2009年2月Plymouth表演评论：激情澎湃

Keane to thrill
Friday, February 06, 2009, 07:00
Thisisplymouth.co.uk
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/features/Keane-thrill/article-675110-detail/article.html

CURRENTLY at the peak of their creative powers, Keane are back to play Plymouth Pavilions on Monday performing tracks from Perfect Symmetry, an album described as “a million watts brighter and bolder than their previous two.”

It’s a real triumphant return for a band who could so easily have gone their separate ways not so very long ago.

Remember the scenario? Songwriting maestro and keyboard wiz Tim Rice-Oxley recruited angel-voiced lead singer Tom Chaplin for the creation of their lush melodic debut album Hopes and Fears, but with the massive success came inevitable tensions.

As the gregarious frontman, Tom revelled in the adulation, while Tim retreated with embarrassment.

“With the second record we went straight off the road into the studio when we really needed a break,” says drummer Richard Hughes, “and that sowed the seeds for a lot of problems…”

The follow up album, Under The Iron Sea, followed a well-documented psychological battle between the two fuelled by Tom’s cocaine addiction, resulting inevitably in an oppressively dark offering.

Perfect Symmetry finds the three-piece in an altogether more positive mindset – hence the title.

With their differences pretty much behind them, and a real sense of relief that they didn’t actually split, the trio have reinvented themselves yet again, with a little help from US producer Jon Brion (Eighties dance guru and producer of Madonna’s Confessions On A Dancefloor).

“Jon coming on board was a massive influence,” says Tim. “We were in a good place already but he gave us the confidence of not thinking, of not self-editing: not worrying what people are going to think or even what you’re going to think! Let’s face it; the worst that can happen is that the idea doesn’t work.”

And it’s not difficult to hear a distinct Eighties influence coming through:

“The boldness of that time is something that’s really frowned upon today,” says Tim.

“We’re living in a time when it’s cool to be Eighties in a retro way, but if this record sounds like that it’s probably because I associate some of those songs – Pet Shop Boys, Mel and Kim, Salt’N'Pepa – with a fun, innocent time. I absolutely don’t care what’s considered to be fashionable or cool or tasteful; it’s much more about following our own instincts.”

The result is an adventurous explosion of life-affirming energetic pop in which the band have thrown caution to the wind and simply gone with the flow.

In short, it’s a real winner for the lads who initially gained their reputation as one of Britain’s best guitar bands – without even having a guitarist – and are now considered one of the most talented bands anywhere in the world.

It’ll be a real thrill to see them perform tracks from the album live on Monday at their sell-out Pavilions show.