[rating=2.50]
Keane, much like several other contemporary British acts have the terrible luck of getting record deals around the time Coldplay and David Gray became world-renowned acts – and unfortunately to the untrained, American ear, there’s almost very little sonic difference between Keane, South and others. Sadly, despite the fact that Keane has slowly been expanding their sound to include use of synthesizers and other electronic sounds, there’s little on Perfect Symmetry to set it apart from their image as being Coldplay-light (which would make them, well Radiohead-light-light). Some of lyrics here are clichéd clunkers but Tom Chaplin’s voice can make even the worst lyric seem beautiful. And yet there’s nothing as outstanding and as catchy as their biggest hit, “Is It Any Wonder.” Key highlights on this album include “Spiralling,” Perfect Symmetry” and “Pretend That You’re Alone” which are all pretty decent pop-rock songs. It’ll get a few plays but you’ll probably forget it before next month.
