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Keane has been full of surprises lately. After breaking out with a pair of award-winning albums filled with lush, piano-driven melodies, they released 2008’s .nightsandweekends.com/articles/09/NW0900025.php>Perfect Symmetry, an unexpectedly upbeat album, featuring synthesized pop tunes.
So when the British trio announced their next album was in the works, I couldn’t wait to see what they’d decide to spring on their fans this time. Maybe they’d decide to go back to the Old Keane. Maybe they’d stick with their new retro pop style. Or maybe they’d try something completely different. Metal, perhaps? A touch of ska?
Well…how about rap?
Yep. You read that right. Keane’s Night Train features collaborations with Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan and Japanese MC Tigarah. So, once again, Keane’s new release will be a bit of a shock to the Keane fans’ system. But, as with the fun-loving pop of Perfect Symmetry, somehow, this latest incarnation of Keane still works oh, so well.
The short EP Night Train features just eight tracks (including intro track “House Lights”), but it once again takes the band in a new direction. It’s loaded with synthesizers and guitars, driving beats and distortion—things that were completely un-Keane just a few years ago. The sound is usually pretty big—almost theatrical at times. Yet, underneath it all, lead singer Tom Chaplin’s crystal-clear vocals still ring out, reminding you that yes, you are still listening to Keane.
While the album’s three collaborations do take a little getting used to, though, don’t skip over them. The thoughtful “Stop for a Minute” features rhymes by K’naan—and it’s one of my favorite tracks on the album. K’naan’s other track, “Looking Back,” isn’t bad, either—though the Rocky theme base is a bit off-putting. And Tigarah’s “Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got to Help Yourself)” is reminiscent of the catchy, retro-pop feel of Perfect Symmetry.
The finished product may sound like it would be an awkward, ill-fitting jumble of pop, hip-hop, and a more up-tempo incarnation of Keane’s poetic piano rock—as well as the old-Keane style of the closing track, “My Shadow”—but somehow (and I honestly can’t tell you how) they make it all fit together perfectly. It’s another strong album—both lyrically and musically—with some strange but successful musical experiments. And, once again, I just can’t bear to take it out of my car’s CD player.
Of course, if you’re waiting for the return of Keane’s sweet, piano ballads, you’ll be understandably perplexed by the band’s latest offerings. But if you’re willing to keep an open mind, you’ll find that Night Train is another unexpected gem.
