Strangeland

When I heard "Black Rain" on Youtube, I thought, "Keane is BACK!"Having ardently loved the albums "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Under the Iron Sea," I was somewhat less interested in "Perfect Symmetry"--although not completely so. I found its songs to be more... agitated, replacing that melancholic piano of Keane's I love so much with more hairy electric guitar and abrasive synthesizers. [Compare "Love is the End" (yes!) to "You Haven't Told Me Anything" (eh).] Still, I like Perfect Symmetry's songs; not my favorite, but they cater to a different mood. However, when I heard "Stop for a Minute," I was crestfallen. I personally do not like interludes of rapping with lines like "And baby you are just beautiful from crown to your cuticles" (blech), especially mixed with my cuppa Keane, and none of the other songs on "Night Train" appealed to me, so I did not purchase it. Did my love for Keane end at "Love is the End"? [/cheesy]Fortunately, "Strangeland" is, to me, a return to Somewhere Only We Know and Under the Iron Sea. It's better than Perfect Symmetry, and much better than Night Train. Strangeland carries the torch of Keane's wistful, earthbound dream of a sound onward but is still distinctive in my mind from the former two favorites. As another reviewer said, I do not want to skip any of the songs on this album--which is saying a lot. Highly recommend :)

It is an absolute travesty that Americans have not fully embraced Keane like they embraced U2 and Coldplay and even The Killers. For it is from those seeds that Keane's music has taken shape. Of course there's also Travis as well. But the bottom line remains: Keane are far more popular in their native England than they are here. I mean, all of their albums have gone number one there. Can any American name any song from Keane? I still have people with furrowed brows say to me, "Keane? Who is that?"I am biased, of course, every so often I find a band or artist that, to my ears, can do no wrong. Keane is one of those bands, and I'd even go so far as to give them an edge over Coldplay. With their fourth album, "Strangeland", the band continues to make great melodic piano driven music. They've always reminded me of my favorite era in music, the new wave/punk movement of the late 70's and early 80's. These guys really know how to make melodies that are memorable and that soar, always stadium friendly.The deluxe version has four extra tracks. Without them there is a five star album here. With them, there's still a five star album here. Sure, there are songs that stand out from the pack, and all of these that I'm about to name should easily shoot into the American top 10. Songs like "You Are Young", "Silenced By The Night", "Sovereign Light Cafe", "On The Road", "The Starting Line", "Neon River" and even "Sea Fog". I think the only songs that might falter are "Watch How You Go", "Black Rain", "Day Will Come", "The Boys" and "It's Not True", but really, there are no weak tracks to be heard here. Everything is given a meticulous production and melodic sheen.Now, some critics have complained that "Strangeland" finds the band spinning its wheels and not pushing forward musically like they did on their last album, 2008's "Perfect Symmetry". Well that may be true, but there is no shortage of exciting material to be had here. Perhaps the band did go back to 2004's "Hopes And Fears" for some inspiration, but that was also a great album. In fact, Keane have yet to make a misstep musically. All of their albums are great.So, "Strangeland" gets five stars from me, something I don't often give out, because there are no songs that I can readily point to that tarnish the shine found throughout the album. It's cohesive musically and thematically.Here's how "Strangeland" compares to Keane's previous works:2004 Hopes And Fears: Four Stars2006 Under The Iron Sea: Four and a Half Stars2008 Perfect Symmetry: Five Stars2010 Night Train (EP): Three Stars2012 Strangeland: Five Stars

