Keane bids adieu to balladry and ushers in a different style -- '80s pop -- with Perfect Symmetry.
While the album isn't solely devoted to exploring that new genre, it's certainly the focus, and "Spiralling" appropriately kickstarts the set with whooping vocals and retro synthesizers.
"When we fall in love," sings Tom Chaplin in his stadium-sized voice, "we're just falling in love with ourselves." Coming from the same mouth that once crooned the earnest strains of "Somewhere Only We Know," those lyrics are wholly different -- a sign that four years spent in the shadow of U2, Coldplay, and other like-minded bands have convinced Keane to make their own Achtung Baby.
Of course, that album saw U2 turning sonic experimentation into something entirely inventive, which Perfect Symmetry doesn't quite accomplish with its own mixture.
This isn't quite art, after all; it's mostly just fun, shot through with a self-consciously cheesy approach that's engineered to sound little like the department-store rock of 2004's Hopes and Fears.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SpirallingTom Chaplin, Richard Hughes | Keane | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 33 MB |
| 2 | The Lovers Are LosingKeane | Keane | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 39 MB |
| 3 | Better Than ThisKeane | Keane | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 4 | You Haven't Told Me AnythingKeane | Keane | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 5 | Perfect SymmetryKeane | Keane | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 39 MB |
| 6 | You Don't See MeKeane | Keane | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Again and AgainKeane | Keane | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Playing AlongKeane | Keane | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 43 MB |
| 9 | Pretend That You're AloneKeane | Keane | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Black Burning HeartKeane | Keane | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 11 | Love Is the EndKeane | Keane | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 50 mins | 116 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 378 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jon Brion | Audio Production, Producer |
| 2 | Tom Chaplin | Composer, Guitar, Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 3 | Jake Davies | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 4 | Chris Fish | Adaptation, Cello, Musician |
| 5 | Osang Gwon | Sculpture |
| 6 | Ian Harris | Musical Saw, Musician |
| 7 | Richard Hughes | Composer |
| 8 | Richard Hughes | Drums, Main Personnel, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Jim Hunt | Musician, Saxophone |
| 10 | Stephen Hussey | Musician, Violin |
| 11 | Scott Albert Johnson | Studio Technician |
| 12 | Keane | Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist |
| 13 | Martin Kierszenbaum | A&R |
| 14 | Stephen Marcussen | Audio Engineer, Mastering |
| 15 | Tim Rice-Oxley | Guitar, Keyboards, Main Personnel, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Stuart Price | Audio Production, Producer |
| 17 | Jesse Quin | Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Main Personnel, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Jo Silverston | Musical Saw, Musician |
| 19 | Mark "Spike" Stent | Mixing, Producer |
| 20 | Shamil Tanna | Photography |
| 21 | Anael Train | Vocals |
| 22 | Anaël Train | Musician, Vocals |
| 23 | Adam Tudhope | Management |
| 24 | Beth Louise Warren | Assistant, Recording Coordinator |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |