Review - Keane - Perfect Symmetry

Keane. The dirtiest word in modern day indie-rock. Probably. They came out of the blue in 2005 to blow all the little middle of the road Radio 2 listeners away with their piano led haunted chiming and the soaring epic vocal of, finally, a indie singer that can truly sing. It was a revelation. They never quite got the indie crowd behind them, bypassing that and going straight to Snow Patrol stardom. They do the Coldplay thing much better than Coldplay do it.

So their debut album sold millions and I was one of the mugs who bought it – indeed, curiosity mostly, but also because I was in Barcelona and it was cheap. If I can remember where I bought it surely it made some impression. It was a solid record – pant wettingly epic at points, but some of the tracks are pretty much great – Untitled and Sunshine are two of the greatest songs the band have written, hands down. The follow-up was again picked on by my self, this time on holiday in Malta, where it’s swaying epic choruses’ soundtrack going to get a paper in the morning and bottles of water. It was a good album.

But earlier this year we heard rumblings of trouble in camp Keane. A solo record? Cocaine addiction? Trumpets? It was all pointing to a Be Here Now disaster… and incredibly they managed to avoid it.

How? Well, Perfect Symmetry is an album of interesting direction changes but no distance gained. For example, Spiralling, the lead single, is a rather outlandish use of synth, spoken vocals and slap retro-bass, but keeps the structure of a Keane track. Second single, The Lovers Are Losing, is plain sailing for Keane. The use of Guitarish sounding synth or synth sounding guitar on You Haven't Told Me Anything the is a good idea, as hemming into just using instruments set out in the beginning is a sure fire way of failing the next-album test, but again it’s strides into the right point on the experimentation compass but stays rooted firmly on the spot.

The glances in new directions are good. Indeed, another album of samey bland ballads would kill the chances of the band outstaying their welcome, but it won’t appease the hoards of indie shirkers who see Keane as exactly what is wrong with music. The album is good, probably very good, but has a few troubles.

Firstly, the ballads that are present are crap. The title track is simply appalling – Keane doing a bad cover of Keane. The choral flourishes towards the end compound the lack of ideas on this track and to bestow it with the album title gives it clout it should never have, as well as lasting well beyond its allotted time frame.

The album is darker in places but mostly brighter than the “troubled” Under the Iron Sea, and the new look Keane and new sounding Keane are much much much more interesting than their earlier incarnations, but are still the same old band, with the same old problems. The only advantage that they now have is that it will be hard to predict where to go now – and that might be enough to keep everyone interested.

6/9

Travis - Ode to J. Smith

There is something about Travis that makes me really sad – it is something to do with the fact that they have perennially be labelled as “rubbish” since their third album The Invisible Band. Whilst it might be true that it was not exactly the greatest record ever, it stands as a good example of the time, which was easy listening and catchy pop hooks. It wasn’t always like that though, as for a while they were, like Starsailor and Coldplay, the indie darlings, after the simply overplayed brilliance of their second album, The Man Who. Recently, with 12 Memories, they went grown-up and the masses turned away with glee. 4 years later they followed it up with The Boy With No Name, which was much better aimed at the same audience that gave them their ascendancy and it worked a bit.

But this, the bands sixth album, comes just more than a year later, and with the added interest of many older fans – this is, as it said, is more like their debut album, the blindingly good Good Feeling, a truly excellent debut album.

This album is good. It is much better than I’d expect and is louder, but there are a few problems with it. Firstly, it seems to by trying to be different. Take the title track (well, almost) J. Smith, with the angular riffing and the bass inflected drum beat, it sounds on paper like it should be impressive, but towards the end it goes all Arcade Fire with choral voices and epic crescendo building layers. This is not to say it is a bad song – indeed, it works, but is this Travis?

Again, we are surprised to find on the single Something Anything even more angular guitar and a solo not out of place on a Pink Floyd out takes album. The next track is direcrlty lifted from the first album to the point of parody – it feels so 1990s that waves of nostalgia over come me every time I hear it’s opening bars.

There are a few parts of the album that will make the fans of the middle period of Travis, namely the Invisible Band, will be affronted with. They won’t like it and I think that it is intended to be like that. The album jars from first listen to last and there is a reason for this: Travis are no longer this band. They were, but they are not and have not been in years. So why are they performing these songs, writing these songs now? I don’t know.

