Keane – Perfect Symmetry

Genre – Rock/Pop

Label – Island

Quick Take: Music to nap by

Get it if: You own all of the Coldplay B-sides.

Don’t get it if: Maroon 5 is too edgy for your taste.

Piano pop can be a mushy ride. Ever since the early days of Elton John and Billy Joel, fans of the genre know it’s a fine line between a heartstring-tugging classic and wrist-slashing schlock. As far as albums to waste part of a Sunday listening to, Perfect Symmetry falls somewhere in the middle and is more of just a collection of benign, homogenous soft rock. Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, I do have a soft spot for soft rock. As a matter of fact, Keane’s 2004 single Somewhere Only We Know has been known to pop up on my shuffle from time to time, however none of the tracks on the latest release move me the same way.

Like many albums in this genre, the dynamic range is a little limited, usually falling somewhere in between bubbly and mopey. The same can be said for this album with the first two singles Spiralling and The Lovers are Losing standing out slightly with their synth-based grooves that might prevent commuters from falling asleep at the wheel.

The production values on Perfect Symmetry are nonetheless top notch and meet all expectations of what you’d hear on your local Mix-FM station. I’ll take nothing away from the trio, they’re solid performers with a great knack for writing pop tunes. I just think this collection of songs isn’t really bringing much substance to the party. If you enjoy British keyboard pop bands of the past, such as Thompson Twins and Howard Jones, you might what to give this a listen, otherwise proceed with caution and don’t operate any heavy machinery.

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Topics: album, Keane, music, Other Side of the Tracks, Perfect Symmetry