2010年2月Arjan Writes逐首点评《Night Train》

Keane “Night Train” Track by Track Album Review
http://www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2010/02/keane-night-train-track-by-track-review.html

February 28, 2010
Arjan Writes

Keane’s “Night Train” sounds like a record the British trio had to make to get some musical urges out of their system. Listening to this album, it seems that after producing some of pop’s most gorgeous ballads ever, the group wanted to let loose, let their hair down and have some fun with it.

The result is a very diverse pop record that is a classy, accomplished blend of musical styles, global rhythms and exciting new soundscapes – ranging from ’80s flavored electro-pop to energetic acoustic rock to their signature pop balladry. Following the excellent “Perfect Symmetry,” this new effort demonstrates once again that Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice Oxley and Richard Hughes are able to keep their new music fresh and invigorated while always presenting a sound that is undeniable their own.

To be released in the U.S. on May 11, the album also includes Somali rapper K’Naan and Japanese baile funk emcee Tigarah who add a distinct global flavor to “Night Train.” Pretty fitting as most of this record was written and recorded while the group was touring across the globe last year. Here a quick run-down of the album’s 8 tracks that make up Keane’s fourth studio album:

Your Love
A throbbing, mid-tempo ’80s flavored synth-pop gem that features the rare lead vocals of Tim Rice-Oxley. At first his voice took me off guard as his style and vocal inflection is very similar to Tom Chaplin’s, but his vocals are smoother, slicker. Reminiscent of A-ha’s Morten Harket. Gorgeous, sparkly chorus and an epic middle eight that sent chills up my spine. Very good and a track that clearly echoes the melodic sentiments of “Hopes & Fears.” This is one of my favorite tracks on “Night Train” and will certainly be a fan favorite as well.

Stop For Minute
This celebratory track features the much-anticipated collaboration with Somali rapper K’Naan. The song is unmistakable a Keane production though with its instantly catchy piano-driven melody. K’Naan duets with Tom in the verses and chorus of the song, and lays down some rhymes during the bridge towards the end of the song. “Stop For Minute” packs a powerful, positive message and has a great singalong chorus.

My Shadow
Third track on the album is a signature Keane ballad that primarily relies on Tim’s pacing piano work and Tom’s angelic vocals. A great reminder of why Keane is a world-class band. So beautiful. “Shine a light on me and you will see my shadow on every wall,” Tom sings.

Looking Back
Fun, brassy tune with a stomping horn section. Has a bit of bossa nova flavor to it. Would not be surprised if the guys wrote this during their South American tour dates. K’Naan adds a few of his raps, which is unexpected but totally works.

Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got To Help Yourself)
A very joyous electro-pop cover of the Yellow Magic Orchestra song that features Japanese baile funk MC Tigarah. This song was a truly international endeavor. Tim worked on the original idea on a plane, Richard recorded the drums in D.C., Tom did his vocals in Copenhagen, Tigarah did hers in L.A. and the group finished it off on a tour bus. I must say that the result feels a little disjointed – Tigarah’s vocals don’t gel all that well with Tom’s.

House Lights
Brief atmospheric interlude without vocals. Has a great cinematic quality to it.

Clear Skies
This song features Keane like you rarely hear them. Song starts off acoustically with handclaps, guitars and Tom’s vocals, which gradually build to the chorus when drums, bass and xylophone are added. This is a really fun experimentation with different instruments that works well and continues to grow on me the more I hear it. You can hear how bands like Radiohead and Blur inspired this track.

Back In Time
The tracks opens with frantic, jagged synths much like the opening of “Is It Any Wonder” that is repeated in the chorus. “Back In Time” is how Keane does rock and roll.

2010年2月Popjustice率先点评《Night Train》: 八大看点

Eight important factlets about the new Keane ‘EP’
http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4425&Itemid=206

Story filed Wednesday, 10 February 2010

1. They’re calling it an EP but it’s got eight tracks (EIGHT TRACKS) on it and three of them could be obvious singles so let’s be honest here, it’s an album. Full tracklisting: ‘House Lights’, ‘Back In Time’, ‘Stop For A Minute’ (feat K’Naan), ‘Clear Skies’, ‘Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got To Help Yourself)’ (feat Tigarah), ‘Your Love’, ‘Looking Back’ (feat K’Naan), ‘My Shadow’. We had a bit of a chit-chat with the band last week and put forward our ‘it’s clearly an album what are you talking about’ opinion; Tim from the band mentioned that he agreed with something Liam Gallager recently said about the constraints of the modern music industry meaning that bands don’t really get to release enough music. Keane’s point regarding this EP is that the songs – recorded on the road – are so diverse that they don’t really make sense as a ‘proper album’, but at the same time they’re good enough to be released. So that is why they’re calling it an EP.

