, it's not the greatest you can get in technical terms, only 48khz/24bit for the 5.1 mix, four stars because of that but that's definitely still better than CD quality and the surround environment is very well balanced so i'm happy. Stereo mix is 96khz/24bit.

I am disappointed in this CD. I had seen a couple of Keane videos, and they were ok, but the CD isn't so great.

I fell in love with this music in the first 5 seconds of the first song I heard. In one sense it is alot like Coldplay but it also has it's own unique sound and style. I have listened to each song hundreds of times and I will never get tired of it! Their music is wonderful and the lyrics are so amazing! If you like Coldplay you will love Keane.

the 5.1 mix is fantastic! thanks for releasing this most excellent album with a 5.1 mix! highly recommended!

I really love KEANE and Hopes and Fears, and the enhanced version is really cool. I love it because you actually get to see the music videos. There is MUCH to see on this Duel-disc! I highly recommend purchasing this, and the second album once it's released in 2006. Keane is the best thing that's ever happened to me, their music will change your life.

I am one of the few people that buys all of his music (instead of illegal downloading) because I want to support the artists that I like. When I buy a CD I always make a copy so I can burn a back-up, play it in my portable player, make my own mixed cd,etc. These new "Dual Discs CANNOT be copied/ripped on a computer!!!!! I have tried 4 different programs and it wont work. In my opinion it ruins the way that I want to use the music I purchased. I will NEVER again buy a dual disc. What sense does it make if you cant listen to the music the way that you want to enjoy it.

BE WARNED. BOYCOTT THE DUAL DISC!