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Keane
Under the Iron Sea
(Interscope/Universal)
We will grant that there are only so many different sounds you can make with a piano, some drums and a singer who loves him some falsetto. But hey, we didn't choose Keane's lineup, they did.
So it kind of feels like cheating to hear the pasty British trio hooking up their piano to wah-wah pedals, distortion boxes, digital delays and other effects on their second album Under the Iron Sea. Granted, it does help them expand their lush, mopey pallet with some newer, more vibrant colours and noisier textures.
And it helps turn songs like Is it Any Wonder? and Put it Behind You into surprisingly energized and undeniably rockin' numbers. But all the pedals in the world can't make eternally swooning vocalist Tom Chaplin sound less like Chris Martin doing a Bono impersonation. Nor can they turn his lyrical frown upside down.
As evidenced by titles like A Bad Dream and Broken Toy -- not to mention unfortunate lyrics like "Oh crystal ball, crystal ball, save us all" -- this is still a pretty dreary and self-indulgent affair more suited for a rainy Sunday on the sofa than a Saturday drive to the beach.
If they really want to change that, they might just have to break down and get a guitar player to go with all those pedals.
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Track Listing:
1. Atlantic
2. Is It Any Wonder?
3. Nothing in My Way
4. Leaving So Soon?
5. Bad Dream
6. Hamburger Song
7. Put It Behind You
8. Crystal Ball
9. Try Again
10. Broken Toy
11. Frog Prince