2. It’s an album.

3. The artwork is boring but don’t let this fool you – there’s some exciting stuff on ‘Night Train’. Some of the songs continue in the trajectory of the last Keane album, so ‘Your Love’ (which has touches of ‘Early Winter’) is quite electrical and ‘Stop For A Minute’ (featuring a rap from K’Naan who manages to rhyme ‘females’ with ‘e-mails’ thus putting this song on a level with Pixie Lott’s ‘Cry Me Out’ in that respect and that respect alone) sits well alongside something like ‘Spiralling’.

4. If you fear the modern world don’t worry. ‘My Shadow’ is a proper ‘Bedshaped’-shaped Keane tearjerking piano ballad (a ‘piallad’, if you will). It is a lovely song about there being no need to feel alone because if you shine a light you “will see my shadow on every wall, and you will see my footprint on every floor”, offering the advice that “when your back’s against the wall that’s when you show no fear at all” and *breaks down uncontrollably as result of massive pop blubfest*

5. ‘Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got To Help Yourself)’ sounds like the theme from a long-forgotten early-90s Saturday morning kids TV show FROM SPAIN. Except the guest vocalist, Tigarah (very listenable MySpace tuneage here), is a Japanese Baile Funk expert so that’s a bit confusing. The main point here is that ‘Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got To Help Yourself)’ is on one hand amazing and on the other hand is the sort of thing that should never ever be heard by anybody at all, still less released as a single. It’s not an easy song to come to terms with, but we’ve given it four stars out of five in our iTunes library if that’s any help.

6. ‘Looking Back’ interpolates the Rocky theme (!) and ‘Clear Skies’ has a killer, ‘Call The Shots’-esque chorus, while ‘House Lights’ is the music they came onto on their last tour (hence the name etc).

7. This isn’t connected to the EP ‘per se’ but the Keane Website has a clip of Tom performing the Pet Shop Boys tune ‘Your Funny Uncle’, which is quite nice. *Breaks down uncontrollably for second time*

8. And there we have it. The new Keane ALBUM discussed in some vague waffle which while perhaps not particularly detailed or brilliantly written might lead you to be quite excited about this very good collection of tunes. ‘Stop For A Minute’ is the first single – Keanemusic have a behind the scenes report from the video shoot. The whole thing’s out in May. THERE YOU GO.

2009年3月伦敦O2表演评论

Keane, London O2 Arena
http://www.wessexscene.co.uk/the-edge/3229

WessexScene.co.uk
20th March 2009
Hayley Taulbut

How Keane managed to achieve a sell out show two nights in succession in the massive O2 arena was at first a complete mystery to me.

The first support act, four piece Norwegian band ‘Katzenjammer’ were like Gogol Bordello on steroids: which is fine if you like that kind of thing, but for me, it was like listening to all the discordant sounds in the world put together in a blender and whizzed without the lid on. It was atrocious. Thankfully, second support act ‘Frankmusic’ were much better: at least they had an understanding of harmony and how music actually worked. If their performance was anything to go by, they are likely to be quite big names for 2009.

But on to the main act. Keane exploded onto the stage with ‘The Lovers are losing’, amongst a cacophony of lights and sounds echoing the colour scheme and shapes of their latest album, ‘Perfect Symmetry’. This quickly gave way into hit single ‘Everybody’s Changing’, which Keane gave a facelift through the use of synthesizers, the addition of extra tracks, and through voice delay, which gave the song a feel not dissimilar to that of their latest album. It was at this point I sat up in my seat and paid attention: my low expectations were set to be destroyed over and over again by the three/four piece band from Sussex.

And I was not disappointed – Keane continued to impress me as the show went on. It is unquestionable that lead Tom Chaplin has been blessed with a fantastic voice, and despite struggling with a sore throat, he sung his heart out with an enthusiasm and perfection that belongs in a whole different league than many other leads of bands of as higher calibre as Keane. Other band members matched Tom’s enthusiasm expertly, with Tim playing the piano and keyboard like it would be the last time, and so-called fourth band member, bassist Jess Quin negotiated the stage with the star quality that bands four-times more successful cannot boast of.

