2008年10月Clickmusic评价《Perfect Symmetry》

http://www.clickmusic.com/articles/9323/Keane—Perfect-Symmetry.html

Rating:4/5
Becky Reed

So many bands give press blurbs about radical new directions, but how many follow it through? On third album ‘Perfect Symmetry’, Keane sound like a band putting together their first album – it’s crammed with ideas. There’s none of the polish of the first two, as the majority of the tracks do not feel smoothed over to the point of blandness. However, there was never anything bland about Tom Chaplin’s voice, which drove Keane’s previous work. Here the power of it actually takes a back seat to the playfulness of a band who sound like they’ve been let loose in an Aladdin’s cave of studio equipment. This very eagerness has unleashed a fun side to Keane, but this is not an album merely of “see what we can do” – there’s nothing haphazard or half-hearted about it.

Opener ‘Spiralling’ is the most immediate track, and made even previous Keane dismissers (like this very reviewer) sit up and take notice. Pretending that the inexcusable talking section is not there, ‘Spiralling’ is a vibrant, joyful racket, paying tribute to the best of the Eighties – think ABC. Keane fans of old are eased gently back with ‘The Lovers Are Losing’, which takes the Tim Rice-Oxley formula of huge choruses over melodic grandeur and beefs it up. Here begins a theme recurrent throughout ‘Perfect Symmetry’, one of clawing yourself out of restraints and of re-evaluation. It’s a monster of a song, and inevitably buoyant, thanks to Keane’s sonically heart-stirring effect.

Off to unchartered territory with the Bowie-meets-XTC ‘Better Than This’, Chaplin’s falsetto telling of the emptiness of celebrity aspirations. The sparse electro-pop feel works even better on ‘You Haven’t Told Me Anything’, although you get the impression there’s a beast of a full-on disco version just begging to be made. A track that suffers from its own subtlety – remix, anyone? The piano is back for the title track, which has good intentions, but is trying too hard in its earnestness. Songwriter Rice-Oxley has recently said this to be the song he is most proud of, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the likes of ‘A Bad Dream’.

A return to strengths is the elegant ‘You Don’t See Me’, which grabs you with its haunting, lullaby-like verses. The synths are whipped out for ‘Again & Again’, one of the finest examples of a complete pop song on the album. Definite highlight is ‘Playing Along’, an intense, melancholy track, with Chaplin’s bluesy vocal building up to a dramatic repeated refrain of “I’m gonna turn up the volume ’til I can’t even think”. The guitars (yes, guitars) add to the atmosphere, leaving a long-lasting impression – beautiful, soulful, one of the finest songs Keane have written. In stark contrast, ‘Pretend That You’re Alone’ is a ‘Graceland’-style feel-good energetic romp which is enormous fun, all handclaps, bass guitar (yes, bass) and singalongs.

‘Black Burning Heart’, alas, is standard MOR fayre that is pleasant, but feels unwanted alongside the thrills and spills of what preceded it, and the plodding closer ‘Love Is The End’ is not in fact a fitting finale to an otherwise intriguing LP – it leaves you craving more synths, more guitar, more daftness, more of the spark. When listened to alongside the first two albums, Keane overall have turned out to be pretty far removed from the insulting “middle class” dinner party music tag. In fact, ‘Perfect Symmetry’ makes you completely rethink them as a band – ‘Hopes & Fears’ and ‘Under The Iron Sea’ become both fascinating precursors and non-guilty pleasures as you realise they have so much to offer. Epic stadium ballads, soft rock, indie disco, electro, blues – it all works. Listen without prejudice.