What I do know is that it is very good and worth a listen. Whether or not it works as a Travis album, I don’t know for sure, but it proves that they still can sing All I Want to is Rock with fervour and honesty.

6/9

Review - Feeder - Silent Cry

Feeder are a constant for my musical pallet having been introduced to them during the later years of my high school tuition, they represented a point in my life that a few other bands, namely Travis, Coldplay, Linkin Park and Papa Roach, will occupy for giving me my first own bands, ones that I sought out my self, found my self, and fell in love with (and out of love with) along with many of my friends. In fact, Colin, who I blog with, also rates Feeder quite highly and owns many of their early albums (if not all). I however, only have two in my collection. Yesterday Went too Soon and Polythene, so you should be able to guess from those two records where my opinions lie on their most recent bought of records.

Comfort in Sound is not the album I wanted from Feeder. It was neither loud nor exciting as most of the melancholy arrangements were obviously inspired partly by the suicide of drummer John Lee but it also felt like a left over of the previous couple of albums. Grant and Taka were beginning to run a little on fumes and whilst their spirited rocking out on Godzilla and Come Back Around sounded loud, live they paled to Insomnia, Buck Rodgers and the in-between single Just A Day. With 2005s Pushing the Senses doing nothing to convince me otherwise and the band reaching for the Coldplay/Keane/Snow Patrol heights of late noughties selling out to the epic over produced masses seemed to turn on all the older fans who were there in beginning. The became middle of the road and Grant's skills as a songwriter probably benefited from the rise into success but gave fans a little kick knock down.

So, seeing them live in late 2005 gave me hope. They performed mostly from their older albums, including High, and seemed enthusiastic about louder material, and in 2006, Grant did announce that the next album would be "heavier". I had been burned once before and amazingly Feeder have delivered not an amazing record, but a return to form that I never expected. From the first song you must fear the worst - We Are the People is potentially their worst single, and sets the album up for a fall but from there on in, with Itsumo, Miss You and Tracing Lines following packing punches you wonder where did they pull this from? These are some of the best feeder tracks since Yesterday Went to Soon and indeed seem to pushing to replace it. The lyrics are still a little insipid but as the guitar work and hooks are expertly pushed around you smile for the return of an old friend

The album sound like a sigh of relief. No longer fighting for the commercial success or the fans they needed, Feeder are able to spread their wings and self produce this album (just like YWTS) and it feels like suddenly Grant has realised not only what he enjoyed to write but also what the fans need - good, 4 minute pop rock songs, and while Silent Cry is not exactly the best album of the year, it is a fantastic record to listen to on a summery day and try to forget that whole "Dove Grey Sands" rubbish from the last album. Stick on Polythene, YWTS, Echo Park, Swim, and Silent Cry and they flow together well. Feeder, Mark I, are back.

7/9

Feeder Official Website
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Monday Mix - 18/02/2008

Every Monday it is my intention to share 5 tracks that I have been listening to over the past week and I feel that you should definitely listen to at least once.

Biffy Clyro - Joy.Discovery.Invention
Biffy Clyro are an excellent example of a typical Scottish rock band. They continually churn out catchy, upbeat tracks and their latest album "Puzzle" is no exception to this rule, I strongly suggest you give it a listen if you haven't already. Joy.Discovery.Invention is the 1st track of their debut album Blackened Sky, arguably the best of their 4 albums. This song comes across very dark, I'm not quite sure of it's meaning but it is definately an excellent 1st track on one of my most favourite albums of all time. If you like this track don't forget to give 57 and Justboy on the album a listen too.

Coldplay - Don't Panic
I've really been getting back into Coldplay lately, Parachutes has been getting a lot of air play in my car. Not much can be said about this song really apart from it being a very catchy pop song. I love the lyrics "bones sinking like stones, all that we've fought for, homes, places we've grown, all of us are done for" Very catchy.

Ben Folds - Fred Jones Part 2
I was excited to hear that Ben Fold's is playing at T in the Park this year, I'd really like to see him play live. However, thanks to fucking Ticketmaster I didn't get a ticket - I'm not impressed as my language suggests. Maybe I'll get to see him if I can buy an overpriced ticket off ebay, we'll see. Anyway, I've finished ranting now. Fred Jones Part 2 is a lovely song, very emotional and powered by really strong lyrics and vocals.