For almost two hours, Keane occupied the stage with the air of a band who had been entertaining mass audiences for as long as they can remember, whilst retaining the feeling that they cannot quite believe their luck. Tom Chaplin must have thanked the audience, and told us he was overwhelmed with the show no less than ten times in such a short space of time. Equally as overwhelmed were the die-hard fans who filled the arena with a sound that Tom deemed “the choir of London”. But I daresay, those who were overwhelmed to the greatest degree, were the sceptics such as myself: Even up in the balconies, each audience member, myself included, was out of their seat, dancing singing and clapping along to almost every song.

Keane concluded the show with a four song encore, partially performed on an extended stage amongst the standing crowd, much to their excitement. Anthems ‘Is it any wonder?’ and ‘Bedshaped’ acted as the perfect finale for the perfect gig, with Keane making expert use of the huge screens and the lights to create an experience that the audience would find hard to forget: it was a complete overload of colour, visuals, and sound, yet somehow, what was most memorable was the way that Keane overshadowed all of this with their brilliance and enthusiasm.

So I confess: I am truly a converted citizen: I am now a Keane fan, and proud of it, despite my initial scepticism. And I believe that Keane shall continue ‘spiralling’ into the musical stratosphere for years to come.

2009年2月Theregoesthefear.com评论伦敦O2 Arena表演

Live Review: Keane at London’s O2 Arena – Thursday 12th February 2009
Theregoesthefear.com
http://www.theregoesthefear.com/2009/02/live-review-keane-at-londons-o2-arena-thursday-12th-february-2009.php

Keane live at London’s O2 – 12th Feb (side)“Music for Bedwetters” the legendary Alan McGee christened Keane. The Creation Records founder is usually right about most things, however he seems to have got Keane’s audience completely wrong. At the first of two sold out nights at London’s vast O2 Arena last night, everyone from grannies to teenagers to toddlers were present.

As front man Tom Chaplin commented, their first gigs were in venues smaller than their B-Stage on this tour, and his stage personality has certainly grown with the stages they’ve filled. Playing such big arenas on this tour has seen Tom go from a decent stage presence to a full-blown Bono impression, short of the preaching about the 3rd world.

Opening up the evening, we finally got a chance to catch the hotly tipped Frankmusik. He took over the arena’s stage like it was his own, taking his beatboxing, electro dance tunes a la old style Moby mixed with Calvin Harris to the masses and converting the hoards with the catchy hooks and recognisable samples.

Once the stage was set for Keane, they burst out, triumphantly opening with “Lovers are Losing”, they pleased everyone, playing the classics (Somewhere Only We Know, Everything’s Changing), the current chart hits (Perfect Symmetry, Spiralling) the fan favourite rarities (Sunshine, Snowed Under) and the obligatory new ones. 22 songs in 105 minutes isn’t bad pace for a well seasoned band, let alone some East Sussex kids who were unknown just five years ago.

Starting off the evening slowly, the light display was modest however as things progressed, the national grid was tested to the limits, with Again and Again featuring some computer game graphics on the huge screen behind the band, and A Bad Dream a rather haunting video of war-era dancing in gas masks. The production values were distinctly ramped up, with a B stage inviting a return to their early days, playing to an almost empty room at the Hope and Anchor in north London. Tunes like “Snowed Under” offered a chance to go back to basics.

Coming to the end of the tour, Tom’s voice wasn’t at its best; however this inevitably led to the mass yell-along to “Somewhere Only We Know” towards the end of the evening. Croaky, he took a break to let the crowd do what they do best: “Angels” for the bed-wetting generation, if you will.

Closing out with the usual mass-hug-along of “Bedshapped”, it was sadly time to go home. Whatever you may think of the Battle three piece, they sure know how to put on a good show and have some great pop tunes. Granted, they’re no Arcade Fire or other critics current hype band, but they do what they do best: make great tunes for the mainstream.

Setlist:
Keane: London’s O2 Arena, Thursday 12th February 2009:

Lovers are Losing
Bend and Break
Everybody’s Changing
Better than this
Again and again
A bad dream
This is the last time
Sprialling
Try again
Sunshine
Snowed under
You haven’t told me anything
Leaving so soon
You don’t see me
Perfect symmetry
Somewhere only we know
Crystal ball
–
Playing along
Black burning heart
Is it any wonder
Bedshaped

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.