Keane is not for everyone. That should be made clear. It is not the kind of music you would jam in your car to look cool or necessarily listen to in front of your friends. But if you like slightly retro, melodic, piano and synth music with a bit of emotional drama that does not sound like anybody else, then read on.If you know the song "Somewhere only we know" then you know the excellent song craft can Keane exhibit. The melodies and words work their way into your mind and later you may find yourself humming the tune when nobody is listening. This band is not afraid to try new sounds or switch up the style, but 3 things remain in just about every Keane song... excellent expressive singing, piano, and thought provoking lyrics that paint a story in my head when I listen.This latest album is often compared to their past works or even a particular song, but bands cannot remain in one place... or they become period bands that only play their greatest hits. I think this album rates as high as anything they have done in the past and in some cases, I find myself hitting the repeat button to hear every nuance of a favorite song.Highlights are:Neon River - A lover moves on... one is left behind...Sea Fog - This melancholy song is like a sad memory of a close friend's deathSovereign Light Cafe - this reminds me that you cannot always return home once you leave it...The Starting Line - An inspirational song of pushing on despite setbacksEnjoy...

This collection by Keane shows these young men on a creative roll. The melodies and lyrics become a unified whole whereas with some artists one aspect outshines the other. Each song merits attention....attentive listening as they are little portraits of life and emotion and should not be relegated to "background" comfort noise. The deluxe packaging includes a hardbound book with lyrics and a content relative short story by British novelist William Boyd. A DVD of five acoustic versions is very nice....I plan to copy the performances for mobile listening....too bad the audio only wasn't appended to the CD. A notation on Amazon indicates that the merchant is no longer selling this package because of some issue with the item. I found no problem save for that a numbered special print of the album artwork was to have been part of the edition, but no such item was included in the factory shrink wrapped volume. Very satisfied with this purchase.

Admittedly I’ve come rather late to this album, but ‘Strangeland’ is the fourth studio album by Keane released back in 2012. This is an album filled with nostalgia, and regret, for simpler days, a time before adult responsibility and perhaps great pop success. It features achingly melodic and terminally sincere adult alternative rock songs. There are some stadium-swelling anthems featuring clap-along drums, stomping piano riffs that all have a melodic emotional reflex. Yet for me, the album never quite lives up to its very intriguing name, yes, the songs are all done well, but the maudlin ballads and at times monochrome synth-pop production, slightly let it down, but overall I enjoyed it and it's certainly worth your full attention and a listen. Four stars.

Excellent album from one of the UK's premier bands. Every track on this cd grabs you and sticks with you. The songwriting is of the highest quality, and songs such as Disconnected and Sovereign Light Cafe are instant winners. The Super Deluxe edition comes in a hard-backed book, which has a short story, the lyrics to all the tracks, and some excellent photos. Also included is a dvd of some of the songs from the album done in a more intimate, acoustic style and it makes purchasing this particular deluxe edition well worth the money.

This is the album of the year without a shadow of a doubt. A return to the best of keane - and ranks just a high (in my own humble opinion) as "Hopes and Fears" (maybe even a little higher...) Standout track for me are "Disconnected" and "Watch how you go", but there (as has already been pointed out) absolutely no fillers on this Cd. Terrific lyrics, thoughtful ballads and, above all, sounds that grab you from the word go - that real Keane sound.A well thought out track selection, with the mood lifted and mellowed at just the right points, the sign of quality. If you like Keane Buy it - you won't be disappointed. If you've bought this and have been disappointed then I have no idea what it would take to please you in an album, because this one, to me anyway) clearly has class oozing from every well-written track.

I missed the boat when Keane were in their prime, but went to see Tom with his solo album and became hooked , I would guess that some die hard fans would say that this album is a bit too lightweight , but they are probably the same people who are waiting for Peter Gabriel to rejoin Genesis , For me , the tunes are catchy , several anthemic and some touching and emotional , All in all a great listen

With Keanes fourth full studio album Keane returned to a more anthem-fuelled style fans will be highly aware of if they have followed Keane as a band since their inception. Strangeland is a esoterically beautiful album at once empowering and yet simultaneously melancholic and self-reflective. Particularly strong tracks are "Watch How You Go", "Neon River" and "Silenced By the Night" but every song on this album could do well as singles. Tom Chaplins voice is quite simply astounding in terms of the vocal range he continues to traverse and many of his lyrics are poetically beautiful and deeply haunting. This is an album I cannot rate highly enough.