Ben Folds Five - Fair
Ben Folds Five is Ben Fold's playing with his group. Ben Folds Five only has three members but since "Ben Folds Three" doesn't have quite the same ring to it, he went with Ben Folds Five. This song is rather quirky, I love the piano work throughout the track, very catchy. You'll never get the chicken noises out your head after listening to the song...you have been warned.

Ash - Polaris
Ash's main singer wrote the main piano part for Polaris while staying in Bono's holiday home in the South of France. It's the main piano part that really drives the song forward, if you like Ash you'll really enjoy this song.

Blank Canvas - Staying Power

"It’s always better on Holiday". I worry about the bands who have flooded our charts with un rivalled venom and totally horrendous harmonies and melodies. I worry for their future not as bands but as people. I worry for the pretenders to the crown, and I worry for when the big boys come back and start to play again. I worry for the likes of The Hoosiers, The Enemy and The Wombats, not because I care, but I can imagine how badly they will fall.

You see, these days bands have very little staying power for some reason, and also have a very slack work ethic. The Beatles released albums at least once a year in their heyday and to be honest almost all of them are total classics and seriously have titles and tracks that could be seen as some of the best music of any generation. These days it is very hard to get any band to make an album every two years. A good example of this is Coldplay, who seem to protract three years between albums. This is probably based on the fact the Mr Martin and Co. are busy touring the world, seeing millions of fans and playing hundreds of gigs and sure, I can see why that limit the time taken in the studio. But, as an amateur musician, I love to play and love the idea of playing in a band – and cannot see why I would ever stop writing, play, singing, recording at any point during success.

There are a few bands that seem to buck this trend, and in time will probably show themselves to have true staying power. Two bands such like this are my derided Arctic Monkeys, who whilst I commend them for being the Oasis of now, they are no where near are far reaching or as influential as Oasis, nor will they ever be. They just don’t have the zeitgeist that Oasis had. One band who did is Franz Ferdinand.

Released in 2005 their first record is a startling piece of all most perfect pop mixed with a great knack for a great tune and some brilliant drumming. It is music you can dance to and music that I can imagine listening to for years to come. But do they have staying power?

The quick release of the follow up album should probably not come as a surprise – if you had been playing the same 10 or 12 tracks for a year before the big break you would surely have some more music up your sleeve – and this is probably also why Arctic Monkeys also had a barrel of new riffs and lyrics hiding in their locker so soon after their album. I prefer this approach – not quantity over quality, but a measured, enthusiastic approach.

The problem I have with these new breed of bands is that they are identikit. They are the same band, just with different names and PR companies. I truly doubt that they will last longer than a few years in the limelight, and then have to play benefit gigs for a few years. It is worrying, as they probably have delusions of grandeur and think they are pretty good.

A recent band that caught my eye was Goodbooks – a band with an eye for a melody and for a good chorus, but they have not picked up in the way I expected. Also, Delays from a few years ago are excellent, but missed the boat in terms of fame, and I would much prefer it that way – it means they have the drive to continue to work, without the complacency that some bands who are “THE NEXT BEST THING” from the NME.

What I am trying to say is that sure, enjoy the pop, but think how many actual good and unusual bands that miss out when the world pays attention to three bands that are all the same. Why do they do this? It is quick consumption, over quickly, and if a band was as unique as they should be will last three to four times longer, because the exposure their music would have got would have kept the momentum going. The over exposure and eventual dismissal of the sudden explosion of music that all sounds the same mimics the full lifetime of a band, but plays out within a few months.

Hence, why Franz Ferdinand, whose contemporaries, have stayed clear of being mainstream (The Rapture), or why Muse have survived (who sounds like them now?), or even why Girls Aloud have survived (who is as good looking or has catchier tracks than them?) - their uniqueness sets themselves apart from all pretenders.

Also, see why Coldplay, Radiohead and Oasis have stayed at the top of the world – they have paced them selves as such to miss the extensive numbers of “me-toos” like Keane and The Feeling, to allow them time to burn up then burn out before returning with another solid album.

I will say good luck to them, these young bands – their own flaw is to be the same as others. "That's why we only work when we need the money."